In India, the coronavirus is spreading at an alarming rate. All visa offices including that of Canada are presently closed and it doesn’t seem as though international flights will be resuming operations anytime soon, moreover, there is no saying when the new session would commence. These setbacks aren’t stopping students in Punjab from enrolling in Canadian educational institutions. Seeing the recent rush in the number of applications, the Canadian embassy has reportedly decided to start an online application process for aspiring and eligible candidates. However, there is no saying when the students will receive their visas.
Canada commences
A.I.P letter process
The Canadian visa centers are closed; however, the embassy has commenced their operations. By paying their fees, students have decided to enroll online. On behalf of the embassy, students are being issued stage 1 “Approval In Principal letters” (A.I.P Letters). Students can now enroll for online classes however, a vast majority of students would prefer studying in Canada- as per sources. As soon as the visa offices open’s their doors, the embassy will issue students visa’s along with their A.I.P Letters ensuring faster visa approvals. If the sessions do not commence this year, they most certainly will by 2021.
Class 12th
results have been declared but students are facing difficulties due to “IELTS”
Although CBSE and PSEB have declared their respective results for the students of class 12th, the students are worried because of their IETS examinations. The government hasn’t granted IELTS institutes/centers, permission to open their doors to aspiring students. Although some IELTS centers have started imparting online coaching, there is no news on the upcoming examination dates. IDP and British council are the organizations that are responsible for conducting the examination, however, due to the coronavirus, only 25 students are allowed to sit for their respective examinations.
Also Read: U.S.A Issues New Guidelines for International Students
Canadian Government
could reportedly “temporarily stop” issuing LMIA’s
Loss of jobs due to the nationwide lockdown has resulted in a lot of problems for Canada much like most nations. It is reported that the Canadian govt. could at any time, temporarily stop issuing LMIA’s and if this happens, it is estimated that this could impact more than 100,000 Indian Professionals who were dreaming of migrating to Canada. As per reports, it was estimated that in the year 2018, the Government of Canada had devised a plan of providing 225,000 Indian professionals with jobs in Canada. According to this plan, Canada had planned to issue LMIA’s to 73,000 in 2018, 75,000 in 2019, and 77,000 Indian professionals respectively.
Difficulties for
international students
International students studying in Canada have been facing great difficulties despite receiving monetary assistance from the govt. of Canada. Although Canada provided its residents and international students with 2,000 dollars, the students found it difficult to pay their tuition fees.
The parents of Indian students initially pay the tuition fees for the first year and the students manage to pay the remaining part of their “course fees” by working part-time and sometimes over-time. However, they were unable to do so due to the lockdown and loss of jobs due to the pandemic.
Immigration and
Canada’s economy
Immigration is an integral part of the Canadian economy. According to reports, immigration alone contributes more than 40 Billion Dollars to its GDP. Although Canada has a huge land-mass its “native population” is relatively lesser in comparison. It is estimated that a major percentage of its working population will retire by the year 2035. These are a few of the very important reasons why immigration is an integral part of it economy and it is evident that the recent global pandemic has hugely impacted the Canadian economy.