TORONTO: As tens of thousands of applications for study permits remain pending, the Canadian government has said it is “currently prioritising those applications for clients whose studies are starting in September”, while extending the remote learning option by another year.
Responding to queries from the Hindustan Times, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said, “We are making every effort to reduce wait times for our services globally.”
As a stopgap, IRCC is extending distance learning measures till August 31, 2023. These were introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. International students studying online from abroad or who submit a study permit application no later than August 31, 2022, will continue to be able to complete up to 100% of their programmes online.
“As of August 15, more than 75,000 study permit applications submitted by people from India were in the processing inventory,” the spokesperson said. These are the visas obtained by Indians seeking to study at a Canadian higher education institution. The processing inventory is the backlog in cases that remain pending.
Part of the reason for the large inventory backlog, IRCC explained, was due to “a spike in the number of study permit applications this year. In the first five months of 2022, IRCC received about 123,500 study permit applications from Indian residents or 55% more than during the same period in 2019, before the pandemic”.
However, it warned, “Despite the prioritising of study permit applications for students looking to begin their studies in September, it is expected that some international students may not have their application processed on time to begin their studies in person for the fall 2022 intake period.”
Because of this and other factors, IRCC is “extending the opportunity to study online.” By doing so, students who were unable to travel to Canada in September “will be able to begin their studies and come to Canada when they are able to, without any penalties to their eligibility for a post-graduation work permit”.
India’s acting high commissioner in Ottawa Anshuman Gaur said he “welcomed this interim measure” and will continue to work with Canadian authorities to get the study permits expedited.
As worried parents reached out to the Indian government, its high commission in Ottawa had issued an advisory in this regard on August 19. In it, it stated the high commission as well India’s consulates in Toronto and Vancouver “continue to be engaged with relevant Canadian interlocutors including Canadian academic institutions and universities regarding problems faced by Indian students due to delay in issue of visas”.
It added in this context, “highlighting these issues and the fact that Indian students have already deposited tuition fees with the Canadian institutions we requested the Canadian authorities to expedite processing of visa applications for students from India”.
The note also said that some institutions “will provide a remote option for students unable to reach Canada at the start of the term because they have not yet received visa”.
It also pointed out that currently, over 230,000 students from India are enrolled in post-secondary institutions in Canada, and “making a positive contribution to the Canadian economy including through an estimated CA$ 4 billion in tuition fees”.
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb. …view detail
