Over 50,000 Students from Nigeria, Ghana, Entered Canada But Never Attended School

Over 50,000 international students from Nigeria, Ghana, and other countries who applied for study permits in Canada did not attend school.

A report has revealed that approximately 50,000 international students who applied for study permits in Canada to pursue higher education did not attend the institutions they had applied to. The colleges and universities they were supposed to enrol in reported that these applicants did not show up.

According to government data from spring 2024, the number of those affected reached 50,000, coming from countries like Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana, and Iran, among others. However, India and China top the list of countries with the highest number of non-compliant student applicants who failed to attend the institutions they were supposed to enroll in.

Meanwhile, prior to this, the Canadian government had announced new restrictions on work and study permits for international students wishing to undertake postgraduate studies, as part of a plan to reduce the annual intake of students. This ‘no-show’ report has also raised many questions about whether international students are complying with Canada’s study system.

Additionally, another set of 23,514 students, which constitutes 3.3%, remain unreported, causing concern within the Canadian system. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) tracks 6.9% of all international students who do not show up after applying for a study permit. This reporting system was introduced in 2014 through the International Student Compliance Regime for Canada, which requires educational institutions to report twice a year.

Canada introduced this regime to ascertain whether international students are actively enrolled and attending classes at the institutions they applied to. Canadian universities and colleges submitted compliance reports to IRCC, revealing that tens of thousands of international students did not adhere to the terms of their study permits in 2024.

Top countries with the highest number of international students not attending school: Here are the top 10 countries with non-compliant international students in Canada:

• India tops the list with 19,582 international students not complying with the study permit.
• China is second with 4,279 students not complying.
• Nigeria is third with 3,902 non-compliant students, while 30,920 complied.
• Ghana ranks fourth with 2,712 non-compliant students, making it a 31.1% non-compliance rate, with only 5,881 complying.

Other countries include:

• Iran with 1,848 non-compliant students,
• DR Congo with 1,166,
• Bangladesh with 984,
• Vietnam with 912,
• Rwanda with 802,
• Philippines with 688 non-compliant students in Canada.

Some experts suggest that reasons for some international students not showing up after applying for a study permit include illegal border crossing. Reports indicate that some students use study permits to enter Canada to then illegally move to another country, while others aim for permanent residency and disregard their education.

READ: $57,000 Worth 2025 Aston University Scholarship for African Students Open

What are the consequences?

To curb the misuse of study permits, Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, introduced stringent rules stating that colleges and universities failing to report will be suspended. For any applicant to obtain a study permit in Canada, they must be enrolled at a learning institution and demonstrate active pursuit of their studies. Those not meeting the study permit conditions could be asked to leave Canada.