Canada halts Deportation of 700 Indian Students

The Canadian government has postponed the deportation of Indian students following huge protests.

Protests were triggered after Canadian authorities initiated removal proceedings against Lovepreet Singh, who is originally from the village of Chatmala in Punjab.

One student, Jaspreet Singh, said:

“Mine and Lovepreet Singh’s deportation from Canada has been postponed.

“The government has to provide a pathway to permanent residency for us.”

They are among 700 Indian students who had been facing deportation after being accused of obtaining visas on the basis of fraudulent admission letters for Canadian universities.

The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) had directed Lovepreet to leave the country by June 13, 2023, after discovering that the offer letter he used to enter Canada on a study permit six years ago was forged.

Canada’s immigration minister Sean Fraser had tweeted:

“We are actively pursuing a solution for international students who are facing uncertainty due to having been admitted to Canada with fraudulent college admission letters.

“Those who have taken advantage of people genuinely hoping to study here will face consequences for their actions.

“Innocent victims will be given every opportunity to have their case considered fairly.

“Due to the complexity of the situation, we remain committed to working with CBSA to determine a fair outcome.”

Aam Aadmi Party MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney said the decision to postpone the mass deportation was made following his request and with the cooperation of the Indian High Commission.

He said: “We have written to them and explained that these students are not responsible for any forgery or fraud.

“They have fallen victim to fraud committed by unauthorised agents who issued fake admission letters and receipts of payment.

“Visas were granted without proper verification.

“It was only upon their arrival in Canada that the students realised they had not been registered in the promised institutions.”

Many Indian students only discovered that they had fake letters when they tried to apply for permanent residency as even the embassy officials couldn’t detect the forgery.

Foreign minister S Jaishankar said it was unfair to punish students who “undertook their education in good faith”, adding India will continue to take up the issue with Canadians.

He said: “For some time now, there is this case of students, who the Canadians say did not study in the college in which they should have and when they applied for a work permit, they got into difficulties.

“From the very start, we have taken up this case and our point is the students studied in good faith.

“If there were people who misled them, the culpable parties should be acted against.

“It is unfair to punish a student who undertook their education in good faith.”