Indian students coming to Canada arranged ‘marriages of convenience’ through newspaper advertisements and dating apps only to gain residency in the country, and the government became aware of it, internal communication has revealed. The Globe and Mail reported that a 2025 email sent to IRCC officials from Canada’s High Commission in New Delhi discussed a number of integrity issues involving Indian students. A change in the rules in 2024 by Marc Miller, then-immigration minister, closed the avenue and Indian students started opting for countries with spousal visas such as Germany, Sweden and Finland.
What did the email say?
The email was sent to Sean McLuckie, IRCC director, irregular migration and risk intelligence, and another senior Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship official. It came from Han Duan, first secretary (migration) in Canada’s High Commission to India in New Delhi.“Given the high cost of studying and living in Canada, many Indian applicants relied on marriages of convenience to secure financial support in exchange for spousal open work permits. This practice was widely advertised in Indian newspapers and on dating apps,” Duan wrote.“Since the introduction of the student cap and various policy measures over the past year, New Delhi has observed a decline not only in the total number of Indian Study Permit (SP) applicants but also in the overall quality of applicants,” Duan wrote,Without going into any numbers, Duan pointed out that Britain, Australia and New Zealand too reported declines in Indian study permit applications after implementing similar restrictions on spousal visas.
‘Study permits should not be dating trampoline’
The Globe and Mail report credited immigration lawyer Richard Kurland with obtaining the email through an access to information request. Kurland said Canada can pick who it wants to come here to study and “that should mean only the people who can afford to study in Canada without working.” “Study permits should not be a dating trampoline to Canada,” he added.
What did Canada do in 2024?
Spousal Open Work Permit allowes the spouse or the partner of an international student or temporary foreign worker to live and work in Canada with an open work permit while their partner studies or works. Before 2024, this was available for even undergraduate students and diploma students. But in 2024, IRCC made it applicable only to the spouses of students enroled in Master’s or PhD.Kurland told the Toronto Sun that it was no surprise to see organized criminal activity in the study permit program.“Unscrupulous overseas agents were promising the moon. They said ‘permanent residence is in your hands if you get your study permit, and we’ll take care of that pathway for you’,” he said. “It was a multi-year plan, and the sad part was most often financed by the young person’s family,” he added. “In some cases, they literally sold the farm to put their kid in Canada.”