Drastic drop in study permits to Indian students after diplomatic row: Canadian minister

The number of study permits for Indian students in Canada is not expected to recover soon, according to a government official. This drop in permits is due to a diplomatic dispute that led to the expulsion of Canadian diplomats from India who processed the permits and a decrease in applications from Indian students.

The dispute was triggered by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claim in June of evidence linking Indian government agents to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller told news agency Reuters: "Our relationship with India has really halved our ability to process a lot of applications from India." The official further added that it's uncertain how relations between the two countries would progress, especially if charges were laid in connection with the murder.

"Right now we have a challenge with the sheer volume" of students coming in, Miller noted. "It's just gotten out of control and needs to be reduced - I would say - significantly over a short period of time."

Miller also said that the Canadian government is also planning to introduce measures in the first half of this year to reduce the influx of international students, including a possible cap on numbers. He added that the government also plans to address issues related to postgraduate work permits and crack down on unaccredited universities.

In response to Trudeau's claim, India rejected the allegation, calling it "absurd" and "motivated". In October, India ordered the withdrawal of two-thirds of Canadian diplomatic staff, leading to an 86% decrease in study permits issued to Indians in the last quarter of the previous year from 1,08,940 to 14,910, as per the official data. 

The Canadian government is planning curbs on the number of off-campus work hours for international students, which could cause labour shortages in the food service and retail industries. 

In 2023, the government projected that some 900,000 international students would study in Canada that year, about three times that of a decade ago. Miller said 40% of those students - or some 360,000 - were Indian. The number of permits given to Indian students declined by 4% last year, but they remained the largest group.

Indians have been the largest group of international students in Canada, with over 41% of all permits issued to them in 2022. International students are key to sustaining Canadian universities as they bring in about $16.4 billion annually. 

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