On December 1, 2023, Canada’s immigration department, IRCC has, announced a a new verification process for Letters of Acceptance (LOAs) for international students. This new system was one of the notable changes to the international student program. The immigration department introduced these modifications to safeguard the integrity of student programs and international students studying in Canada. So, evaluating the success of IRCC’s LOA verification system.

According to the new verification system, all designated learning institutions (DLIs) in Canada must manually verify each LOA they receive with IRCC via their online portal within ten calendar days.

Letters of Acceptance (LOAs) are the documents foreign students are required to submit in support of their student visa application.

Notably, IRCC will cancel and return an international student’s visa application if the following criteria are met:

  • If a DLI fails to confirm their LOA within IRCC’s timeframe of 10-calendar-day
  • If an LOA is found to be  invalid/fake by this new system

Evaluating the success of IRCC’s LOA verification system

According to IRCC data released on April 29, the department announced details concerning the LOA system for the first four months of its implementation, from December 1, 2023, and April 1, 2024. IRCC noted that it discovered around 9,000 LOAs that either: 

  • Fail to match the letter issued by a DLI or
  • DLI had already canceled the letter before the foreign national could apply for a study permit.

This means that the new system established by IRCC has so far protected numerous international students from wasting their time and money to obtain a study permit based on an invalid LOA.

Moreover, IRCC stated that in four months, around 142,000 LOAs were successfully processed using this system. IRCC added that the Canadian DLIs directly confirmed those LOAs as valid.

Notably, during this timeframe, IRCC had a total of 162,000 LOAs for verification.

There are no details on how the IRCC department expects its LOA verification system to perform in the future. However, IRCC has claimed that this new LOA system has proven to be successful so far.

How to Stay Safe as an International Student in Canada: Other Methods

Although IRCC has so far regarded its  LOA verification system as successful, there are other ways international students can safeguard themselves and avoid falling victim to fraud. 

Be Careful of Bad Actors

International students are frequently targeted by fraudulent bad actors in the immigration market. This is because of their determination to go to any length to study in Canada. They assure expedited application processing and promise successful immigration of international students. They claim that they are working their best to help you immigrate successfully, but the majority of them are solely interested in making money by fooling students and their families. 

Be sure to safeguard yourself from fake job letters, phishing, ghost consultations, and housing fraud.

Verify the legitimacy of the consultants, be aware of unsolicited emails and calls, and stay away from the overhelping person or organizations.

Ensure the Correctness of Your LOA

DLIs in Canada are not required to provide all the necessary information. However, International students should review their LOAs to ensure their authenticity and legitimacy.

For instance, you can check out the key information in the LOA, such as the school’s DLI number. If it’s missing, the LOA is possibly fake.

While IRCC’s new LOA verification system is in place and effective in determining its authenticity, it’s suggested that international students verify the genuineness of the letters.

What are other ways Canada is protecting international students to Canada?

There are various measures the IRCC department is taking or has taken to protect international students in Canada. These are outlined below:

  • Imposing a limit on the number of international study permits that IRCC will issue over the upcoming two years.
  • Raising the living cost requirement for international students
  • Introducing changes to its popular Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) program. As a result, some students have now become ineligible for a PGWP. Also, the master’s graduate students are now eligible for an extended permit.
  • Updating the eligibility requirements for its Open Work Permit (OWP) program
  • Designing and implementing a Trusted Institutions Framework

Are you interested in immigrating to Canada but have concerns about the process and pathways? Feel free to connect with our experienced immigration experts for help at NavaImmigration. You can also send us an email at [email protected]