The Canadian government has quietly made steps to tighten student-visa regulations to curb fraud by educational institutions and those who pose as students to enter the labor force illegally, reports the Ottawa Citizen. As part of the rules, a list would be developed of legitimate institutions where international students could study, and student visas would no longer be available to foreigners who enroll in courses that are shorter than six months.
While the provinces, which have jurisdiction over education, generally support the changes, they have reservations. Officials in Ontario fear the monitoring and compliance costs will fall on the provinces, while officials in Saskatchewan say immigration fraud is a federal issue. The federal government says it is acting on anecdotal reports of fraudulent behavior.