Allaying fears of missing January intake in Canadian colleges the Canadian embassy has issued student visas in record quick time, as early as a fortnight of applying for the same.
With diplomatic ties between India and Canada souring in October this year, students bound for admissions in Canada were not expecting the visa process could be expedited. Most had resigned to the fact that they were going to miss the 2024 January intake season.
Immigration and study counselling consultants had opined that the batch could face issues if the standoff continued, and if Canada discontinued outsourcing immigration process in India.
Shruti Patel, who is going to Toronto for post-graduation in strategy management, said that she received her visa within nine days of application. “My fears were proven wrong. I got the visa just three days after submitting biometric data,” said Patel, now leaving for Toronto on December 27.
Varun Govil, who had applied for visa on November 1, received it on November 19. “I am going to Alberta to pursue graduate studies,” Govil said.
Akash Patel, who will be flying to Canada for an advanced diploma course, said his visa was processed within a week. “I had applied on November 1. The approval letter came on November 8 and the visa on November 15,” he said, looking forward to “better chances of permanent residency there compared to other countries”.
Shivangi Trivedi, who applied on November 6, had the visa in her hand on November 12. “I never expected things to happen so quickly,” she said while preparing to enroll for the BSc programme in fisheries, wildlife, and conservation sciences in Canada.
Shloka Joshi, who got admission for a master’s in cyber security course in Toronto said, “Many of my friends who had got admissions in Canadian universities did not pay the fees fearing their visa applications may be rejected. However, my family and I took the risk,” said Shloka who was rewarded for the same as he got his visa just four days after making the application. Her passport received the visa stamp ten days later.
It normally takes over a month to get a via issued from the Canadian embassy, but this time students have got their visas in less than 15 days of application. This has helped them book flight tickets at better rates.
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