#canadainternationalstudent

[waitingforcanada]

Do NOT start your Program Online w/o a Study Permit

My college got back to me with a detailed response to my query.

My query was * Can we take classes online from our home country? If yes, please provide a official reference of the same. * How does it impact the PGWP if we take online classes in the following cases.    * In case we already have a study permit/study visa    * In case we do not have a study permit/visa yet

They made everything very clear and have sorted out any ambiguity in this regard * Yes, we can take classes online from our home country from any college in Canada. They also provided a reference. * In case we have a study permit, we can take classes online up to 50% of the course duration and still be eligible for the same PGWP. * In case we do not have a study permit, we may receive a reduced PGWP proportional to the duration of the course we have studied in Canada. This is still not clear but we have to prepare for the worst. * IRCC will not give any special consideration to the people that already started classes online in anticipation of the visa. The visa officer will have the same consideration as usual. * My college recommended that if I want a PGWP, I should not start classes online from my home country without a study permit approved. They said “DO NOT RISK IT”.

Basically, Covid-19 has screwed all of us and we are facing the brunt from all authorities worldwide.

[waitingforcanada]

a sigh of relief

No, it is not what you’re thinking. I am yet to receive the visa, but I have something to sigh about and that is what I’m sharing.

Reports from various sources have claimed that in the past three days, there have been some visa approvals. This shows that the April 8th announcement by the govt of Canada is being followed. They are processing student visas.

In my case, I have the following options. In case I do not get my visa by May 3rd (the last date to withdraw from the course). I can * Withdraw from the course for a full refund of tuition * Show my student visa refusal and get my tuition deposit back minus a small admin fee By May 3rd, I’m pretty sure that everything will come back to normalcy and I can carry on with my activities.

My course is online and I do not have to go to Canada for the first semester. This is a boon as I will be saving a ton of money in living expenses which I would have otherwise spent. I also get to finish up some errands back home which will take a month or two longer than expected due to the lockdown.

This is definitely a breather that is helping me. I can now wait until May 3rd without any issue. I am positive that my visa will come through in that time.

[waitingforcanada]

The Visa Limbo

I applied for my Canada study visa on the 19th of March. I finished all the formalities before that such as biometrics and medicals and that was the end of it.

My college is hell bent on asking me to register for my classes by 15th April. The classes actually start on 4th May, and I do not have a visa in my hand as on 10th April. In addition to this, it is Easter weekend for Canadians and they have four days off from Friday through Monday.

Happy Easter everyone.

Now I and several thousand other students who are in dire need of a visa to begin their classes online from their home country are stuck in complete limbo. Neither the visa authorities (IRCC) nor the colleges or anyone else who could take action is worried about us, the poor May 2020 intake students.

Yes, this is the middle of a pandemic and everything has gone haywire but nobody seems to be concerned that this pandemic will subside and the show must go on. We cannot just delete five months from our lives and assume that nothing happened.

There is nobody to reach out to, nobody who is accountable for this. Time and monies of international students are going to go down the drain and nothing is being done by any of the people who have the power to do something.