COVID19 update: study permit
Covid-19 pandemic has changed the study permit process in Canada
International students have a huge contribution to the economy of Canada every year. Due to COVID-19 situation which affected the study permit applications and has caused a dramatic reduction in the number of international students in March 2020 most of the educational institutions had to switch their programs to the online basis which resulted in a lot of concerns for the international students; as a result, the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship Canada made some changes to study permit process for the upcoming fall semester on July 14th.
Since we are approaching the fall semester and due to travel restrictions to Canada, the minister announced a new strategy to facilitate online learning for international students. The recent changes provide this opportunity for the students to start their studies online before coming to Canada.
The significant part of the new strategy is that the students would still be eligible for Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) conditioned that they start their study in fall 2020, submit their study permit application before September 15th and complete %50 of their program in Canada.
In terms of previous application which were submitted completely, the CIC will put them in priority and speed up the processing time. How does it work?
There would be a 2-stage approval process in the way that the students will be able to submit their study permit applications and will receive an approval in- principle which enables them to enroll and begin their studies this fall online even though they are not able to submit their biometrics.
Once the VAC offices will be opened, the students must complete their biometrics and get the final approval before traveling to Canada.
Just be aware that the preapproval is not a guarantee that they will receive a final approval it is still possible to get refused based on inadmissibility for criminality or security reasons.
If you have any questions regarding this, feel free to contact us.