On November 15, an official from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) revealed that 10,000 acceptance letters submitted by foreign students entering Canada on student visas were fraudulent. This alarming discovery could result in the deportation of approximately 7,000 to 8,000 Indian students, with reports suggesting that around 80% of these counterfeit letters were linked to students from Gujarat and Punjab.
Visa expert Pankaj Patel highlighted the potential consequences, stating, “If the acceptance letters submitted by the students are found to be bogus, their admission will be cancelled, and they will be sent back to India.” He further noted that the Canadian government, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is expected to adopt a stringent approach to address such cases, particularly in light of recent diplomatic tensions between Canada and India.
The fraudulent letters expose the troubling operations of unscrupulous visa consultancy firms, which issue fake acceptance documents, deceiving students and their families. Many families reportedly spent as much as ₹25 lakh to fund their children’s education in Canada, only to face the devastating reality of deportation.
The IRCC official shared additional findings from their investigation of 5 lakh acceptance letters over the past 10 months. Of these, 93% were verified as genuine, while 2% were deemed fraudulent. For another 1% of applicants, admissions were cancelled, and the remaining cases involved institutions that failed to provide necessary documentation.
This issue highlights the urgent need for stricter regulations and oversight in the visa consultancy industry to prevent such scams, which jeopardize the future of thousands of aspiring students and strain international relations.
