Government eases visa rules for international students

Canada’s government has announced additional measures to support international students beginning a new programme online this fall with a Canadian learning institution, if their institution is offering the programme online, so that they can pursue their education while ensuring everyone’s safety.

These changes are designed to give students more certainty about their ability to enter Canada once travel and health restrictions are eased in Canada and their own home countries.

They mean that students will be eligible to work in Canada after graduation even if they need to begin their studies online from overseas this fall.

Marco EL Mendicino, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, said: “The pandemic has had a significant impact on international students and the Canadian institutions and communities that host them. This is why we have implemented a series of measures to support them.”

In 2019 Canada hosted over 650,000 international students at the post-secondary education level and more than 58,000 former international students have become Canadian permanent residents.

The government hopes the changes will protect Canada’s reputation as a premier destination for international students and demonstrate the importance of the international student programme and the contributions international students make to Canada.

The new measures include:

• Providing priority study-permit processing for students who have submitted a complete application online, to ensure that permits are processed as quickly as possible.

• Allowing students to count the time spent pursuing their studies online abroad towards their eligibility for a post-graduation work permit if they have submitted a study permit application and if at least 50% of their programme is completed in Canada.

• Providing reassurances to international students who cannot submit all of the documentation needed to complete processing of their applications, and who choose to pursue programmes through distance learning, by implementing a temporary two-stage approval process.

The temporary process will allow applicants to count the time spent studying online abroad towards their post-graduation work permit once they receive an approval-in-principle, as long as they are able to satisfy all requirements and receive the full approval of their study permit application at a later date.

As services begin to reopen, applicants will be required to submit the remaining documents and receive an approved study permit before being allowed to travel to Canada.

This process is available to students starting a programme in the fall semester who submit a study permit application before 15 September 2020.

This measure is designed to reassure students that they can enrol and begin their studies this fall online, even when they are not able to submit all required documentation due to pandemic-related closures.

‘Immense cultural contribution’

International students make “immense cultural and social contributions” to Canada, and generate more than CA$21 billion (US$15 billion) in economic activity, according to a government statement.

“We value the contribution of young people seeking a high-quality education in Canada, and we’re making every effort to minimise how current challenges affect their plans and dreams for the future,” Mendicino said.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Mendicino has made a number of temporary policy changes to support and reassure international students and learning institutions.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has presented a number of challenges worldwide, Canada’s whole-of-government approach is aimed at protecting the health of Canadians while minimising the economic and social impact of restrictions.

“With these changes, it is expected that international students will continue contributing to the health and vitality of Canada and the local communities where they study from coast to coast to coast,” the statement says.

No guarantee of permit approval

However, it warned that is important for prospective students to note that commencing their studies online from abroad following approval-in-principle of a study permit application is not a guarantee that they will receive a full approval of their study permit application, or be authorised to pursue their studies in Canada.

“It is still possible that an applicant could receive a negative final decision on their study permit based on factors such as inadmissibility for criminality or security reasons, and the inability to predict how the COVID-19 situation and any associated travel restrictions will evolve.”