Canada Gets Tough on Foreign Students Amid Mounting Tensions With India

[Riaz Haq]

The Canadian government has recently taken a series of steps to cut the number of international students studying in Canada. This is believed to be related to the extremely hostile Indian government response to Canadian allegations that the Indian officials ordered assassinations of Sikh activists in Canada. There are now new reports that Ottawa has asked Indian students to resubmit their documents for review. Earlier,  Canada made a decision to end the fast-track visa process, known as Student Direct Stream (SDS), for students coming from India, Pakistan and a few other developing countries. Meanwhile, US F-1 visas granted to Indian students fell 38% between January and September of 2024. 

Sikh Activist Assassinations: 

The United States and Canadian governments are alleging that Indian government agents plotted assassinations of Sikh dissidents on their soils. Their investigations paint a shocking picture of how recklessly Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government operates. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Home Minister Amit Shah

The criminal charges announced by Washington and Ottawa are backed by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the remaining three countries that make up the 5-nation intelligence sharing alliance known as the Five Eyes. Revelations made by the US Justice Department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) indicate that the authorization for Sikh assassinations came directly from the top Indian government officials, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-hand man Amit Shah. International criminal gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi is listed among the people tasked with carrying out the murders. These allegations are based on intelligence gathered from multiple communication intercepts among Indian government officials in New Delhi and Indian diplomats posted in Canada.  

Canadian Student Visa Approval Rates. Source: ApplyAbroad

Canada's Student Direct Stream:

As of 2024, there are 427,000 Indian students studying in Canada, surpassing the 337,630 Indian students enrolled in the United States, according to media reports. The SDS was very popular in India, with nearly four in five Indian students applying for their Canadian study permit through the program.

Until recently, foreign students who applied for a Canadian study permit through the SDS saw a significant approval rate advantage over regular stream applicants in every emerging market.  In 2022, India was the biggest beneficiary of SDS with 78% of applicants approved,  followed by Pakistan 44%, Vietnam 22%, and China 7%. 

Canada's decision to end SDS will hurt future student visa applicants from more than a dozen countries, including Pakistan. 

Demand to Resubmit Documents:

Indian students in Canada are deeply concerned after receiving notices from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requesting the resubmission of critical documents, including study permits, visas, academic records, attendance, and part-time work details. Many of these students hold visas valid for up to two more years, causing fear. 

International Student Visa Cap:

The Canadian government has also decided to reduce the number of student visas granted each year.  The international student visa cap for 2025 and 2026 is 437,000, which is a 10% reduction from the 2024 target of 485,000.  It has also increased the cost of living requirement for international students from C$10,000 to C$20,635 a year. 

Indian F-1 Student Visas in US:

US F-1 visas granted to Indian students fell 38% between January and September of 2024. According to the US State Department,  64,008 F-1 visas were granted to Indian students, a significant drop from the 1,03,495 issued during the same period in 2023. This number is also reportedly lower than the 93,181 issued in 2022 and marginally higher than the 65,235 recorded in 2021, marking the lowest post-pandemic level, according to Indian media reports. 

Related Links:

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How Long Can Modi Escape Accountability For Murder? 

Indian Agent Kubhushan Yadav's Confession

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London Police Document Confirms MQM-RAW Connection Testimony

India's Ex Spooks Blame Kulbhushan Jadhav For Getting Caught

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[Riaz Haq]

Canada immigration 2024: How Trudeau changed policies to 'fix mistakes' | Personal Finance - Business Standard



https://www.business-standard.com/finance/personal-finance/canada-i...

For decades, Canada has presented itself as a welcoming destination for immigrants, crafting policies to grow its population, address labour shortages, and provide refuge to people escaping conflicts worldwide. However, in 2024, public sentiment shifted as inflation surged, living costs rose sharply, and housing became increasingly unaffordable.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government relied heavily on ambitious immigration targets to drive economic growth, admitted earlier this year that the approach had been a “mistake”. Canada’s population has grown by 5.2 million over the past decade, largely due to immigration.

In response, a series of policy changes have been introduced since January 2024, affecting international workers and students, particularly from India.

“Canada has moved swiftly to end a very liberal visa policy toward Indian students, for both geopolitical reasons and domestic politics. The changes will dramatically impact many people, likely ending their dreams of remaining in Canada,” said Russell A Stamets, Partner at Circle of Counsels.

Take a look at the key changes:

International Student Program reforms

Increased financial requirements: Since January 2024, international students must now show proof of funds exceeding $20,000, up from the previous $10,000 threshold.

Cap on study permits: Canada introduced a two-year cap on international student applications, reducing new permits to approximately 360,000 for 2024.

End of expedited programmes: On November 8, 2024, Canada discontinued the Student Direct Stream (SDS) and Nigeria Student Express (NSE) programmes. These initiatives, which offered faster processing for study permits for students from India, China, and Nigeria, have been replaced with the regular application stream. Processing times are now expected to increase.

Work hour limitations: Since Autumn 2024, international students have been restricted to 24 hours of off-campus work per week during academic sessions. Previously, full-time work was allowed.

Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) changes:From September 1, 2024, students enrolled in programmes under curriculum licensing arrangements have no longer been eligible for PGWPs.

Language proficiency requirements: Since November 1, 2024, PGWP applicants must meet specific Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) standards: CLB 7 for university graduates and CLB 5 for college graduates.

Temporary resident fee adjustments

On December 1, 2024, Canada increased fees for temporary residence applications, including restoring visitor, student, and worker statuses. The fee hikes range between 2.8% and 4.69%.

What do the changes mean for Indians?

“The visa changes in 2024 mean significantly fewer opportunities for Indian students and workers in Canada to gain permanent residency. It also means a lesser chance of staying on in Canada - although it is unclear as to how the gap will ensure that they leave Canada when their visa expires,” said Darshan Maharaja, a Canada-based immigration analyst.

“It is clear that much fewer people will be able to get a visa (of any kind) approved,” he added.

Canada’s immigration plans for the coming years

In October 2024, Canada released its Immigration Levels Plan for 2025–2027, outlining reductions in immigration targets to align with economic and infrastructure realities.

Permanent residents: The plan sets a target of 395,000 new permanent residents for 2025, with further reductions to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027. This is a notable drop from the earlier 2025 target of 500,000.

[Riaz Haq]

POLITICO: Republican brawl on immigration erupts as MAGA and tech world clash

A debate over legal immigration exploded during the Christmas holiday shows that the party isn't unified, even on its strongest issue with voters.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/27/musk-mtg-loomer-infighting...

An online debate over high-skilled immigration between Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and MAGA evangelists reveals Donald Trump’s Republican Party is grappling with growing pains as it prepares to retake the White House.

Days after the powerful allies of Trump in Silicon Valley took to social media to argue for a greater number of high-skilled immigrants, with a side-swipe at American culture for emphasizing “mediocrity over excellence,” some members of the far-right said such policies would make America “look like India.”

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“The United States graduates over half a million STEM students per year. If there is an issue in the tech workforce, then we need to address it at the educational level, not import a problem away,” said Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) in an X post on Thursday.

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It’s the latest chapter in a controversy that spread after far-right activist Laura Loomer criticized Trump for naming Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-American technology entrepreneur and investor who has advocated for lifting country caps on green cards, as his senior policy adviser on artificial intelligence, calling him a “career leftist.”

Loomer wrote, “We are substituting a third world migrant invasion for a third world tech invasion,” and later followed up with, “‘High skilled immigrant’ doesn’t have running water or toilet paper.”

Musk hit back, writing on Christmas Day that a “permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” is the “fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley” that could be addressed through an increase of skilled-labor visas. Ramaswamy followed on Thursday with a post that blamed a culture that “venerates Cory from ‘Boy Meets World,’ or Zach & Slater over Screech in ‘Saved by the Bell,’ or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters’” — a favoring of popularity over smarts that “will not produce the best engineers.”

That earned a swift rejoinder from Nick Fuentes, a conservative firebrand who wrote, “I don’t know who needs to hear this but the latest push for H-1B visas actually has nothing to do with jocks and nerds or high school prom — it’s about whether we want 500 million indians to move here.”

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Meanwhile, Democrats are praising immigration as one of America’s powerful drivers of prosperity.

In a Washington Post interview, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who represents Silicon Valley, supported Krishnan and entrepreneurs in tech who have chosen to become American citizens.

He posted, “It is GREAT that talent around the world wants to come here, not to China, & that Sriram can rise to the highest levels. It’s called American exceptionalism.”

And it’s causing some other Democrats to cast the division between Republicans and the Trump movement at large as racist.

“The far-right backlash against Indian immigrants confirms what we in the Democratic Party have long known,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said in a post on X. “That the far right is implacably hostile to all forms of non-European immigration regardless of legal status. It’s not about status. It’s about race. The far right prefers ‘purity’ over prosperity.”