At an overseas education consultancy in the Indian capital, Delhi, students sit with their parents, flipping through brochures from universities in Italy, Germany and Australia.
But one destination, once the top choice, is now largely absent.
Until 2023, most of our applications were for Canada, says Shobhit Anand, who runs the consultancy, which helps students navigate the admission process, including visa applications. Now, he says they have seen a drop of nearly 80%.
People don't want to apply to Canada anymore. We are also seeing a very high visa rejection rate. According to a report submitted by Canada's auditor general to parliament last month, the share of Indians in the country's incoming international student population was just 8.1% in September 2025 - a sharp drop from 51.6% in 2023.
There are a number of reasons: visa and immigration restrictions, high living costs and, in 2023, a diplomatic crisis that damaged ties between the two countries.
For years, Canada held a strong appeal for middle-class Indian families. Its private colleges offered a seemingly reliable pathway - even for average students - to study abroad and eventually settle there. The route was mostly straightforward: enrol in a two-or three-year vocational course, find a job after graduation and, within a few years, apply for permanent residency. The process typically took around five years, experts say.
It worked - until it didn't. The shift has been driven by a mix of policy changes and economic pressures. In early 2024, Canada announced a two-year restriction on how many international students could be admitted to its undergraduate and diploma programmes - capping it at around 350,000 study permits per year.
This was a big blow for many Indian students. At the same time, living costs surged and jobs became harder to find. Rents climbed sharply across major cities, while financial requirements tightened. The Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) - proof of funds required to study and live in Canada - was doubled from C$10,000 to more than C$20,000 in 2024.
For many families, securing that amount is difficult - and with the risk of visa rejection, they hesitate, says Sushil Sukhwani of consultancy Edwise Overseas Education. As consultants note, getting a study visa has also become harder.
So the question has shifted from how to go to Canada to whether to go at all. There's real fear. Even if you get there, can you make it work? Anand says.
The Canadian auditor general's report also mentions concerns around a now-scrapped fast-track visa system known as the Student Direct Stream (SDS), popular among Indian applicants. Approval rates under SDS for Indians rose from 61% in 2022 to 98% in 2024, even as officials flagged risks such as fraudulent applications. By the end of 2024, the scheme was scrapped.
Jobs are another big concern. Many private colleges expanded rapidly during the international student boom after the pandemic. But many offered limited academic value, and job opportunities failed to keep pace with the number of graduates, leaving many unable to recover the high cost of studying abroad.
As diplomatic relations improve, Canadian institutions are attempting to restore their appeal with new education partnerships and scholarship initiatives. However, potential students remain hesitant, as the circumstances that contributed to the decline have not completely vanished.
For students like Tanishq Khurana, the decision is no longer as straightforward. Despite a continued interest in Canada for its familiarity and job prospects, the reality of rising costs and visa difficulties weighs heavily on his mind.
