An Indian man recently took to Reddit, sharing his personal experience about soon planning a move back to his home country after having lived in Canada for nine years. And yet, he had failed to secure permanent residency abroad.
Taking to the ‘returnToIndia’ thread, the person wrote, “I will be moving back from Canada to India in November. After spending 9 years in Canada I have failed to get PR because of new immigration rule.”
Indian Redditor coming back from Canada shares his side of the story
Detailing some personal insights, he divulged that he had some debt after pursuing higher education on international soil. Despite the negatives already marring his path, the Indian man shared his desire to land a job in the software scene, adding that he had two years of experience working in Canada as a junior data analyst.
In a comment found under the thread, the man shared a breakdown of his 9 year-life in Canada: “6 years uni, 1 year unemployed, 2 year employed,” with his course being Mechanical engineering with management (co-op).
However, the case got even more complicated. In a final note, the user disclosed their his girlfriend is not from Canada and has raised red flags about him moving back to Indian as well. In a subsequent comment, he confirmed that his partner was American. He then went on to ask for some advice from the Reddit community in hopes of avoiding a potential nightmare since his visa seems to be expiring soon.
Having “always” lived in Ahmedabad, added that he didn’t want to go back there and sought suggestions about “1st tier vs 3rd tier cities in India.”
Permanent residency debate
The post prompted a heated conversation. While one questioned how not getting permanent residency after all these years was even a possibility.
“There are plenty of people who lived in Canada for 9 or even 10+ years and who didn’t get PR, someone wrote in the comments section. “Look at the posts in the immigration Canada and Canadaexpressentry subs. People who came during high school and did their bachelor’s but they don’t have enough points for PR.”
Someone else seemed shaken to their core. Expressing their shock, they added, “Let me digest it first – 9 years in Canada + no PR + has debt. If you couldn’t survive here, forget India. You need to hustle 10x more and be super street-smart to do well in India. You are too naive for India. You are doomed!!”
Another user spoke on the other side of the discussion: “Why you don’t want to move to Ahmedabad? Few of my gujju colleagues working in Pune moved there & it will be less expensive for you. Otherwise may be think about moving to Pune.”
The original poster then sharply responded, “Who said I couldn’t survive in Canada… I have debt from my studies and I’ve been paying back on a month to month basis.”
Canada’s new visa rule hurting Indian students
A late May policy update shed light on potential heartbreak for Indian students and workers. The May 28 IRCC change got rid of the legal status protection for foreigners that stayed intact as temporary residents submitted a second application to extend their stay in the country.
Speaking to the Business Standard, Zubin Morris, Partner at Little & Co, shared that the update would severely impact international students, especially Indians. “ccording to IRCC’s clarification, if the initial application is refused, any second application—even if submitted in advance—will not be considered. Maintained status ends the moment the first refusal is issued,” he said.
As part of a sweeping immigration crackdown, Canada also previously announced a 5% cut in its temporary resident population. Consequently, the numbers have dropped from around 485,000 to 430,000 this year itself.
Overseas Indian population, study permits, permanent residency: Canada
Canada, among the US, UK and Australia, remains a popular migrant destination. International students especially. According to the Indian Government’s official population data released this March, 28,75,954 overseas Indians (NRIs + Indian-origin) were in Canada.
Shocking numbers submitted to ICEF Monitor by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) suggested that the total number of study permits granted to foreign nationals in 2024 stood at 267,890, marking a 48% dip from the 2023 figures. The numbers also remained approximately 100,000 study permits short compared to the official IRCC target.
In a recent update, the IRCC invited international individuals to apply for permanent residence on Friday, August 8. As per the announcement, the country has room for 2,500 foreigners to apply for permanent residence under French language proficiency category in Express Entry draw number 360.
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