Recently appointed Deputy Minister of Immigration Ted Gallivan said past widespread gaps in tracking and enforcing international student visas are “unacceptable” and the system will be fixed by the end of this year.
Gallivan and a number of federal officials were testifying April 20 before the House committee on citizenship and immigration about an audit released earlier this month by Auditor General Karen Hogan that found considerable problems in tracking and enforcement of international student visas.
Specifically, Hogan’s audit identified 153,000 international students who were flagged for potential visa non-compliance in 2023–24 but found that only approximately 4,000 cases were investigated.
It also found that immigration officials failed to follow up on 800 confirmed cases of fraud and unable to account for the whereabouts of tens of thousands of international students whose study permits had expired….