The Globe and Mail reports that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is being urged by immigration experts to “crack down” on study permit abuse and target “no shows” who fail to appear on campus at the start of their program. Marie Woolf of the Globe writes that the IRCC’s list of schools with high potential non-compliance rates includes several private colleges in Ontario; an IRCC report in 2021 reportedly found that “no shows” make up as much as 90% of students at some private colleges. “Clearly, for the integrity of, and public confidence in, the student visa program, student visa holders not actually enrolled in school should not be allowed in Canada,” said former federal public servant Henry Lotin, who highlighted the need for better, more timely data on this issue.
