India claims Canada student route used in trafficking to USA

India’s Directorate of Enforcement has launched an investigation and claimed that Canada’s study permit route is being used to traffic Indian nationals into the USA, and that two organisations involved have commission-based agreements with scores of colleges.

The statement published at the end of December by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) Ahmedabad Zonal Office follows search operations related to the so-called Dingucha case in 2022, where an Indian family of four froze to death trying to cross the Canada-USA border.

The ED said that it has searched eight locations, and that incriminating documents and digital devices have been seized and accounts frozen.

The organization said that the accused in the case, Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel, arranged for Indian nationals to enter the USA illegally by initially arranging the application of individuals into colleges and universities in Canada and applying for Canadian study permits. It claims that the students would not enroll after entering the country and would be assisted in crossing the border into the USA and that the college fees would be refunded.

The Directorate of Enforcement in India has alleged that Canada’s student visa route has been abused to enter the USA.

Following the investigation, ED said that it believes two entities, based in Mumbai and Nagpur, have been using the college admission route to help Indian nationals enter the USA.

“It is revealed during searches conducted that around 25,000 students are being referred by one entity and more than 10,000 students by another to various colleges based outside India every year,” the ED said in the statement.

It claimed that 112 colleges in Canada have an agreement with one of the entities, while the other entity has agreements with more than 150 institutions. It is not clear from the statement if some colleges have agreements with both entities.

The ED did not state if colleges were aware of the fraud, and did not indicate how many of the students referred were genuine students that enrolled in their institutions.

The two entities also have agreements with 1,700 and 3,500 agent partners across India, respectively, it was also claimed, although it said only around 800 of these were active.

The Directorate of Enforcement has not named the entities, or any of the colleges and agents and said that the case is still under investigation.

In discussions about the case on Linkedin, some Indian agents referred to issues with the aggregator model of recruitment and urged institutions to work directly with agent partners.

Nishidhar Borra, President of the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI), wrote, “The aggregator model used by some Indian education agencies, reliant on sub-agents, exposes significant vulnerabilities, as seen in this case of questionable student recruitment. AAERI has consistently highlighted these risks to universities and other stakeholders through surveys, letters, and speeches, stressing the need for stringent oversight to prevent such issues.”

The Canadian and US governments have not responded to the ED report. However, incoming US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods unless the Canadian government cracks down on migrants crossing the border illegally.

Diplomatic relations between Canada and India have been strained in recent years, with tensions over the targeting of Sikh activists in Canada and the mutual expelling of diplomats.

Nonetheless, India is by far the largest source country of international students in Canada, with 447,085 Indian study permits holders in the country at the end of 2023, which was an increase of 34.1 per cent over the previous year and around 45 per cent of the total.