Post-secondary institutions that issue “acceptance letters” to international students will have to confirm all of them with the federal Immigration Department, as Canada works to combat fraud.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the new rules Friday, following an investigation this summer into around 100 cases involving fake acceptance letters.
The Immigration Department created a task force in June to investigate a scheme, dating back to 2017, in which immigration agents issued false acceptance letters to bring foreign students to Canada.
Of the 103 cases reviewed so far, about 40 percent of students appeared to have participated in the scheme, while the rest were victims.
“The use of fraudulent acceptance letters has been a major concern for my department this year and continues to pose a serious threat to the integrity of our program” of international students from Canada, Mr. Miller said Friday during a press conference at Sheraton College in Brampton, Ontario.
Foreign students are not to blame, the minister clarified.
Miller said he also plans to have a system in place by next fall semester to recognize postsecondary institutions that set a higher standard for student services, supports and outcomes. foreigners. These standards could also include ensuring that accepted international students will have access to adequate housing in Canada.
“Our goal here is to punish bad actors to ensure that they are held accountable for their actions, and to reward good actors who provide adequate results for the success of international students,” explained the minister.
Details on how exactly recognized establishments will benefit from the new system will be released later, Miller said. For example, applicants to these establishments would be given priority when it comes to processing their study permit at Immigration.