Canada Promises Faster Visa Process For Indian Students
There is good news for Indian students desiring to study in Canada, as Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canadian government’s immigration division is reducing the time of visa processing, making it simpler and faster. There has been an upsurge in the number of Indian students to study abroad and more than 100,000 students submitted study applications in 2017-18 to Canada for higher education.
The procedure which used to take about 60 days or more, now has been shortened to 45 days, as mentioned in a statement by the IRCC. Due to protectionism in the USA and after the UK government decided to exclude Indian students from easier visa norms, this news brings cheer to the Indian students dreaming of studying abroad.
In a move to promote study permit, the IRCC recently announced the ‘Students Direct Stream’ program (SDS)’ under which students from countries like, India, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines will get the benefit of faster visa processing. Though the students have to demonstrate upfront that they have the requisite financial resources and language skill for their academic studies in Canada. The student must also pay the first-semester tuition fee, in addition to buying a guaranteed investment certificate of C$ 10,000. A minimum score of 6 for English in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is also required. The applicant also has to submit a copy of a medical exam confirmation document.
As of June 8th, the erstwhile Student Partnership Program (SPP) in India was replaced with the SDS program. The former program had less visa documentation and quicker processing but was more narrow in scope and available only to students applying to 40 odd participating Canadian colleges. While the SDS program is available to students opting for post-secondary courses (i.e., college education) at all designated learning institutes.
Through the SDS program’s express entry, those students willing to stay, will be well led to the path of permanent residence and Canadian citizenship after their academic studies.
In June 2010, an MOU was signed between India and Canada for the exchange of better educational facilities, faculties, curriculum development, and to facilitate mutual recognition of educational qualification.
