Indian Students Caught in Admission Fraud in Canada to Get Temporary Resident Permits, Says Minister

Canada’s immigration minister Sean Fraser has said that international students who are not found to be involved in immigration-related frauds will not face deportation.

He also said that while the investigation is underway, preliminary Temporary Resident Permits will be issued to students if required to prevent their deportation.

“I want to make it clear that international students who are not found to be involved in fraud will not face deportation. The Immigration Refugee Protection Act offers me discretionary authority which I believe should be exercised in the present context… I have provided instructions for officers to issue a Temporary Resident Permit to that individual,” Sean Fraser said in a government statement.

700 Indian students, mostly from Punjab, face deportation from Canada after the authorities here found their admission offer letters to educational institutions fake.

Students say they were unaware the documents were forged and have blamed the alleged fraud on the India-based immigration agents who helped them apply. Advocates and the students have petitioned for a halt to the deportations.

“Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been working even closer with Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs), provinces and territories, and organizations representing Canada’s colleges and universities to better detect and combat fraud, and uphold the integrity of our immigration programs,” Fraser said.

He added that the Canadian government is identifying those who are responsible for the fraudulent activity and not on penalizing those who may have been affected by fraud.

India has repeatedly been urging Canadian authorities to be fair and take a humanitarian approach since the students were allegedly victims of some agents. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India has taken up the issue with Canadian authorities.

“If there were people, who misled them (the students), the culpable parties should be acted upon. It is unfair to punish a student who undertook education in good faith,” he said in New Delhi. “We are in touch with Canada on the issue,” he said.

Fraser also said that there are some students who knowingly abetted this fraud and once identified, those students will face deportation.

“Other foreign nationals had no intent of pursuing higher education, and used fraudulent acceptance letters to take advantage of Canada’s immigration system. Within this cohort of individuals, some have been involved in organized crime,” he added.

Official data show there were more than 800,000 foreign students with active visas in Canada in 2022. Of those, some 320,000 were from India.

Canada is a popular destination for international students since it is relatively easy to obtain a work permit.