On This Page You Will Find
- What the classified CBSA report says about Canada’s student permit system
- How the Bishnoi gang allegedly used Canadian immigration programs
- What the crime statistics involving Indian study permit holders show
- Why the figures need to be considered in context
- How Canada currently verifies international students
- How organized criminality can make someone inadmissible to Canada
- How the CBSA can investigate and remove inadmissible foreign nationals
- Whether Canada’s recent student permit reforms address the vulnerabilities identified
A classified Canada Border Services Agency intelligence report has raised concerns that organized criminal groups have exploited Canada’s student permit system to establish and expand their operations in the country.
The December 2025 CBSA assessment, obtained by Global News, focuses on the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and its growing presence in Canada.
According to the report, investigations have increasingly identified Indian nationals holding Canadian study and work permits as participants in organized criminal activity.
The findings raise broader questions about the integrity of Canada’s International Student Program – particularly whether immigration screening and monitoring systems can identify applicants linked to organized crime before or after they enter the country.
Canada has introduced significant reforms to its student permit system since late 2023, including direct verification of letters of acceptance, tighter reporting requirements for schools and restrictions on students changing institutions.
However, a 2026 Auditor General report concluded that while Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had successfully reduced student permit volumes and improved some controls, weaknesses remained in the department’s response to suspected non-compliance and immigration fraud.
What Does The CBSA Report Say About Canada’s Student Permit System?
The CBSA’s Intelligence and Investigations Directorate prepared the report as a tactical guide for immigration enforcement officers dealing with the Bishnoi gang.
According to Global News, the intelligence assessment describes the gang as having a growing operational presence in Canada and points to what the CBSA called the demonstrated use of Canadian immigration programs for criminal purposes.
The report says investigations increasingly found Indian foreign nationals on study permits and work permits participating in organized criminal activity.
One prominent example is Goldy Brar, a senior Bishnoi associate who entered Canada in 2017, ostensibly to study at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. Records cited by Global News indicate it is unclear whether he attended classes.
The broader concern for immigration authorities is whether individuals have been able to enter Canada through legitimate temporary residence programs before becoming involved in – or already having connections to – organized criminal networks.
How Many Indian Study Permit Holders Were Charged With Crimes?
The CBSA assessment recorded a sharp increase in criminal charges involving Indian nationals who held study permits.
According to figures reported by Global News, 2,418 Indian study permit holders faced criminal charges in 2024. They faced more than 13,000 charges in total.
Between 2019 and 2023, about 4,000 Indian citizens who had entered Canada on study permits were charged with 17,929 offences, according to the intelligence assessment. The CBSA classified 4,920 of those charges as serious or related to organized crime.
However, the figures require important context.
The 2,418 Indian study permit holders charged in 2024 represented just over one per cent of the approximately 188,125 Indian students in Canada that year.
The CBSA figures therefore do not suggest that international students generally, or Indian students specifically, are involved in criminal activity.
Instead, the immigration policy issue is whether organized crime networks have identified weaknesses in a legitimate immigration program and deliberately exploited them to establish networks, recruit members or facilitate criminal activity in Canada.
Why Does The Report Raise Questions About Immigration Screening?
Canada’s immigration system screens applicants for admissibility, including security, criminality and organized criminality concerns.
But the Bishnoi case highlights the difficulty authorities face when an applicant has no readily identifiable criminal history or when their involvement in organized crime emerges only after they arrive in Canada.
A study permit is intended for a foreign national whose primary purpose in Canada is education. Once admitted, international students must continue to meet the conditions attached to their status.
The CBSA intelligence assessment raises the question of whether criminal organizations can exploit those legitimate immigration routes by sending or recruiting individuals who outwardly qualify as students or workers.
That challenge is different from conventional study permit fraud, such as using a false acceptance letter. It requires authorities to connect immigration information with criminal intelligence and law enforcement data.
How Does Canada Verify International Students?
Canada has tightened its International Student Program substantially since the period examined in the CBSA report.
Since December 2023, IRCC has required designated learning institutions (DLIs) to verify letters of acceptance submitted with post-secondary study permit applications.
DLIs must confirm that a student has genuinely been accepted into the program listed in their application.
IRCC said it verified more than 650,000 letters of acceptance in 2024. About 14,000 initially produced a “no-match” result, meaning the document did not match the institution’s records and required further review.
In 2025, IRCC verified more than 368,000 letters, with about 4,900 producing an initial no-match result.
Canada has also strengthened enrolment monitoring.
Post-secondary DLIs must report on the enrolment status of international students. This allows IRCC to identify cases in which someone received a study permit but may not be attending the institution as expected.
Students who want to change DLIs must also now apply for and receive approval for a new study permit before making the change.
Canada Has Already Tightened Student Permit Rules
The federal government has introduced a series of changes to the International Student Program since 2024.
Ottawa capped study permit applications, expanded provincial and territorial attestation letter requirements and tightened rules governing international students and institutions.
The government has also introduced consequences for DLIs that fail to comply with letter-of-acceptance verification and student reporting requirements.
Those reforms have contributed to a steep reduction in international student numbers.
But the CBSA findings highlight a potential vulnerability that student caps alone cannot resolve.
Reducing the number of permits may reduce the overall scale of the system, but it does not necessarily prevent an organized crime group from attempting to place or recruit individuals through legitimate immigration channels.
Auditor General Found Continuing Integrity Weaknesses
Canada’s Auditor General examined the federal government’s International Student Program reforms in a report released in March 2026.
The audit found that IRCC had successfully implemented its letter-of-acceptance verification system and reduced the number of new study permits.
However, it concluded that IRCC had not effectively addressed other weaknesses in program integrity.
In particular, the Auditor General identified problems with how the department responded to suspected study permit non-compliance and immigration fraud.
The report said addressing those cases promptly was important to ensure that only genuine students arrive in or remain in Canada.
That finding gives the CBSA intelligence assessment wider significance. Canada has already built stronger checks at the application stage, but authorities also need effective systems to identify problems after a temporary resident has entered the country.
Can Organized Crime Make Someone Inadmissible To Canada?
Yes. Section 37 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states that permanent residents and foreign nationals can be inadmissible to Canada on grounds of organized criminality.
The law covers membership in an organization believed on reasonable grounds to have engaged in a pattern of organized criminal activity. It can also cover participation in such activity.
Separate provisions of Canadian immigration law cover criminality and serious criminality.
An individual does not necessarily need to commit immigration fraud to face immigration consequences. Someone who entered Canada legally as a student or worker can subsequently become inadmissible because of criminal activity or involvement in organized crime.
What Can The CBSA Do If A Temporary Resident Is Linked To Organized Crime?
The CBSA is responsible for immigration enforcement and removals.
When authorities believe a foreign national or permanent resident may be inadmissible, an officer can prepare an inadmissibility report under section 44 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Depending on the circumstances and grounds of inadmissibility, the case may lead to further proceedings, including an admissibility hearing before the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board.
If authorities ultimately issue an enforceable removal order, the CBSA is responsible for carrying out the removal.
The agency said in June 2026 that it had opened 484 investigations resulting from extortion task forces across Canada. As of June 18, 139 removal orders had been issued and 81 people had already been removed.
The CBSA has said it is working with law enforcement partners to disrupt extortion networks and prevent people involved in them from using Canada as a safe haven.
Do Canada’s New Student Rules Solve The Problem?
The reforms address some of the vulnerabilities that existed during the rapid expansion of Canada’s International Student Program.
Direct letter-of-acceptance verification makes it more difficult to obtain a study permit using fraudulent admission documents. Enrolment reporting gives IRCC more information about whether permit holders are actually studying. Requiring approval before changing institutions provides another layer of oversight.
But those measures primarily protect the integrity of the student program itself.
The Bishnoi allegations present a more complicated challenge – identifying individuals who may have genuine admission documents and valid temporary status but who are linked to criminal networks or become involved in organized crime after entering Canada.
That puts greater emphasis on intelligence sharing between IRCC, the CBSA, police and other security agencies.
IRCC did not answer Global News questions about whether the International Student Program had inadvertently helped the Bishnoi gang expand in Canada.
The department instead pointed to the substantial decline in international student volumes and the reduced share of permits issued to Indian nationals.
The CBSA report nevertheless adds a new dimension to the debate over Canada’s student program. Ottawa has already moved aggressively to reduce volumes and tackle document fraud. The next program-integrity question is whether its screening and enforcement systems can prevent legitimate immigration routes from being exploited by organized crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the CBSA report say about Canada’s student permit system?
The classified CBSA intelligence assessment says investigations increasingly identified Indian nationals on study and work permits participating in organized criminal activity. It specifically examines the Bishnoi gang and raises concerns that Canadian immigration programs have been used to support the group’s growing presence in Canada.
Are international students more likely to commit crimes in Canada?
The CBSA figures do not establish that international students generally are more likely to commit crimes. Global News reported that the 2,418 Indian study permit holders charged in 2024 represented just over one per cent of the approximately 188,125 Indian students in Canada that year.
How does IRCC check whether international students are genuine?
Post-secondary designated learning institutions must verify acceptance or enrolment documents submitted with study permit applications. Institutions must also report students’ enrolment status to IRCC. International students generally need approval for a new study permit before changing designated learning institutions.
Can someone lose their Canadian immigration status for organized crime?
Yes. Foreign nationals and permanent residents can be found inadmissible to Canada for organized criminality under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Depending on the circumstances, an inadmissibility finding can lead to a removal order and eventual removal from Canada.
Have Canada’s recent student permit reforms fixed the integrity problems?
Canada has strengthened acceptance-letter verification, enrolment reporting and oversight of designated learning institutions while reducing student permit volumes. However, the Auditor General said in 2026 that weaknesses remained in IRCC’s response to suspected non-compliance and immigration fraud, indicating that further program-integrity work is needed.