India-Canada Row: Ottawa says student visas to Indians down by 86% in last quarter of 2023, no rebound in sight

A decline of 86 per cent was witnessed in the number of study permits Canada issued to Indian students in the last quarter of 2023, due to the diplomatic row between both the countries. A Reuters report said the decline in number of study permits was after New Delhi (in October 2023) asked 41 Canadian diplomats to leave the country. India, meanwhile, had said the action was to ensure parity in diplomatic presence with Canada is in line with the Vienna Convention. The report cited Canada’s immigration minister Marc Miller saying the number of study permits to Indian students for Canada fell in the fourth quarter of 2023 from the previous quarter, after India asked Canadian diplomats who would process the permits to leave the country. Also, lesser number of India students have applied for study permits in Canada due to a diplomatic dispute over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, Miller said. According to official data that have not been previously reported, these factors have led to a drop in study permits issued to Indians in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous quarter, to 14,910 from 108,940. ‘Study permits to Indians unlikely to rebound’ Miller further said he believes the number of study permits to Indians is unlikely to rebound soon. The diplomatic tensions are likely to weigh on the numbers going forward, he added. “Our relationship with India has really halved our ability to process a lot of applications from India,” Miller further said. Diplomatic row erupted between India and Canada after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on 18 September last year, made the explosive allegation in Canada’s Parliament that there was a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of Nijjar, designated a terrorist by India. India rejected the accusation as “absurd”. Canada not on list of Indian students In October, Canada was asked to pull 41 diplomats, or two-thirds of its staff, out of India on orders from New Delhi. In addition, the dispute has prompted Indian students to seek to study in other countries, the Reuters report quoted Miller’s spokeswoman as saying. For the unversed, International students are a cash cow for Canadian universities as they bring in about C$22 billion ($16.4 billion) annually and lesser number of Indian students seeking permit would be a blow to the institutions. C. Gurusubramanian, counselor for the High Commission of India in Ottawa, said some Indian international students were looking at other options besides Canada due to “concerns, in the recent past, regarding lack of residential and adequate teaching facilities” at some Canadian institutions. Indians have formed the largest group of international students in Canada in recent years, with more than 41 per cent - or 225,835 - of all permits going to them in 2022. “I can’t tell you about how the diplomatic relationship will evolve, particularly if police were to lay charges,” Miller said. “It’s not something that I see any light at the end of the tunnel on.” Canada to reduce number of international students Due to the ongoing housing shortage in the country, the Canadian government has been seeking to reduce the overall number of international students. “Right now we have a challenge with the sheer volume” of students coming in, Miller said. “It’s just gotten out of control and needs to be reduced - I would say - significantly over a short period of time.” Miller said the government would introduce other measures to lower the volume of international students during the first half of this year, including a possible cap. Why students want to study in Canada? Canada is one of the popular destinations for international students since it is easier there to obtain work permits after finishing courses. With inputs from Reuters