India is Canada’s largest root state of overseas students with an estimated 4.27 lakh Indian students studying determination successful 2023.
Days aft terminating its fashionable fast-track visa programme for planetary students from 14 countries, including India, Canada’s migration Minister Marc Miller expressed interest implicit a increasing fig of planetary students claiming asylum and said “some students look to person been advised to record asylum claims soon aft their accomplishment successful Canada”.
“Canada is dedicated to aiding individuals successful request of protection. However, counselling asylum seekers to misrepresent themselves to stay successful Canada oregon question imperishable residence would beryllium contrary to the objectives of Canada’s migration system,” helium wrote successful a missive to the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) President and Chief Executive Officer John Murray Thursday, a transcript of which was posted connected X connected Thursday.
Nearly 14,000 planetary students successful Canada person sought asylum successful the archetypal 9 months of 2024, mounting a grounds adjacent arsenic the fig of caller survey permits issued during the aforesaid play importantly fell.
Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows that the apical root countries for these asylum claims see India, Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. India is Canada’s largest root state of overseas students with an estimated 4.27 lakh Indian students studying determination successful 2023.
The leap successful the fig of asylum seekers from 13,000 successful August-end to 14,000 successful September-end arsenic per statistics, coincides with the caller restrictions and caps imposed by the Canadian authorities connected planetary students.
Miller attributed the surge successful asylum applications partially to mendacious claims allegedly encouraged by unscrupulous migration consultants. Citing anecdotal grounds from departmental officials, helium noted that conditions successful the root countries person not changed significantly, suggesting outer proposal arsenic a cardinal driver.
“Some students look to person been advised to record asylum claims soon aft their accomplishment successful Canada,” Miller said. “We often spot these claims filed wrong the archetypal year, sometimes for little valid reasons, specified arsenic lowering tuition fees to home rates. There’s opportunism astatine play, and it’s being exploited.”
Miller has requested the CICC to analyse licensed consultants who mightiness beryllium improperly advising planetary students to prosecute asylum claims.
As per IRCC data, Canadian quality outlet The Globe and Mail reported that planetary students filed 13,660 asylum claims betwixt January 1 and September 30, 2024, surpassing astir 12,000 claims made done 2023 but little than 1,810 claims successful 2018. With 3 months of information yet to beryllium tallied, the numbers successful 2024 are expected to rise.