Ottawa is pursuing authority to cancel large numbers of visas to combat fraud originating from India 

November 3,2025

RED FM News Desk

The federal government is seeking the authority to cancel visa applications in bulk, partly due to concerns about fraud from India and Bangladesh, according to internal documents obtained by CBC News. 

A presentation to the immigration minister’s office noted that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and unnamed U.S. partners are working to identify and cancel fraudulent visitor visa applications. India and Bangladesh were described as “country-specific challenges.” Publicly, however, Immigration Minister Lena Diab has only cited events like pandemics or war as reasons for seeking mass cancellation powers. 

The authority was initially part of Bill C-2, the government’s broader border legislation, and has since been moved to Bill C-12, which the government is hoping to pass quickly. Over 300 civil society groups have raised concerns that the powers could enable a “mass deportation machine.” Immigration lawyers also speculate the government may want the powers to address growing application backlogs, particularly as asylum claims from Indian nationals rose from under 500 per month in May 2023 to about 2,000 by July 2024. 

The internal documents highlight that verifying temporary resident visa applications from India slows processing, with average processing times rising from 30 days in July 2023 to 54 days a year later. Approvals dropped from 63,000 in January 2024 to 48,000 in June, and there was a rise in “no board” cases, where passengers were barred from flying, totaling 1,873 by July 2024. No comparable data for Bangladesh was provided. 

The Immigration Department stated it has taken steps to reduce non-genuine visitors and illegal crossings, including heightened scrutiny of TRV applications from high-abuse countries, which it says led to a 97% drop in illegal U.S. crossings from the June 2024 peak. They also noted a 71% drop in asylum claims from TRV holders and a 25% rise in visa refusals for fraud from January to May compared with the previous year. 

The department did not explain why India and Bangladesh were specifically highlighted in the internal documents or why the mass cancellation scenario for specific countries was not made public.