The number of undocumented Indians crossing over from Canada to the US on foot has reached an all-time high, data reviewed by The Indian Express show. This spike has placed Canada’s visa screening process under the lens — more so, due to parallel concerns over Canada-bound Indian passengers seeking asylum in the UK while in transit.
According to the latest US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, an all-time high of 5,152 undocumented Indians entered the US from Canada on foot this June alone. And, the monthly number of Indians entering the US from Canada has surpassed those crossing over from the notorious Mexico route since December 2023 (see chart).
Stretching over nearly 9,000 km, the US-Canada line is the longest open border in the world, more than twice as long as the Mexico span — and, incidentally, nearly thrice the length of India’s 3,400-km border with China.
Advertisem*nt
According to US CBP data, the average monthly number of Indians caught in “encounters” (detained, expelled or refused entry) at the US border with Canada during January-June this year increased by 47% to 3,733 from 2,548 in 2023 (see chart). This is also a 13-fold jump from 2021 (282).
These numbers assume significance given the stark contrast they present with the rising economic clout of the legally settled Indian population in the US. For instance, a recent study by Boston Consulting Group estimated that Indian Americans make up only 1.5% of the US population but pay about 5-6% of all income taxes there.
Indians intercepted at US land borders
Meanwhile, corresponding data from across the Atlantic shows that the number of Indians seeking asylum “at port” in the UK saw a 136% spike in 2022 (1,170) over 2021 (495) before going up further in 2023 (1,319). This year, 475 asylum seekers have already been recorded “at port” until June.
It is learnt that a “significant share” of these applicants are Canada-bound transit passengers with a stopover in the UK. Multiple sources told The Indian Express that both the US and the UK have communicated these concerns to Canada. While the US sought a more rigorous visa screening process, the UK has proposed that all Canada-bound Indian nationals should obtain transit visas for stopovers, the sources said.
Advertisem*nt
Explained | How Indians stand little chance of asylum in US and UK but still manage to stay on
Asked about these communications, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said: “IRCC is not in a position to comment on details of any engagement with the UK or the US at this time. Canada is working to better understand the factors and facilitation networks that are behind these activities so we can adjust accordingly. This process includes the analysis of data related to the flows in question drawn from existing information sharing arrangements… and the identification of opportunities to strengthen collaboration.”
The UK Home Office said it was committed to prevent abuse of the system. “Every asylum claim is carefully considered on its individual merits by assessing all the evidence provided by the claimant against a background of published country information and a wide range of recognised and publicly disclosable sources,” it said.
The US Embassy in Ottawa declined to comment on “internal diplomatic discussions”. A CBP spokesperson said, “The US continues to enforce immigration law, and our borders are not open for those without a legal basis to enter the country. The Department of Homeland Security is removing Indian nationals without a legal basis to remain, including via charter removal flights.”
Source: UK Home Office data
WHY CANADA, WHY NOW
“Canada offers the ideal combination of an accessible visa and a soft border. It’s a much safer option than taking one of those ‘dunki’ (illegal) routes via West Asia, Africa or the Caribbean, to join the crowd waiting to cross the heavily guarded Mexico border,” said an immigration consultant registered with the Canada Regulatory Council.
Advertisem*nt
Canada itself is witnessing a dramatic rise in asylum claims from Indian nationals, according to its Refugee Protection Division (RPD). Compared to 9,060 claims received in 2023, the January-March quarter alone attracted 6,056 claims from Indians this year.
The upward swing took off in 2017, around the time Canada relaxed its visa policy to woo foreign students. Between 2016 and 2022, official records show that the number of international students in Canada surged by 61% from 5,23,971 to 844,444, and their overall spending shot up from $15.5 billion to $37.3 billion.
Even though growing evidence of visa abuse forced a recent course correction — from raising cost-of-living requirements for students to curbing visa caps and work permit extensions — Indian immigrants venturing into the US on foot had already shifted overwhelmingly to the northern border, beating Mexico’s numbers by December 2023. During January-June 2024, the northern border emerged twice as busy (22,398 encounters) as the southwestern border (11,052 encounters).
At the same time, the US Presidential Proclamation in June to temporarily suspend the entry of certain non-US citizens and the complementary mechanism of linking asylum eligibility to the volume of encounters helped slash the number of encounters at the Mexico border by more than 50 per cent. Crucially, however, these restrictions do not apply to the northern border.
Advertisem*nt
“Entering from the southern border is much more dangerous and harder given that this border has much stronger border security. If one can get a Canadian visa easily then it makes more sense to come from the northern than the southern border,” said Professor Devesh Kapur, who teaches at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Last year, 28 members of the US Congress came together to launch the Northern Border Security Caucus, a coalition that has been pushing Homeland Security against the increased human and drug trafficking, apart from highlighting the decrease in Border Patrol agents and lack of security.
“In the past, migrants from the US moved northward but now there are few opportunities to stay and work in Canada. Since visiting visas, and student visas until recently, were relatively easy to obtain, people landed in Canada and moved down South to settle,” said political scientist Shinder Purewal, who served as a Citizenship Judge in British Columbia, Canada.
UK’s TRANSIT LOOPHOLE
If the Canada border is attracting undocumented Indians to the US, the UK lure is the exemption for Canada-bound Indians from obtaining transit visas for London stopovers. In fact, the jump in the number of Indians stands out among the top five asylum seekers by nationality in the UK. Between 2018 and 2023, the annual number of Indian asylum seekers at UK ports increased 11-fold — much ahead of Pakistan nationals, who recorded a five-fold rise, and Afghan nationals at 15%.
Advertisem*nt
“Indians holding a valid visa for the USA, Canada or Australia do not need to apply for a transit visa while changing flights at Heathrow (London). We (Indians) are exempt from the transit visa (requirement) in Zurich (Switzerland) and Amsterdam (Netherlands) as well, but not in Frankfurt (Germany),” said the immigration consultant.
In the UK, the number of Indian asylum seekers “at port” peaked at 930 in 2003 before sliding down to 102 in 2005. It did not breach the 100-mark until 2019. But the real spurt was recorded in the last quarter of 2021 after the Covid restrictions were eased when 318 Indians sought asylum in three months.
The trend has been upward since.
