The Canadian government has stated that it is "currently prioritising those applications for clients whose studies are starting in September" despite the fact that tens of thousands of study permit applications are still pending, while also extending the option for remote learning by an additional year.
A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) spoke to one of the renowned news portals and said, “We are making every effort to reduce wait times for our services globally.”
IRCC is extending distance learning policies until August 31, 2023, as a stopgap. During the Covid-19 epidemic, they were first presented. International students will still be able to finish up to 100% of their programmes online if they enrol in an online course from another country or apply for a study permit by August 31st, 2022.
The spokesperson further said “As of August 15, more than 75,000 study permit applications submitted by people from India were in the processing inventory,”. These are the visas obtained by Indians seeking to study at a Canadian higher education institution. The processing inventory is the backlog of cases that remain pending.
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The significant inventory backlog is one of the causes, IRCC explained, was due to “a spike in the number of study permit applications this year. In the first five months of 2022, IRCC received about 123,500 study permit applications from Indian residents or 55% more than during the same period in 2019, before the pandemic”.
However, it warned, “Despite the prioritising of study permit applications for students looking to begin their studies in September, it is expected that some international students may not have their application processed on time to begin their studies in person for the fall 2022 intake period.”
And due to this and adding some more factors, IRCC is “extending the opportunity to study online.” By doing so, students who were unable to travel to Canada in September “will be able to begin their studies and come to Canada when they are able to, without any penalties to their eligibility for a post-graduation work permit”.
Anshuman Gaur, the acting high commissioner of India in Ottawa, stated that he "welcomed this temporary step" and will keep teaming with Canadian authorities to hasten the study permit approval process.
On August 19, the Indian government's high commission in Ottawa had issued a warning in this respect as concerned parents contacted them. It stated that the high commission as well as the Indian consulates in Toronto and Vancouver “continue to be engaged with relevant Canadian interlocutors including Canadian academic institutions and universities regarding problems faced by Indian students due to delay in issue of visas”.
Further, it has been added that, “highlighting these issues and the fact that Indian students have already deposited tuition fees with the Canadian institutions we requested the Canadian authorities to expedite processing of visa applications for students from India”.
The note also said that 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 visa”.
Additionally, it said that there are currently over 230,000 Indian students studying in post-secondary institutions across Canada, and “making a positive contribution to the Canadian economy including through an estimated CA$ 4 billion in tuition fees”.