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Business Standard

Canada's immigration system vulnerable to abuse? What IRCC report reveals

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has confirmed multiple cases of internal misconduct, including a bribery attempt involving the approval of study permits—raising concerns over the system's vulnerability to insider abuse. The findings were released last week in the department's annual misconduct report covering the 2023–2024 period. The IRCC, which processes millions of immigration applications each year, employs more than 11,000 staff across units handling study permits, work permits, permanent residency and refugee claims. According to the report, 62 out of 76 internal investigations led to confirmed misconduct. These included harassment, privacy breaches, and violations of the IRCC's code of conduct. Bribery attempt and insider threats In one case, a processing agent used an internal messaging tool to ask a colleague whether they would accept money to approve a study permit. The agent later claimed the message was sent by someone else using his laptop—a person to whom he allegedly owed money. The case has led to renewed scrutiny of internal controls at IRCC. 'Insider misconduct poses a serious threat to the fairness and integrity of Canada's immigration system, particularly within high-volume visa streams where oversight is inherently more challenging and the stakes for applicants are significant,' said Ketan Mukhija, senior partner at Burgeon Law. Conflict of interest and inappropriate conduct The report identified three employees in breach of IRCC's code of conduct. One was caught making disparaging remarks about clients from a specific country. Another officer developed a personal relationship with an asylum claimant staying at an IRCC-run hotel. The staff member gave the claimant advice on navigating the department, provided preferential treatment, and co-signed a car loan. This led to an unpaid suspension for conflict of interest. Marriage fraud flagged among applicants IRCC also recorded cases of marriage fraud—where applicants attempt to gain immigration benefits through fake relationships. Officers are trained to detect 'marriages of convenience', which are criminal offences under Canadian immigration law. Expert criticism of oversight during Trudeau years Darshan Maharaja, a Canada-based immigration analyst, said the problem has grown over several years, particularly after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. 'Looking from the outside, it seems that during Prime Minister Trudeau's tenure, scrutiny and oversight of the visa applications and approvals became very lax. For example, a couple of years ago, there was the case of 700 Indian students who had come to Canada on study visas based on fake admission letters from Canadian colleges. Over the past five years, the integrity of the immigration system was allowed to deteriorate significantly. The internal misconduct by IRCC staff is, in my view, a result of this deterioration,' Maharaja told Business Standard. Maharaja added, 'Canada's current immigration system is highly vulnerable to abuse by both insiders as well as outsiders. Some of the measures that were introduced last year to strengthen the system, such as requiring study permit applicants to submit proof of having secured residential accommodation, are not foolproof.' Disciplinary actions taken IRCC said it had taken a range of actions against staff found guilty of misconduct. These included: Written reprimands Unpaid suspensions Terminations Revocation of security clearances The department said it would introduce training and awareness programmes to encourage ethical conduct among staff. 'The goal of this report is to build confidence in our accountability systems,' IRCC said. 'The department plays a critical role domestically and globally—from managing temporary entries to settling newcomers, granting citizenship, and issuing passports.' Immigration policy under review The release of the report comes as the Canadian government works to limit the number of new arrivals. Under its 2024 immigration plan, the federal government has announced cuts to international student and temporary worker numbers. Permanent resident admissions will be capped at under 1% of the population annually, with overall immigration levels expected to be brought to what the government calls 'sustainable levels' by 2027. While IRCC says it has already introduced safeguards such as digital monitoring, reliability screening and task rotation, experts say more targeted enforcement is needed. 'These measures must be strengthened particularly in the areas of digital access controls, real-time monitoring, and whistleblower protections to effectively prevent insider abuse and curb exploitation by organised immigration networks,' said Mukhija. 'I believe that the system needs a major overhaul in order to serve the best interests of Canada and the visa applicants,' said Maharaja. Canada on Wednesday released details of its proposed Strong Borders Act, a Bill that could reshape how the country handles temporary residents and asylum seekers. The legislation, if passed, would allow authorities to suspend or cancel immigration documents, introduce stricter rules on asylum eligibility, and improve information-sharing across government. The proposed changes are expected to affect a wide range of immigrants, including Indian nationals, who continue to represent a large share of Canada's temporary and permanent migration flows. As of January 1, 2025, Canada had around 3.02 million temporary residents—students, workers and others—accounting for 7.3% of the country's total population. India remains the top source of new permanent residents, and Indian nationals are also a notable presence among asylum seekers. Total asylum claims had reached a record high of 470,029 by April 1, 2025.