These are the students who go to Canada’s top institutions like McGill University, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia; They have paid full year fee of Rs 40-50 lakhs, partial fee for accommodation and even fulfilled other requirements to apply under it. student direct stream (SDS).
SDS is a fast-track route that promises visas in less than 2 weeks. But it comes at a cost: in addition to paying full-year tuition, students will have to deposit an additional amount of CAD $10,000, take IELTS and undergo a medical exam. “For the past few years this has been the most preferred route recommended by universities and the Canadian International Visa Section (IRCC). This year has been a disaster. The Canadian government and universities are not responding as to why the visas were not processed. There is a lot of pain among the parents and the students are worried,” said the International Education Consultant Pratibha Jain,
Students have booked flight tickets, registered themselves for their first and second semester courses and requested universities to offer online courses. But most universities have turned down their request or haven’t responded at all. “Canadian universities should allow students to join online this Fall 2022, so that they can progress to on-campus classes whenever they arrive on campus. This will not affect their studies. All Canadian universities have completed 2020 and 2021. Therefore, the prerequisites and technical infrastructure are in place. The choice of subjects in January Semester 2 is dependent on meeting the prerequisites in Fall Semester 1,” added Jain,
TOI’s parents said they have formed university-wise groups and have also written to their respective institutions Canadian Bureau for International Education Request to expedite visa and offer online classes. “While universities are asking us to defer admissions, I think this is not a solution as many courses are not offered in January and there will be massive delays in their graduation,” said a Mumbai-based parent.
International counselors across India who work closely with each other are waiting for visas to around 35,000-50,000 students from across the country. “This massive delay is unprecedented. It is a proper request to bring some transparency, allay our fears, communicate the next steps and offer online classes till the students reach the campus,” said a brother of an aspirant planning to pursue his undergraduate education. Told. “The crisis the students are going through is also sending a message to the future batches who have Canada on their radar for higher education. ,