Canada failed to properly investigate most international student visa violations due to budget limits, allowing many to stay illegally.

An audit by Canada’s Auditor General reveals that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) failed to investigate most of the 150,000 flagged cases of international student visa non-compliance between 2023 and 2024, with only about 4,000 investigations launched due to budget limits. Many cases were inconclusive, and IRCC did not follow up on 800 cases involving false documents or misrepresentation. Nearly 92% of students with expired permits were allowed to stay, and only 16,000 of 39,500 ordered to leave actually departed. The auditor recommended improved data sharing with border services, and Immigration Minister Lena Diab acknowledged the findings, citing ongoing reforms to reduce temporary immigrants to under 5% of the population by 2027.