A growing number of Indian students are turning away from Canada as a destination for higher education, citing tougher visa rules, higher living costs and falling approval rates that have sharply reduced applications since 2023. Consultants in Delhi report families are now looking at alternatives such as Italy, Germany and Australia as Canada’s appeal wanes.
Delhi-based consultant Shobhit Anand told the BBC that until 2023 most of his agency’s applications were for Canada; he says those have fallen by nearly 80 percent. Official figures cited in a report from Canada’s auditor general show Indians made up just 8.1 percent of incoming international students in September 2025, down from 51.6 percent in 2023.
Several policy and economic changes underpin the shift. In early 2024, Canada introduced a two-year limit on undergraduate and diploma study permits, capping intake at about 350,000 a year, while postgraduate programmes were not affected. At the same time the required proof of funds-the Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC)—was raised from C$10,000 to more than C$20,000 in 2024, increasing up-front costs for many families.
Consultants and monitors point to rising visa refusals. ICEF Monitor data cited in the source show study-permit rejections climbing from 38 percent in 2023 to 52 percent in 2024. The auditor general’s report also notes the end of the Student Direct Stream (SDS), a fast-track visa route popular with Indian applicants, which was discontinued after 2024 amid concerns over fraud, class non-attendance and asylum claims. SDS approval rates for Indians had risen from 61 percent in 2022 to 98 percent in 2024 before the programme was scrapped.
For years, Canada had been seen by many middle-class Indian families as a relatively reliable route: students would enroll in two- or three-year vocational courses, find work after graduation and apply for permanent residency within a few years. That pathway is now less certain. Rent and living costs have climbed in major Canadian cities, job prospects for graduates have tightened, and financial entry requirements have become more onerous.
“For many families, securing that amount is difficult-and with the risk of visa rejection, they hesitate,” said Sushil Sukhwani of Edwise Overseas Education. Consultants say the combined effect of policy changes, cost increases and a 2023 diplomatic strain between the two countries has eroded confidence, even though bilateral ties have since improved.
The result is a more cautious market: students and parents are asking not just how to get to Canada, but whether to go at all. “There’s real fear,” Anand says. “Even if you get there, can you make it work?”
Original Source: https://www.firstpost.com/india/sharp-decline-in-indian-students-applying-to-canada-study-visas-ws-e-14000544.html
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Publish Date: 2026-04-15 08:07:00
