Several hundred Indian students in Canada have taken to the streets to protest against the potential deportation they face. The students, primarily from Punjab, allege that Canadian authorities have accused them of securing their visas based on fraudulent admission letters from Canadian universities.
Recently, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) issued deportation notices to around 700 Indian students after discovering that their admission offer letters were fake.
Many of the protesting students claim that they arrived in Canada in 2018, but the fraudulent letters only came to light five years later when they applied for permanent residency.
During an exclusive interview with NDTV, Chamandeep Singh, one of the protesting students, stated, “When we arrived in Canada, our agent informed us that the colleges we had received admission letters for were already full. He said that universities were overbooked and offered to transfer us to another college. Since we didn’t want to lose a year, we agreed.”
“We switched colleges and completed our studies. However, three to four years later, the CBSA informed us that the admission letter on which we based our visa applications was fraudulent,” he added.
Lovepreet Singh, another protesting student, expressed that the fear of deportation has severely impacted the students’ mental health, with some even contemplating suicide.
“We urge the Indian government to raise this issue with the Canadian government. We are innocent victims of a scam. Our lives are at stake, and many of us are even considering suicide. The number of affected students is likely higher than the estimated 700, as many suffer in silence and hesitate to come forward. I received a deportation notice for June 30. We invested our life savings to come to Canada, and now we are being asked to leave,” Lovepreet said.
Punjab’s NRI Minister, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, described the fraudulent scheme as one of the largest immigration scams in recent history during an exclusive interview with NDTV.
“Students have spent a significant amount of money to go to Canada. Some families even sold their land to send their children abroad,” Mr Dhaliwal expressed.
The Minister for Punjab NRI Affairs has requested the intervention of External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar.
“These 700 students are innocent and have been deceived by a group of fraudsters. I kindly request that you look into this matter and take it up with the relevant agencies, including the High Commission of Canada and the Government of Canada so that these students can be saved from deportation,” stated Mr Dhaliwal in a letter to Mr Jaishankar.
The issue has reached the Canadian parliament, where Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau if he would halt the deportation of these students.
In response, Prime Minister Trudeau stated, “‘Our focus is on identifying the culprits, not penalizing the victims. Victims of this fraud will have an opportunity to demonstrate and present evidence for their case. We recognize the immense contributions that international students bring to our country.”
The Punjab government has also approached the central government for assistance in this matter.
