Quebec wants to review the financial requirements for foreign students

The Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Jean-François Roberge, announced Thursday that the Legault government intends to revise the financial guarantees linked to the admission of foreign students.

He expressed this intention while the revelations of Radio-Canada on African Cégépians banged by malicious recruitment agencies rebounded in the National Assembly.

During the study of budgetary credits of the Ministry of Immigration, Liberal Critic André Morin questioned Minister Roberge on the mechanisms put in place to ensure that students who come to Quebec have enough money.

We are talking about criminal networks that unfortunately exploited people to bring them to CEGEPS. What are you doing to prevent this situation? We learn that we let students believe that everything is free and when they get here, it does not work. What is the minister and his ministry to make sure that foreign students will have the right information? asked the liberal deputy to him.

We are aware that there are problemsadmitted Jean-François Roberge.

It may be necessary to review the amounts that are required for foreign students. This is something we analyze at the moment. I know that the federal government has asked this question too, to arrive with new amounts required […] Depending on the calculation of the cost of livingsaid the minister.

Earlier, MP Morin had quoted the president of the Cégeps Federation, Marie Montpetit, to recall that it is the responsibility of governments to ensure that students have the financial capacity to come and study in Quebec.

African students victims of stratagems

Since the end of the pandemic, the number of African students has exploded both in universities and in the college network. Several have been victims of deceptive promises of agencies with which they did business to choose their program, their school, or to support them in their requests for admission and study permit.

Universities were targeted by criminal networks that orchestrated the massive arrival of African students. A Radio-Canada survey has shown that pseudo-consultants in immigration and agencies have frauds young people, but that some also used their services to guarantee an entry to the country in order to request asylum.

The CEGEPS have received agencies on the smaller scale which are ace of disinformation and which in particular falsify bank proofs to guarantee the entry of African nationals in Quebec.

Faced with such actions, Minister Roberge recalled Thursday that it is necessary to regain control over the arrival of foreign students.

Last year, more than 5,965 people filed an asylum request when they had a study permit, so people arriving in Quebec with false pretexts to then apply for asylum. There are more and more. In 2023, it was 2840 students. So we will not hesitate to regain control of our immigrationhe said.

We continue to blame it. We will continue to welcome. Some foreign students will then become permanent residentsalso assured the Minister of Immigration.