Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
National

Visa delays leave international students in limbo

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Aug, 2022 02:52 PM
  • Visa delays leave international students in limbo

OTTAWA - International students facing visa delays because of Canadian immigration backlogs are unsure if they'll make it in time for the fall semester as Ottawa works out whether it can prioritize applications for September.

Students, universities, immigration consultants and even the High Commission of India have raised concerns about delayed visas putting many students' studies at risk.

Federal data shows that as of the end of July, 34 per cent of pending international student visa applications were taking longer to process than government standards dictate.

"I have seen a huge delay right now," said Humera Khan, a Montreal-based international student recruiter who is CEO of Logic Academic Services.

Khan said she's never seen so many students waiting for visas only weeks before school is set to start.

If the government doesn't process their visas in time, those students will likely have to defer their studies for up to a year, she said. "It is a lot of uncertainty, there is a lot of emotion involved."

Some have already paid tuition, adding significant financial stress to the difficult task of moving to a new country and starting school, she said.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said the department started trying about a month ago to figure out whether it could prioritize students whose studies were due to start in September.

"Trying to figure out whether it's going to potentially jeopardize the efficiency of the overall effort is something that we're still figuring out," Fraser said in an interview Wednesday.

"We are trying to get as many people here for their start date as possible."

Fraser said the Immigration Department is processing more study permits than ever before, and the delays are being driven by the huge increase in demand.

So far this year Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has processed more than 360,000 study visas, a 17 per cent increase over the same period in 2021.

The High Commission of India in Ottawa said in a statement it was talking to Canadian universities about what can be done to accommodate the large number of Indian international students who are still waiting for visas.

The high commission said universities have also approached the immigration ministry with their concerns.

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 a visa.

The high commission has asked the government to fast-track visas for Indian students

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said there doesn't appear to by any rhyme or reason when it comes to why some applications have been processed on time and others haven't.

She has heard from students who are feeling incredibly stressed about whether they're going to be moving across the world to study in Canada in a few weeks.

"September is just around the corner as the school year is gonna start, and they don't know what's going on with their application," Kwan said in an interview.

The fact that so many students are likely to find out at the last moment shows the department doesn't recognize the real-life experiences people are going through, she said. "They have to find living quarters, for example, get housing in place, get familiar with how to get to and from school."

Everything from course selection to orientation is jeopardized, she added, and the delays cause uncertainty for institutions as well.

A recent report by the House of Commons immigration committee shows processing times for student visas have grown substantially since on the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Government standards dictate the application should take only about two months to process, but between December 2020 and November 2021 the average wait time was 82 days.

Fraser said he's not concerned about tarnishing Canada's reputation as a destination of choice for international students because Canada is having its best year ever in terms of accepting a record number of students.

"But the individual stories that you hear are the ones that stick with people. People remember how they're made to feel when they don't get their permission to come to Canada in time to start their program," he acknowledged.

The government is working with schools to develop contingencies for people who don't get the paperwork on time, including online classes, he said.

"We don't want to lose out on talent. We want to make it easier to come to Canada and we want to satisfy this demand that we're seeing, which this year is far beyond what we've seen before."

Fraser said he expects processing times for international student visas to return to government standards by the end of the year.

MORE National ARTICLES

UBC researchers find 'weak spot' in COVID-19 virus

UBC researchers find 'weak spot' in COVID-19 virus
Researchers say exploiting that weakness could pave the way for new treatments that would be effective against all strains of the illness that has killed almost 6.5-million people across the globe since it was identified more than two years ago.

UBC researchers find 'weak spot' in COVID-19 virus

Three suspects arrested due to bear spray incident in New Westminster

Three suspects arrested due to bear spray incident in New Westminster
Police officers attended Moody Park and found three individuals matching the suspect descriptions who were arrested. A replica handgun and two cans of bear repellent spray were recovered from the individuals.

Three suspects arrested due to bear spray incident in New Westminster

Surrey Police Officer arrested by the Surrey RCMP

Surrey Police Officer arrested by the Surrey RCMP
The officer was hired by SPS in May 2022, with just over one year of previous policing experience. On Thursday, August 17th,  SPS Chief Constable Norm Lipinski suspended this officer with pay, pending the outcome of the criminal investigation, which is being handled by the Surrey RCMP.

Surrey Police Officer arrested by the Surrey RCMP

Pedestrian hit by a vehicle lands in hospital

Pedestrian hit by a vehicle lands in hospital
A pedestrian who stepped off the curb, outside of a marked crosswalk, to cross the street was struck by a vehicle heading west bound on 72 Avenue. The pedestrian was transported to local area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Pedestrian hit by a vehicle lands in hospital

All evacuation orders rescinded near B.C. wildfire

All evacuation orders rescinded near B.C. wildfire
The blaze is one of five classified as "wildfires of note" by the BC Wildfire Service and has charred more than 69 square kilometres. Hugh Murdoch, incident commander for the wildfire service, says that though the fire will continue to burn, it poses no current threat to homes and he is "very comfortable" with the crews and resources that are in place.

All evacuation orders rescinded near B.C. wildfire

New passport service sites open amid backlog

New passport service sites open amid backlog
Urgent services for people who can prove they need a passport within 48 hours are only available in bigger urban centres — Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Gatineau, Que.

New passport service sites open amid backlog