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Canada mulls mass visa cancellations, lawyer warns of major fallout
Immigration lawyer Ravi Jain says proposed powers in Canada’s Bill C-12 could allow mass visa cancellations affecting applicants from India and Bangladesh.
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Pranavi Sharma - Thu, 06, Nov 2025
- 01:46 EST
- 24
Lawyer Ravi Jain. / Jain Immigration Law
Canada’s federal government is considering legislation that could allow for mass cancellations of temporary visas across entire countries, a move immigration lawyer Ravi Jain says would mark a sharp shift in immigration policy with major implications for Indian and Bangladeshi applicants.
Jain, founder of Jain Immigration Law, said in a blog on his website that the proposed powers contained in Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act—would permit Ottawa to cancel or suspend large groups of temporary resident visas if deemed in the national interest. “This would fundamentally change how visa policy is enforced,” he said, noting that the measure goes beyond emergency use cases such as pandemics or conflicts.
According to internal documents cited by CBC News, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) have drafted scenarios describing how the new authority could apply to “country-specific visa holders.” India and Bangladesh are among the countries identified as potential risk zones.
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The documents show that asylum claims by Indian nationals rose from fewer than 500 per month in mid-2023 to about 2,000 per month by July 2024. Processing times for temporary resident visas from India also increased from roughly 30 days to 54 days in the same period.
Jain said such data appear to be driving the government’s focus. “The rise in asylum claims and processing delays has been framed as a system integrity issue,” he said. “But granting the government blanket authority to cancel whole cohorts of visas risks sweeping in legitimate applicants.”
Under Bill C-12, introduced in Parliament on Oct. 8, 2025, the Governor in Council would have the power to “cancel, suspend or vary” documents issued under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act when considered to be in the public interest. The act would also authorize regulations outlining when such cancellations can occur and when applications may be terminated mid-process.
For Indian nationals, the stakes are already high. Canada’s study permit rejection rate for Indian students climbed from about 32 percent in August 2023 to 74 percent by August 2025. Jain said that the introduction of mass cancellation powers “adds another layer of uncertainty for applicants already facing record rejections.”
He advised that applicants strengthen their documentation, file early, and monitor policy updates as Bill C-12 progresses through Parliament. “If this legislation passes,” Jain said, “we could see an unprecedented ability to revoke visas not based on individual conduct but on group classification. That’s a seismic policy change.”
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