Relaxed Canadian visa procedures to benefit Indian students

According to Canadian Immigration Authority, Students from India, China, Vietnam, and Philippines will get faster visas to study in Canada as it has introduced major changes in its visa procedures to reduce the processing time.

If we talk about official figures, over 1254,000 Indian students study in Canada and education is the key area of collaboration between the two countries.

The Canadian move comes at a point of time when the UK’s government has decided to exclude Indian students from easier visa norms.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said it is making great strides in promoting Canada a choice destination for international students seeking quality education by exploring efficient ways to process applications.

The IRCC announced the Student Direct Stream (SDS) which will benefit students from China, India, Vietnam, and the Philippine. The main aim behind this is to support the growth in study permit applications.

The IRCC in a statement said, ‘Students from those countries will demonstrate upfront that they have the financial resources and language skills to succeed academically in Canada will benefit from faster processing times.’

It also said that similar programmes have been in place in these 4 countries for a few years. We are aligning them together into one programme to ensure consistency.

To qualify for SDS, the applicants are required to meet additional requirements, in particular, language levels that are strict than regular study permit requirements.

Students who do not have all of the additional information required for the SDS can apply through the regular study permit application process, either online or at a Visa Application Centre.

The IRCC said, “The SDS complements the Express Entry system as these students will be well placed to continue on the path to permanent residence and Canadian citizenship after completing their studies in Canada if they wish to.”

According to the reports, the new program will cut down the processing time for study permits to within 45 days from within 60 days.