The Indian students going to Canada may now face stricter norms as the Brampton City Council has unanimously passed a motion urging the Canadian Government to make accommodation address mandatory in study visas.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who is advocating for stricter policies on International student visas to address housing crises in Canada wrote on X, “Brampton City Council has unanimously passed a motion calling on the federal government to require international student visas to include a housing address consistent with local by laws as a component of the approvals process.

“We can’t have international students living in 3rd world conditions while being used as an ATM for the college they are going to. The current system allows international students to be routinely taken advantage of and is exacerbating the housing crisis. Requiring a housing address as part of the visa approval process would ensure every college has an appropriate housing plan and spur new student housing construction. Enough is enough. It’s time to clean up this broken federal program.’’

The measure comes in the wake of an exacerbating housing crisis, leading to unaffordable rentals that are forcing international students, majority of them Indians, to live in unsafe and illegal conditions in the country.