Canadian authorities are reportedly pursuing new powers that would enable them to cancel visa applications en masse, targeting groups of visa holders, including many from India. This move stems from concerns about visa fraud, with Canadian agencies working alongside U.S. counterparts to identify and cancel fraudulent visitor visa applications predominantly from India and Bangladesh. Internal documents cited in reports reveal that this initiative has been shaped in a departmental presentation shared with the immigration minister’s office.
The backdrop to this development is Canada’s tightening policies on international students, a change that has especially affected Indian applicants. In August 2025, nearly 74 percent of Indian applications for study permits to Canadian post-secondary institutions were rejected — almost three out of every four applications.
The reports further explain that the Canadian Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and their U.S. partners have established a working group. This group aims to equip authorities with the legal authority to refuse or cancel visas in bulk, addressing “country-specific challenges” faced with applicants from India and Bangladesh. The documents state that these mass cancellation powers intend to cover exceptional situations such as pandemics, wars, and issues specific to visa holders from particular countries.
While Immigration Minister Lena Diab has publicly discussed the intention to seek these powers for emergency scenarios like pandemics or war, she has not acknowledged the potential use of these powers specifically against visa applicants from individual countries.
The bill to legalize these mass visa cancellations has already been introduced in the Canadian parliament, with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s administration pushing for rapid approval.
This legislative move has triggered significant opposition, with over 300 civil society organizations protesting against it. These groups warn that enabling mass cancellations could set up a “mass deportation machine,” increasing the risk of wide-scale injustice. Immigration lawyers have also speculated that one motivation behind seeking such powers is to tackle the government’s growing backlog of visa applications.
A notable reason for singling out Indian applicants is the sharp increase in asylum claims by Indian nationals, which surged from fewer than 500 per month in May 2023 to approximately 2,000 by July 2024. This influx has complicated the visa processing system, causing delays. The average processing time for visas rose from 30 days in mid-2023 to 54 days a year later. Correspondingly, approval rates dropped significantly from over 63,000 in January 2024 to about 48,000 in June 2024, as more resources were directed toward detailed verifications.
The presentation also highlighted an increase in Indian passengers being barred from boarding flights. By the summer of 2024, nearly 1,900 applicants had been flagged for additional investigation and received procedural fairness letters informing them of their rights and possible legal actions.
India remains Canada’s largest source of international students over the past decade. However, the country also experienced the highest rate of study permit refusals among all countries with more than 1,000 approved applicants in August 2025, raising concerns over the future flow of Indian students to Canada.
