Canada making millions from rejected student visas? Experts weigh in

International students applying to study in Canada are facing growing visa rejection rates, with 52% of study permit applications refused in 2024, up from 38% in 2023, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The overall refusal rate for temporary migrant applications, including work and visitor permits, stood at 54%.  

 

Syed Hussan, executive director of Migrant Workers for Change, says the government is profiting from applicants’ hopes and dreams, even as uncertainty grows for students and their parents.

 

He told the Toronto Star, a Canadian daily, that the average application fee of C$150 (approximately Rs 9,000) resulted in the government generating an estimated C$707.9 million (approximately Rs Rs 38,369.5 million) in fees in 2024, with C$354 million (approximately Rs 21,404 million) coming from refused applications.  

 

 

He described this as "profiting from [applicants’] hopes and dreams" and linked the trend to political decisions.  

 

However, Ajay Sharma, founder of Abhinav Immigration Services, dismissed this argument as "absolutely irrelevant."  

 

"Visa applications of all kinds, for example, UK visa applications, are an expensive proposition, and let's say a family of four in India could be paying as much as a lakh of rupees. So if they are refused, the embassy makes a lakh of rupees. Likewise, all kinds of applications have both approvals and refusals. So this argument really does not cut the ice," Sharma told Business Standard.  

 

"In the Canadian context, students are facing more refusals, and hence the government is making more money? It does not make any sense. For example, in Australia, the refusal rate is very high, especially for certain Indian states. Would that mean the Australian government is making money? It’s an absolutely irrelevant area," he said.  

 

Sharma added that most countries limit the number of incoming students. "That's where the story starts and it ends," he said.  

 

Russell A Stamets, partner at Circle of Counsels,, also questioned the suggestion that visa programmes are a source of profit for governments.  

 

"Except for the planned $5-million gold card-type investor programmes, running a regular visa programme is not a profit-making venture for any country. Visa processing fees would not begin to cover the enormous law enforcement and consular infrastructure necessary to properly assess visa applicants. This is especially true for a country such as Canada, which is a popular immigration destination," Stamets told Business Standard.  

 

Immigration officials cite fraud concerns  

 

In response to Hassan's claim, IRCC defended its approach, saying that many applications are denied due to fraud detection efforts.  

 

"IRCC employees receive training on how to detect and combat fraud, and they work hard to protect the integrity of Canada’s citizenship and immigration system," the department told the Toronto Star.  

 

Ekaterina Neouimina, a founding member of the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association, questioned the transparency of the decision-making process.  

 

“Misrepresentation can be a catch-all term, easily applied to minor inconsistencies or perceived omissions. The lack of transparency in these investigations is deeply concerning, and there’s a real risk of unfairly penalising applicants for unintentional errors,” Neouimina told ICEF Monitor.  

 

Stricter rules and uncertainty  

 

Beyond visa refusals, uncertainty around approvals and potential changes to work and immigration rights have added to students' concerns.  

 

In February 2025, Canada introduced stricter rules allowing officials to cancel study permits. IRCC said, "Foreign nationals who have been permitted entry to Canada on a temporary basis as a visitor, worker, or student are considered temporary residents and they must comply with admissibility and eligibility requirements under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Regulations."  

 

Impact on Indian students  

 

Indian student applications to Canadian universities fell by nearly 50% in 2024 compared to 2023, according to Akshay Chaturvedi, CEO of Leverage Edu, who spoke to Business Standard.   

However, he also added that Canada’s need for skilled young talent remains, and he expects applications to rebound in the coming years.

 

Nikhil Jain, founder of ForeignAdmits, said visa revocations are also rising.  

 

"We've had multiple clients lose their permits despite perfect academic records. The IRCC projects 7,000 more revocations this year – I think that's conservative," he said.

 

"For Fall 2025 applicants, financial barriers have increased. The new guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) requirement has doubled to C$20,635 (approximately Rs 12.5 lakh) from C$10,000 (approximately Rs 6 lakh) in 2023, making it harder for middle-class Indian families to afford studying in Canada. Lending institutions have also become more cautious about funding students heading there," he said.  

 

This means students must now show proof of C$20,635 (approximately Rs 12.5 lakh) in addition to tuition and travel costs when applying for a study permit.