2712 Ghanaian students missing in Canada- Report

As per the January 2025 report by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), 2712 Ghanaian international students in Canada did not register for their designated educational institution.

The insight from the 2025 report by the Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada (IRCC), show that over 50,000 students who moved to Canada  on study permit are untraced, with majority hailing from India which alone accounted for 19,582 students.

Different countries with large numbers of missing students included Nigeria with 3,902 students and China with 4,279 students, while Ghana ranked fourth among the top 20 countries.

Undertaken between March and April 2023, the reports reveals the requirement for Canadian universities and colleges to submit biannual updates to the immigration department concerning the status of international students.

These reports are very essential for verifying whether students are conforming to the conditions of their study permit comprising enrollment and class attendance. In the midst of Ghanaian students, those who remain compliant and participating actively in their studies are 5,881 which represents approximately 67.4% of the enrolled population.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Algeria and Cameroon are also experiencing similar issues as the report stated. This situation has triggered significant concern relating to potential abuses of foreign national education system and it surrounding visa fraud problem.

As a response, the experts of Canadian Immigration suggested that the prospective international students should be able to make full payment of tuition fees before arriving in Canada.

They believe that by taking more proactive and vigilant approach to monitoring the visa programme for students, the government with the  Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship, Canada (IRCC) will be able to reduce the risk of abuse and increase the benefits of international education. This is an essential step toward creating more transparent, accountable and effective system that serves the best interest of all stakeholders involved