More and more students from French-speaking Africa are being refused visa applications for Canada. Several universities and politicians in Quebec have criticized this. The case of the University of Québec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR) is instructive: the rejection rate for visa applications from French-speaking African students is 79%, according to the government.

It’s discrimination that doesn’t speak its name to French-speaking African students who wish to continue their studies at Canadian universities. The majority of visa applications issued by French-speaking African students have been rejected by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the government agency responsible for immigration. This year, 454 students from French-speaking Africa applied to study in the region, only 71 were accepted, Canadian media reports.

Faced with this situation, several Bloc (political party) MPs and the heads of four Québec Cegeps (colleges of general and vocational education) have stepped up to alert the federal government. On August 27, they made a public outing to denounce the massive denial of visas to French-speaking foreign students from Africa.

Visa refusal rate for French speaking African students at UQTR is 79%

According to the Rector of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR), Christian Blanchette, French-speaking African students are more likely to have their visa applications rejected than students from other countries. In 2021, the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi recorded a 58% student visa rejection rate. For the Cegeps of Saint-Félicien and Jonquière, the rejection rate was 56% and 53% respectively. In comparison, the English-speaking McGill University had a 9% rejection rate during the same period, reports the site intellivoir.

In a statement to Canadian media, the UQTR rector says his university is particularly affected by this issue. The rejection rate of applications from international students who want to take the UQTR is 79%, according to government data, the rector denounces. He points out that students from French-speaking Africa make up 65% of the foreign students at his university.

Study Visa Rejection in Canada: What are the Reasons?

Among the reasons given, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada regularly reiterates the fear that African students do not want to return to their country after completing their studies. The government agency responsible for immigration also cites the financial inability of these African students to support themselves once they arrive in Canada.

Reasons Cegeps officials and many elected politicians in Quebec have said do not hold water. Accordingly, many African students receive scholarships or tuition waivers as well as financial support from their families. “The students will build a social circle, they will speak French, they will have a diploma. Some employers are waiting for young people to get their papers. You are on another planet in Ottawa,” explains Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe.