Canada Ends Fast-Track Study Visa Program: What It Means For Indian Students

Canada has declared that the fast-track visa program, the Student Direct Stream (SDS) for international students, will be abolished. This change in policy was announced on Friday and has already taken effect, and it is likely to impact many students from different nations including a significant number from India. The SDS program, which began in 2018, enabled students from designated nations to secure study permits within a shorter period of twenty business days. Well, for the students who do not avail of the SDS services, they may now have to wait for eight weeks or more, which is dependent on the number of students applying and processing cycles.

Canada Ends Fast-Track Study Visa Program

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The SDS program was meant to ensure that students from countries like India, China, and the Philippines, among others, received their visas in record time so that they could commence studies in Canada without any delay. This has been useful to many students especially the Indians, who are currently the majority of foreign students in Canada. Given these circumstances, reports suggest that about 427,000 Indian students are in Canada. Now that the success of the SDS program has worn off, the students will be required to make use of the standard application process.

This announcement supports Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s remarks in September revealing that Canada intends to lower that quota of international student permits to Canada by 35% in the current year, and a further 10% in the following year.

However, the Canadian immigration authorities mentioned that all the students who have submitted their applications under the SDS and the other program for Nigerian Students known as Nigerian Student Express (NSE) will have their applications processed if they are submitted before Friday. Those who have applied after the deadline now have to follow the standard application process.

Students are not only experiencing processing times but are also likely to face an increased level of competition since the coming years will see a decline in student permit approvals. Moreover, given the changing Canadian immigration priorities, the country will be allowing an estimation of 395,000 permanent residents by the year 2025, which is almost a reduction of 20% from the current projection of 485,000 this year. The turn-around of temporary residents, which incorporates students and foreign workers, is also projected to decline from this year’s 800,000 to an estimated 446,000 by the year 2025.

The administration of Canada has guaranteed the international students that they will be able to use the GICs (Guaranteed Investment Certificates) as a proof of funds for applicants applying under the normal permit application procedure. That said, parents of intending students will have to cope with the current paradigm shift, which may entail much longer periods of waiting with no assurance of a definite period to begin the studies that are desired in Canada.