December 4, 2024
The Impact of Immigration Cuts: Asylum Claims by International Students at a Record High
There has been a record-breaking number of asylum claims made by international students in Canada during the first nine months of 2024.
According to statistics reported, international students submitted nearly 14,000 asylum claims. In 2023, almost 12,000 students made asylum claims while in 2018, the number was only about 1,810.[1] This year’s total is expected to increase as three months are yet to be included in the count.
From January to September 2024, the following schools, which have already been identified as having large numbers of international students, were reported to have the highest number of students claiming asylum:
- Conestoga College, Kitchener, Ontario, with 520 student claimants;
- Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, with 490 student claimants; and
- Niagara College Canada, with 410 student claimants.[2]
There is a growing concern as many of these international students are claiming asylum after being allowed into Canada on student visas.[3] The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (“Minister”), has called this increase an “alarming trend” and has said that these claimants are using the international student program as a “backdoor entry into Canada.”[4] The Minister also noted that the increase in asylum claims by international students, sometimes within their first year of study, suggests that the claims are being made “mostly falsely” indicating that “there is advice being given to people that are here that would otherwise have to go home to claim asylum.”[5]
Given this concern, the Minister wrote to the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) to investigate the possibility that licensed immigration consultants are “illegitimately advising international students to claim asylum.”[6] The Minister stated that the CICC’s code of professional conduct prohibits licensees from encouraging clients to be dishonest or to commit fraud and licensees who breach the code can face criminal sanctions in certain cases.[7] Advocates for refuges criticized the government for using students as scapegoats and said there is no solid proof these claims are fraudulent.
Proposals have been put forth to curb the misuse of the asylum system such as barring students whose study or work permits are set to expire from filing asylum claims; requiring asylum applications to be submitted within 24 hours of entering Canada, with late claims directed to points of entry (POEs) for processing; and sending officers to verify the legitimacy of asylum claims before granting entry.
The rise in asylum claims comes along with the decrease in study permits issued in 2024. In January, the Minister, imposed a two-year cap on international study permit applications to curb the rapid growth in foreign students entering Canada. Subsequently, in October 2024, the Government of Canada announced the Immigration Levels Plan 2025-2027, which sees the targets for international students being reduced from 360,000 in 2024, to 305,900 in 2025-2027.[8] The reduction comes amid a population surge and strains on housing and public services.
As the Canadian government attempts to manage the surge in asylum claims, the Minister has emphasized the importance of safeguarding the integrity of Canada’s immigration and asylum systems.
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Ana Martinez
Ana graduated from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom with a Bachelor of Laws (Juris Doctor). During this time, she participated in mooting and negotiation competitions as well as mentorship and human rights initiatives. Prior to law school, Ana graduated from the University of Toronto with a double major in Criminology & Socio-Legal Studies and Italian Studies. Ana is fluent in Spanish.