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Auditor General Karen Hogan says there are significant flaws in the integrity controls for the International Student Program.
An audit of the program being today highlights that about 150,000 cases in 2023 and 2024 were flagged because student visa holders may not have followed the conditions of their study permits.
The report indicates that only around 4,000 investigations were initiated, and out of those, 1,600 ended up inconclusive after the student did not reply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Department officials informed the auditor that they only have funding to carry out 2,000 of these investigations each year.
The department also failed to follow up on 800 cases involving applicants who used fake documents or provided misleading information on their applications from 2018 to 2023, according to the auditor’s findings.
The audit notes that nearly all of these visa holders applied for other types of immigration status to remain in Canada, with 456 receiving approvals.
More to come.
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