Canada's student permit cancellations a broken promise for Indian families

Punjab MP and LPU founder-chancellor Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal says Canada's move to allow cancellation of issued study permits has shaken Indian families and highlights the need for stronger safeguards

India’s education corridors with Canada have come under strain once again after Ottawa moved to allow the cancellation of already-issued study permits. The uncertainty has unsettled thousands of families who have committed savings, loans and years of planning to international education. In an interview with Business Standard, Punjab Rajya Sabha MP and Lovely Professional University founder-chancellor Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal talks about the impact on Indian students, the need for stronger safeguards and what parents should consider in a fast-changing global environment.

 

How serious is the threat of retrospective Canadian study-permit cancellations for Indian families?

 

“While every visa rejection is a hope denied, a permit cancellation is a broken promise. Be it a student from the cold climes of Kashmir or the coastal tip of Kanyakumari, studying abroad is a shared dream for an increasing number of Indians. Interestingly, out of the 1.3 million Indian students who went abroad in 2024, 427000 chose Canada. It is indeed a devastating situation for families who take out loans to enrol their children in good faith and are now threatened with this massive breach of trust,” said Mittal.

 

 

What steps should the Indian government consider to protect students, including a possible India-Canada safeguard protocol?

 

“With over 1.4 million people of Indian origin and a trade corridor of $30.9 billion with $60 billion in Canadian portfolio, ties between New Delhi and Ottawa are of extreme significance. Therefore, it is important to create a strong domestic safety net and a formal bilateral safeguard protocol to protect the students and strengthen the partnership between the two nations,” he said.

 

What structural safeguards are needed to prevent debt traps for families taking education loans?

 

“One in three Indian students takes a loan between Rs 10-30 lakh to study abroad, the sacrifice and load of which is far greater with the family’s ancestral property and lifetime FDs attached to it. To save them from possible debt traps, this issue must be addressed in three aspects:

a. Financial safeguards via mandatory loan insurance and escrow tuition fee

b. Legal safeguards via bilateral legal clauses

c. Institutional safeguards via a unified grievance cell,” Mittal said.

 

How can India eliminate fraudulent intermediaries and strengthen verification for students?

 

“It’s infuriating to see our bright and honest students getting victimised by such fraudulent agents, and it is not just any regulatory failure but a betrayal of trust which costs the future of our youth. The fact that Indian student visa rejections in Canada have risen from 32 per cent in 2023 to 74 per cent in 2024 indicates the urgent need to regulate the unregulated system of consultants. To address this, an institutional fix is required, which permits only licensed consultants who follow a strict protocol. There must also be zero tolerance for shadow agents. Secondly, a one-stop verification portal should be created to bring transparency to the system and support pre-departure awareness,” he said.

 

How should students and parents rethink overseas plans as global migration rules shift?

 

“Amid this shift in global migration rules, students and parents must first understand the ‘why’ behind their decision to choose global education over the Indian higher-education ecosystem. If the goal is to settle abroad, one must consider the legality around post-study work visas, cultural diversity and the job economy. However, if the goal is quality education, they must take a fresh look at what India has to offer. With 54 Indian universities in the QS 2026 rankings, the country stands at number four globally. India also has the second-highest number of ranked universities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, just behind the US.

 

“With major reforms under the National Education Policy 2020, our system is strengthened in numerous aspects. Be it research, skill building, foreign collaborations or industry-academia orientation, we are ready to strive with any world-class model. Candidates must also consider programmes with flexibility and credit transfer. Such hybrid learning models help them stay safer in the unpredictable winds of foreign migration policy.

 

“Focus should be on being skilled. Good education gives you the liberty of portability. Geographical location should not be the only measure of success. The world is turning towards India — it’s our turn now,” said Mittal.