Canada reforms plans to benefit international students

In case you are planning to study in Canada, it’s time you knew that IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) has announced a few changes in its Canada Study visa policy. These changes are made to help international students doing their studies in Canada.

Canada tags great worth to the international student community that arrives in the country to advance their studies. This is because they contribute to the social and economic sectors of the country significantly. Before the COVID-19 pandemic started, Canada had over 640,000 international students.

In an effort to give valuable assistance and help to these students, IRCC has introduced the following measures:

• IRCC will process study permits on priority for students who have submitted a completed application online. This will ensure that their student visa permits shall be processed at the earliest.
• IRCC is bringing up a temporary 2-stage approval process for international students who can't yet submit a completed application for a study permit and those who want to do their Canadian educational program online. This new approval process is available to students who are willing to begin their programs this fall. They will submit their application for a study permit by September 15, 2020.
• IRCC is also enabling foreign students to commence their Canadian study courses online while they are still abroad. Their time outside Canada will be counted towards their PGWP (Post-Graduation Work Permit) eligibility if they have submitted an application for a study permit and if at least 50% of the study program is completed in Canada.

IRCC is helping the international students with their new measures to help them begin their programs in time for the academic year starting in fall 2020. IRCC is making all efforts to solve the uncertainty created by COVID-19 that has impacted the students. Even IRCC’s ability to process student visas has been impacted.

With the new measures, IRCC can help international students to begin their courses online in fall 2020 at a Canadian DLI (Designated Learning Institution).

Giving multiple benefits to students holding study permit Canada has made the new changes prove to be greatly productive.

Firstly, considering the necessity of taking precautions against COVID-19 infection, the online learning facility will help them stay safe and at the same time achieve their study, career, and immigration goals.

In this scenario, IRCC will make its best efforts to process the study visas at the earliest. IRCC will even pre-approve application for a study permit even if the student failed to submit it on time. But this will be subject to certain conditions.

IRCC’s modified and improved policies aim to help international students to pursue goals like high-quality education, opportunity to work in Canada while studying and after that, and go on to be eligible to get Canada permanent residence. This could even lead to attaining citizenship in Canada.

Talking about the conditions for pre-approval, you must know that there are stages involved with respective conditions applicable.

In the first stage, IRCC provides an approval-in-principle for study permits. For that, the candidates must show that:

• They have got acceptance at a Canadian DLI
• They have sufficient funds to support their studies in Canada
• They meet all other requirements for a study permit

In the next stage, students can commence their classes online. They can do this from their own home country at their convenient location. The period they spend learning overseas will be considered and counted to make them eligible for PGWP. But for this, they will also need to have been issued a study permit.

After completing the application and submitting it, the student will be up for the final approval for the study permit. To complete the application process, a student must submit:

• Biometrics
• Necessary documents like medical exam and police certificate

Only after getting the study permit, students can finally travel to Canada.

The benefits of Canada’s helpful measures for international students include:

• Opportunity for students to pursue world-class education
• Less expensive study programs compared to the US and many other countries
• Facility to work while studying at a Canadian DLI that will help them find money to meet living expenses
• The chance to get a PGWP after studies, enabling the student to work in Canada
• Opportunity to obtain a PR by virtue of the work experience gained in Canada
• The chance to get Canadian citizenship in time

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