International students waiting months for Canadian visa approvals amid immigration backlog & More News Here

Some worldwide students trying to attend post-secondary faculties in Canada, and who had already began on-line studying with them, say they have been waiting months for Ottawa to approve their research permits, placing their training and lives on maintain.

“I have no words to express my feeling. I can’t even tell,” mentioned Ravneet Kaur, who lives in Punjab in India. “You see we are suffering financially and there is emotional damage also because we have invested our emotions as well as our money.”

Kaur was accepted to St. Clair College’s occasions administration program and utilized for a research allow in July 2021. She paid for and was capable of take one semester of on-line programs final fall on the Windsor, Ont., college, which had tailored to on-line studying amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the meantime, Kaur had hoped her research allow could be authorised by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) so she may attend the winter semester in individual. Online lessons are not out there now that faculties have returned to in-person studying after many pandemic restrictions have been lifted. 

Now, her research are on maintain and he or she mentioned she faces shedding the effort and time she’s already put into her course if she is not permitted to attend college in Canada.

“We are in a dilemma. What we can do in this situation, we can’t register ourselves for other courses here also, and we cannot focus our personal life and as well as the career life,” mentioned Kaur. 

“We are not in the situation that we can do something for ourselves. We are just being stuck.”

CBC News spoke to a number of different students from India who’ve been waiting since final summer time and the autumn to obtain their Canadian research permits. 

WATCH | International students share why they wish to research in Canada:

“I never thought I’d waste so much time just to reach Canada. It’s been so long, it’s been six months, and I feel sometimes like it’s a complete waste,” mentioned Sidh Sharma, 20. 

Sharma, who lives in New Dehli, utilized to St. Clair’s enterprise advertising and marketing program in November 2021 and continues to be awaiting a research allow.

“It is a depressing situation as well. My family is also advising me that if they are not, you know, they are not working upon your application, you should change the country,” he mentioned. “I was like, no, I like Canadian people, I love the culture, a lot of religions and it is just an inspiration by being diverse. So I like the country. I don’t want to  just drop my application.”

Like Kaur, Sharma was capable of full one semester of on-line studying, however mentioned his second semester is in jeopardy as a result of it isn’t provided in September, when he hopes his allow will likely be authorised. 

“The college, the staff, the teachers, they are very sweet, very helpful,” mentioned Sharma. “It’s just that the applications are not getting processed. My file is in review I don’t know what kind of review is going on with IRCC.”

St. Clair College is amongst many faculties affected by the immigration backlog. The faculty does supply refunds to students who don’t get a research visa authorised. 

In an emailed assertion, a college spokesperson mentioned that in January 2022, about 800 St. Clair worldwide students started learning on-line with no research allow. Now, about 90 of these 800 students are nonetheless waiting.

Immigration backlog surges to 2 million

Students aren’t the one ones awaiting acceptance into Canada, because the immigration backlog has surged to roughly two million purposes. 

The IRCC declined an interview with CBC News, however in an emailed assertion mentioned the pandemic, journey and border restrictions, and restricted operational capability abroad have all contributed to processing delays outdoors the company’s management. 

“We do understand the frustration for anyone hoping to begin their studies in Canada when their application takes longer than expected,” a spokesperson mentioned in an e mail.

IRCC mentioned the federal authorities has made some progress, rising research permits by 32 per cent in 2021 by issuing about 446,300. In 2020, IRCC issued about 25,000 permits and about 401,000 in 2019. 

From January to March this 12 months, the company processed about 136,000 purposes with greater than half from Indian nationals. 

“Current study permit processing times are 11 weeks, which means that we are getting back on track for processing and ensuring students are able to get their study permits in time to begin their studies,” mentioned the spokesperson.

WATCH | This immigration lawyer explains the backlog of immigration purposes: 

Immigration lawyer Eddie Kadri doesn’t characterize Kaur or Sharma, however mentioned he has many consumers in comparable conditions. Kadri mentioned the federal utility system is damaged and can solely worsen within the coming years.

“This is a problem, we’re right in the middle of it, it’s not getting better tomorrow or the day after,” mentioned Kadri. 

“Understanding the system is dysfunctional, the system is teetering on being broken and it needs new ideas, new life injected into it, but most importantly, needs technology to help us out of this backlog that we now find ourselves in.”

Kadri mentioned IRCC is extremely overworked and understaffed, and attempting to prioritize refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan, leaving many worldwide students on the again burner. 

“It’s a tragic situation all around, all across the board. Students, I really feel sorry for because they’re a huge part of what we want to do here with our immigration programs,” he mentioned.

“We attract the best, the brightest to come and study here, and then we hope that they use that opportunity and cultivate it into a permanent residence application.”

Many worldwide students change into entrepreneurs who start companies in Canada after their research are accomplished, which suggests jobs for Canadians, mentioned Kadri. 

“Entrepreneurs from all around the world that want to come here, that have money, lots of funds that can start businesses right away and employ Canadians — they’re ready, willing and able to do it, and their processing time almost doubled just in the last month,” he mentioned.

“They all are in the same boat now and so this is where Canada’s missing the bigger picture here.”

Students have few choices

Unfortunately for students, there are few choices transferring ahead, in accordance with Kadri, who recommends they keep in shut contact with their college or an immigration lawyer if they’ve one. 

“This is a situation they’re going to have to be patient, and they’re going to have to wait this process out and see what what developments happen in the next weeks and months ahead,” mentioned Kadri. 

Both Kaur and Sharma hope they’ll proceed their research in Canada to higher themselves. Both say they’re a part of social media teams and chats with dozens of others in the identical conditions as them. 

“We can see that there are many students who are waiting for their visa applications, like the files are just in bulk,” mentioned Sharma. “They are just piling up and piling up and students are not getting the chance to even visit their college.”

Sharma mentioned he and others are deferring their research, leaving them in limbo as to after they’ll end their programs. 

“I want to only say that I am in like bad emotional trauma,” mentioned Kaur, who worries she should drop out of her course.

She added that “we are the students that want to learn something. That’s why we want them to come there [to Canada. There is no other reason behind that. I have achieved so many things here also, but I want to grow myself.”

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