Most Common Reasons for Canadian Student Visa Refusal

Why are Canadian student visas¹ refused? It’s a question recruitment partners often ask us. Historically, individual experiences have shaped our industry’s understanding of study permit refusal reasons. In today’s ApplyInsights, we’re able to share the numbers behind those stories.

Recently released data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) tracks every reason why a study permit was refused from 2019 to 2021.

In today’s ApplyInsights, we’ll break down the numbers to show which reasons are most common. We’ll also turn to Hari Ghai, ApplyBoard’s Senior Immigration Consultant and a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC), for advice on how you can increase your chances of getting approved for a study permit.

Let’s start by looking at the rate at which Canadian study permits are refused.

What Is the Canadian Student Visa Approval Rate?

The chart below traces the recent history of Canadian study permit approval rates:²

After hovering in the mid to high 60s for three years, study permit approval rates fell to 60% in 2019. Plummeting rates for Vietnamese and Iranian students were largely to blame. Rates fell further in 2020 as pandemic-related office closures made it increasingly difficult for international students to secure the necessary documentation for study permit approval.

As the world reopened in 2021, approval rates ticked back up to 60%. And while they’re down slightly in 2022, ApplyBoard analysis has found that approval rates are typically lower early in the year. We expect rates to settle around 60% by the end of 2022, in line with 2021.

Why Are Canadian Student Visas Refused?

Even with approval rates back up from their 2020 low, two in five students aren’t getting approved for their study permit. That’s a huge number of students—more than 220,000 in 2021 alone. The new data from IRCC sheds light on why those students were refused.³

IRCC Not Satisfied That the Applicant Will Leave Canada at the End of Their Stay

For seven of the top 12 refusal reasons from 2019 to 2021, each cited more than 10,000 times,⁴ the IRCC agent was not satisfied that the applicant would leave Canada at the end of their stay.

The criteria cited for this reason were as follows:

• The purpose of the applicant’s visit.
• The applicant’s personal assets and financial status.
• The applicant’s family ties in Canada and in their country of residence.
• Limited employment prospects in the applicant’s country of residence.
• The applicant’s current employment situation.
• The applicant’s travel history.
• The applicant’s immigration status.

By far the most commonly cited basis was the purpose of the applicant’s visit. This was cited more than 380,000 times from 2019 to 2021, including 175,000 times in 2021.

77% of study permits refused from 2019 to 2021 were refused based at least in part on a failure to convince IRCC that the purpose of the applicant’s visit was to study.

A much smaller but still significant 26% of study permit refusals were caused by IRCC concerns around personal assets and financial status. 19% of refusals were based on the applicant’s family ties in Canada and their country of residence. 13% were based on IRCC’s assessment that there were limited employment prospects in the applicant’s country of residence.

How to Improve Your Canadian Student Visa Approval Chances

To avoid these common application pitfalls, ApplyBoard’s Hari Ghai recommends that applicants provide a clear and succinct study plan which outlines the following:

• Why you chose your particular program and institution
• What your subsequent career plans are
• Why you’re eligible and suited for your intended course of study

It’s critical to show that the program and institution you’ve chosen are a natural next step for you in your education journey based on the academic subjects you studied in the past and the grades you earned.

To relieve IRCC concerns that you won’t return to your home country after studying in Canada, you should also show how the course is going to benefit you on your return to your home country. Beyond this, it’s important to show that you and your family are established in your place of residence and have substantial reasons to go back. Ties to your home country can range from family to social to professional.

IRCC Not Satisfied That the Applicant Has Sufficient Financial Resources

The second major grouping of reasons for Canadian study permit refusal? Financial. For five of the top 12 refusal reasons from 2019 to 2021, each cited more than 10,000 times, IRCC was not satisfied that the applicant had sufficient financial resources to study in Canada.

In 26% of refusal cases, IRCC was not satisfied that the applicant would leave Canada at the end of their stay on the basis of their personal assets and financial status.

Smaller proportions of applicants were refused because IRCC was not satisfied that they had sufficient funds to pay for their tuition (10%), for travel costs to and from Canada (6%), or for living costs in Canada (2%), without working in Canada, as laid out in Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, s. 220.

Proof of Financial Support Is Critical

In other words, proof of financial support is critical to a successful study permit application. Hari stresses that visa officers are primarily looking for readily verifiable funds for tuition fees and living expenses. He recommends that the applicant provide a minimum of six months of bank statements showing their withdrawal and deposit history. Properties, jewelry and other investments are not considered proof of funds, though they can be used to prove an applicant’s establishment or as proof of assets.

While there are several types of documents you can use to show proof of financial support, one of the most trusted is a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC).⁵ A GIC can prove to IRCC that you have the financial means to support yourself while you study in Canada.

ApplyBoard and ApplyProof can help students provide strong proof of financial support with their study permit application. We’ve teamed up with RBC, one of Canada’s largest banks, to offer the first digitally verifiable Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs). Our GICs include an ApplyProof code that immigration officials and students can use to verify the submitted GIC.

Verifiable GICs can help you build a stronger study permit application and can improve the chance that your application is accepted.

Key Takeaways

The most common reasons for study permit refusal are insufficient financial resources and a failure to convince IRCC that the purpose of your visit is, in fact, to study.

To avoid the disappointment and frustration of being refused a study permit, it’s critical to build a strong statement of purpose that shows a clear, natural progression in your studies and emphasizes your ties to your home country. It’s also vital to show adequate financial support, whether through a minimum of six months of bank statements or a digitally verified GIC.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. The terms student visa and study permit are generally used interchangeably for Canadian international students. Rather than student visas, Canada provides accepted international students with study permits, which allow those students to enroll in classes at Canadian institutions. When a student is accepted for a study permit, they are also usually provided with a visitor visa, which allows that student to enter Canada for their studies.
2. All statistics for new study permits only. Data courtesy of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
3. Source: House of Commons of Canada Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Differential Treatment in Recruitment and Acceptance Rates of Foreign Students in Quebec and in the Rest of Canada, Appendix A: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Statistics on the Reasons for Refusal Given During the 2019-2021 Period. May 2022.
4. Excluding the “Unspecified” reason, which IRCC states is “generally used when an officer wants to provide an explanation or further details in the refusal letter.”
5. Students applying through Canada’s Student Direct Stream (SDS) are required to provide proof of a GIC as part of their study permit application.