International student asylum claims surged in 2023, data shows

The number ofinternational students applying forasylum in Canada appeared to shoot up dramatically in 2023, government figures show — and is on track to be even higher this year.

It comes after Immigration Minister Marc Miller called the increase an “alarming trend.”

Data provided to Global News by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada shows a breakdown of asylum applications from people on study permits from 2018 to 2023.

In 2023, a total of 13,075 students with study permits made asylum claims. That number was more than double the 5,290 seen in 2022.

In 2018, that number sat at 2,230. That number rose to 4,040 in 2019, before falling to 3,065 in 2020 and then rising slightly to 3,425 in 2021.

Last week on The West Block, Miller told Mercedes Stephenson that those claimants are using the international student program as a “backdoor entry into Canada,” often to lower their tuition fees. Miller called on post-secondary institutions to improve their screening and monitoring practices.

“There’s a growing number, Mercedes, and it’s frankly quite alarming given the volumes of people that come to this country, in theory, with the proper financial capacity to live and to pay their tuition fees, which are four times what Canadians pay,” the minister said.

This year, the highest number of claims came in August with 1,785 claimants on student visas or study permit extensions applying for refugee status in Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday Canada had a moral obligation to offer asylum to those fleeing violence and persecution, but to ensure the system wasn’t being misused.

“Our capacity to do that means we need to properly be able to identify who needs (the) most help, who is there as a true asylum seeker… Other