Every year, hundreds of thousands of Indian students go to Canada to make a life, and live dream, making a life-altering decision.

To live that dream they incur significant debts, bid farewell to their parents and homeland, and set their sights on Canada, driven by a shared dream: securing a study visa that will pave their way to the much-coveted Canadian permanent residency.

Their decision carried both financial and an emotional burden, fueled by the promise of a brighter future.

However, a report is casting a shadow of doubt over this dream, cautioning international students that the path to Canadian permanent residency may be far more challenging than they’ve been led to believe.

A report, authored by Senators Ratna Omidvar, Hassan Yussuff, and Yuen Pau Woo as published by IndianExpress, underscores the unsettling reality faced by international students who arrive in Canada buoyed by promises of an imminent permanent residency status.

Many of these students, influenced by misleading assurances from education consultants, arrive with the conviction that their educational journey is a guaranteed ticket to secure permanent residency.

Yet, this optimism doesn’t align with the intricate and fiercely competitive landscape of Canada’s permanent residency system.

Though studying in Canada does seem all bright but the reality can be dark.

It doesn’t promise a straightforward path. The report reveals a disconcerting statistic: since 2000, only 30 percent of international students who came to Canada have successfully achieved permanent residency within a decade of their arrival. This revelation should serve as a wake-up call for aspiring Indian international students and their parents.

The report not only calls for federal intervention to combat the misinformation perpetuated by education consultants but also points to the unintentional role played by the Canadian government in fostering these inflated hopes among international students.