Canada’s Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has identified over 10,000 potentially fraudulent student acceptance letters, raising concerns about the integrity of international student admissions.
This comes as part of the government’s efforts to implement stricter verification procedures following previous incidents of fake letters being discovered.
According to reports, the IRCC’s director-general of the International Students Branch informed a parliamentary committee that the government had introduced these enhanced verification measures in response to the growing issue of fraudulent documents.
Over the past year, the IRCC reviewed 500,000 student applications, with 93% of acceptance letters being verified as legitimate.
However, 2% of the documents were found to be fraudulent, and 1% were linked to canceled admissions, often due to educational institutions failing to properly verify the authenticity of the letters.
The enhanced verification procedures were implemented after a series of incidents in 2023, where international students were at risk of deportation due to fraudulent acceptance letters issued by an unlicensed consultant in India.
The government now requires educational institutions to verify acceptance letters through an online portal, a mandatory process for all applicants.
This move has raised additional concerns about the treatment of international students, with critics, including Jenny Kwan, an immigration spokesperson for the New Democratic Party, calling the findings alarming.
Kwan emphasized the importance of protecting students who have been defrauded and urged the government to address not only fraudulent practices but also the potential involvement of educational institutions in such schemes.
This tightening of verification measures reflects a growing concern over the integrity of Canada’s international student admissions process, especially as international students contribute significantly to the Canadian economy through tuition fees, job creation, and cultural exchange.
The IRCC’s efforts are aimed at safeguarding the credibility of the system, preventing further exploitation, and ensuring that the country remains a trusted destination for international students.
The new checks are expected to offer better protection for both students and institutions, upholding the reputation of Canada as a leading destination for higher education.
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