The diplomatic tension between India and Canada in 2023 is having an unintended consequence on Indian students seeking study permits in Canada. Recent report from the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) portal reveals a significant 42% drop in Indian student permit applications finalized by Canada during the last quarter of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.
Following the expulsion of 41 Canadian diplomats by India during the peak of the diplomatic row, a reduction in staffing levels at the IRCC. This reduction was anticipated by the IRCC, which had previously warned about potential delays in visa processing timelines. Unfortunately, this warning materialized into a tangible decline in the number of student visas processed. Specifically, in the October-December 2023 period, only 69,203 permit applications from Indian students were finalized, a stark decrease from the 1.19 lakh applications processed during the same months in 2022.
The impact of reduced staffing became evident in the data updates for September 2023, where only 18,000 applications were decided, compared to 38,000 in September 2022. This trend continued in the last quarters of 2023, with approximately 24,000 applications decided in October, 32,000 in November, and 13,000 in December.
Despite these challenges, students are still actively applying for Canadian study permits, indicating a continued interest in Canadian education. Viral Doshi, an education consultant based in Mumbai, expressed concerns about potential extensions in turnaround time for study permits.
The diplomatic strain between the two nations escalated when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of involvement in the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada on September 18, 2023. India denied any involvement in Nijjar’s killing and retaliated by accusing Canada of harboring separatists, further straining diplomatic relations.
