SURREY, B.C. — What was supposed to be the start of a new life in Canada has turned into uncertainty and heartbreak for hundreds of international students after Pacific Link College, a private career school in British Columbia, was ordered to shut down.
Moses Ugwueze, 22, came to Canada from Nigeria in October 2023 full of hope after being accepted into the college’s information communication technology program. His plan was clear: study for two years, secure a post-graduation work permit, and eventually apply for permanent residency to build his future in Canada. Two years later, that dream has collapsed.
Now one of many students affected by the closure, Ugwueze is scrambling to find an alternative and apply for a refund after B.C.’s Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit ordered Pacific Link to close in October. The regulator cited multiple violations, including programs not delivered as approved, inappropriate attendance policies, work placements that didn’t match learning objectives, and students being admitted without meeting requirements.
Devastated, Ugwueze says he plans to return to Nigeria next month to continue his studies. His parents paid nearly $14,900 in tuition fees. “All I want is my money back. I feel really bad,” he said.
In a statement, the provincial government said affected students can file complaints if they feel they were misled and apply for tuition refunds. They may also seek admission at other institutions. But advocates warn the reality is far more complicated.
“It’s a major stress point for them,” said Balraj Kahlon, co-founder of One Voice Canada, which supports international students. He says some students have already moved to other provinces to continue their studies, often paying far higher fees than they expected. Simply transferring from one private college to another, he added, is rarely a solution, and students are better off seeking spots at public institutions.
Kahlon said Pacific Link had long been on his radar. “Online it looks like a legitimate, quality college. But they come here and it’s two rooms in a business complex. It was always one of those colleges we knew was having problems,” he said. Many of the students, he explained, come from rural areas, place strong trust in Western education systems, and may not be familiar with how post-secondary institutions operate in Canada.
“They’re being used as a source of revenue and funnelled into programs that don’t provide real job prospects,” he said.
On its now-defunct website, Pacific Link described itself as an innovative institution promising to help international students land their “dream” jobs, with ambitions to expand to more than 100 countries. It spoke of fostering creativity, critical thinking and global citizenship. But students say the reality fell far short of those promises.
Ugwueze recalls several red flags. He believes he was misled by immigration agents in Nigeria who helped him apply for a visa and promised job placements through co-op programs. “They said they would help us with a job, but they didn’t,” he said. “I tried and I cried to them, but they didn’t care.” He later learned those agents had contracts with the college.
“When I came to the college, what they told me was not what I saw,” he said, adding that some instructors struggled with English and that he found little academic support.
Another student, Devender Singh Sandhu, 26, left India hoping for a stronger business education in Canada. Encouraged by a friend in B.C. and an agent representing Pacific Link, he enrolled at the Burnaby campus earlier this year after paying $8,500 in fees. Like Ugwueze, he soon felt something was wrong.
“They were playing with young people’s lives,” Sandhu said. He had been promised a co-op placement, but neither he nor his classmates ever received one. The few job leads shared with them were mostly labour positions, not business-related roles as advertised.
Kahlon says he’s heard similar complaints from other students, who were told they’d receive hands-on work experience only to discover that it meant being directed to online job postings.
Since the closure, Sandhu has managed to secure admission at University Canada West in Vancouver and plans to start classes next year. Still, he’s waiting to see if his refund from Pacific Link will be approved and doubts that any of his credits will transfer.
“I definitely wasted my money and my time,” he said.
As more students come forward, advocates say the Pacific Link case highlights deeper concerns about oversight in the private education sector and the vulnerability of international students who arrive in Canada chasing opportunity — only to find their futures suddenly thrown into doubt.