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Auditor General Finds Cracks in Canada's International Student Verification System
A new federal audit found more than 153,000 study permit holders were flagged as potentially non-compliant, with thousands of investigations still underway
Published: July 19, 2026
A report from Canada's Office of the Auditor General, tabled in March 2026, has found significant gaps in how the federal government verifies acceptance letters and monitors compliance within the International Student Program.
Study permit applications rose 121 percent between 2019 and 2023, and the audit examined a new letter-verification system introduced to combat fraud, finding it successfully verified more than 97 percent of the over 841,000 acceptance letters reviewed.
Despite that success rate, more than 153,000 study permit holders were flagged as potentially non-compliant with the terms of their permits, and the auditors noted that 4,057 investigations have been launched to look into possible violations.
Among the cases reviewed in depth, auditors identified about 800 study permits linked to fraudulent or misrepresented applications across just three investigations, raising questions about how widespread similar issues could be across the broader system.
The report recommends that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada strengthen its monitoring of designated learning institutions and follow through more consistently on flagged cases, as the government continues efforts to restore public confidence in the integrity of the international student program.
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