Fraudulent student permit applicants lead to proposed legislation change
In the wake of fraudulent applicants, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenny of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has proposed stricter measures to monitor international students. His concern is that international students entering Canada may be taken advantage of by their chosen post secondary institution, which reflects poorly on Canada’s international reputation.
Kenny said in a press release, “There are too many stories of international students who pay a lot of money and leave their families back home to study in Canada, only to find out they have been misled. These changes will help us better protect international students and the reputation of Canada’s postsecondary education system by making sure that international students are coming to quality institutions that comply with basic standards of accountability.” Another concern addressed in the proposed changes is that international students may be obtaining study permits in order to enter the country for other purposes than education, including illegal activities.
In a statement published in The Canadian Gazette, the CIC said, “Some educational institutions take advantage of international students by promising programs of study they are unauthorized or unequipped to deliver, while others operate as visa mills with the sole purpose of facilitating the entry of foreign nationals into Canada.
Such activities hurt Canada’s international reputation and may discourage prospective international students from choosing Canada as their study destination.” Michelle Kangro, an international student advisor at Simon Fraser’s International Services for Students (ISS) echoed the importance of safeguarding the integrity and honesty of Canadian education and its institutions. Kangro identified a lack of mechanisms to monitor whether or not individuals with study permits are actually studying in accordance with the regulations of the permit as an issue.
When asked if these regulations were a welcome move, Kangro said, “Any measures that protect the integrity of SFU as an attractive destination for international students and maintains its high academic standards are positive, and SFU will be fully compliant.” SFU currently hosts approximately 5,700 international undergraduate and graduate students. “Those actively pursuing their degree should have no problems,” stated Kangro. . The proposed amendments are intended to make obtaining a work permit and permanent residence easier for students who comply with the regulations of their permits.
However, not all parties are hailing the proposed changes. According to an article in The Vancouver Sun, The Associations for Universities, Colleges and Community Colleges are on board with the plan, but the Association of Career Colleges is opposed, expressing that colleges were omitted from the list of qualified institutions. In a Global News article, the Association’s CEO, Serge Buy, said, “There are some colleges that will close their doors. There’re some training colleges that rely on a number of international students.” All lists of approved schools are to be put forward to the federal government by their individual provinces.
