How To Apply for a Canadian Student Visa
Over the years, Canada has seen an influx of a large number of international students. In 2019, the country’s international student population stood at nearly 640,000 people. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number dropped to 530,000 students in 2020. Currently, there are an estimated 621,656 international students in Canada.
Going by the number of international students in Canada, it is crystal clear that it is one of the popular study destinations. This is because Canada is reputed to offer quality education. Canadian Universities degrees are regarded as a mark of trust and excellence as a good number of universities in the country rank highly globally. The quality education notwithstanding, Canadian universities have affordable tuition and fees. In addition to these, other perks of studying in Canada are that international students can earn while learning, enjoy lively and vibrant campus life, and enjoy the vibrant diverse cultures all in a safe and serene environment.
If you have decided to study in Canada, it naturally follows that you will gather as much information as you can about your chosen study destination. It is to make that job a tad easier that we have written this article. The crux of this article is to tell you all you need to know about the Canadian student visa. Let us get right into it.
To study in Canada for less than a year, you are required to have a study permit. Getting your study permit before you travel to Canada will make it less stressful and hectic for you. There are majorly two ways to apply. Either online or by physical paper application. Most persons choose to apply online as it is easier and less time-consuming. To apply online, you will be needing a debit/credit card and scanned copies of your documents. The documents that you will need depend on your country as every country has different requirements. So, it is your country’s immigration that will give you the necessary documents. The discrepancies in the documents required notwithstanding, the general requirements are:
- Admission letter from a Designated Learning Institution (DLI)
- Results from a medical exam and Police check
- Two passport-sized photos
- Proof of financial buoyancy as the Canadian government will need to see that you can support yourself throughout your study
- Biometrics
After you have made the above documents available, you can then proceed and apply for your visa. The processes are:
- Get an admission letter from a DLI. Having a formal letter of acceptance from a prestigious institution in Canada is very important.
- Proceed to get a Canadian student visa application package. Although you can choose to go to a Canadian embassy in your country to apply, applying online is less stressful.
- Fill out your bio-data on the cic website. As this is what will determine your eligibility, it is important to fill in the correct information.
- If you are found eligible, you will receive a personal checklist valid for 60 days. Ensure to keep the code safe as it will be required to submit your application and also for reference. The page containing the code contains other important information like tuition fees, application guides, and other required documents.
- When you are ready to apply, an MYCIC account will be created. It is there that you will enter the code that was sent to you. You will also receive the checklist that will enable you to send and upload documents to cic.
- Before you submit your application to CIC, ensure all your documents are ready and that your tuition fee has been paid.
- On rare occasions, you may be invited for an interview at the visa office in your country.
It can take up to 90 days to process your visa application. So, it is best to kickstart your application once you receive a valid letter of acceptance from a Canadian institution. Keep in mind that your study permit can be declined. This can happen if you are not able to prove that you have sufficient funds to last you a year, if your letter of acceptance is not from a registered institution, if one or more of your documents are missing, or if the authorities suspect that you have no intentions of returning to your country after your studies. It is important to get your application right as it saves you time, stress, and money.