NEW DELHI: A question mark hangs on whether Indian students will be able to join colleges in Canada in time when the academic session starts next month due to continuing visa delays. The Canadian High Commission (HC) in Delhi on Thursday advised Indian students who are yet to get their visas to discuss “options (with varsities) should they be unable to arrive in time for the start of classes”. The mission says it has received an “unprecedented number of (student visa) applications”.
A harried family member of one such student still awaiting the visa said: “My younger brother has his departure scheduled next week and is yet to get the visa. His university has given him a leeway of one month, else he will have to wait another year. This delay is most unfortunate.”
In a series of tweets on Thursday, the HC said: “Visa applicants: We know that a large number of you have experienced significant wait times with your applications. We understand many have not received visa decisions and have had to adjust travel plans, despite having applied several weeks or months in advance. We understand your frustration and disappointment and want to assure you that we are working to improve the situation. In fact, we have been processing applications throughout the year, including study permits for the September 2022 intake.”
“Many thousands of students in India are receiving their visas each week. We will continue to make every effort to reduce wait times against an unprecedented volume of applications received. The current processing time for study permit applications globally is twelve weeks. We While processing times in India have been higher in 2022, we are making every effort to reduce wait times in our services globally,” it said.
A Canadian HC spokesperson had told TOI on Tuesday: “Canada has seen a spike in the number of study permit applications this year. In the first five months of 2022, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) received about 1,23,500 study permit applications from Indian residents or 55% more than during the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.”
A harried family member of one such student still awaiting the visa said: “My younger brother has his departure scheduled next week and is yet to get the visa. His university has given him a leeway of one month, else he will have to wait another year. This delay is most unfortunate.”
In a series of tweets on Thursday, the HC said: “Visa applicants: We know that a large number of you have experienced significant wait times with your applications. We understand many have not received visa decisions and have had to adjust travel plans, despite having applied several weeks or months in advance. We understand your frustration and disappointment and want to assure you that we are working to improve the situation. In fact, we have been processing applications throughout the year, including study permits for the September 2022 intake.”
“Many thousands of students in India are receiving their visas each week. We will continue to make every effort to reduce wait times against an unprecedented volume of applications received. The current processing time for study permit applications globally is twelve weeks. We While processing times in India have been higher in 2022, we are making every effort to reduce wait times in our services globally,” it said.
A Canadian HC spokesperson had told TOI on Tuesday: “Canada has seen a spike in the number of study permit applications this year. In the first five months of 2022, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) received about 1,23,500 study permit applications from Indian residents or 55% more than during the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.”