New Delhi: Canada has become every Indian student’s favourite college destination. However, rejection rates for study permits have soared lately. In the first five months of 2019, 36% of all Indian applicants aspiring to study in Canada had to face rejection by immigration officials, hiked up from 29% during the previous year.
Global numbers show Canadian immigration rejected over half the international students admitted to undergraduate programmes in the country’s universities between January and May. Data released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada shows 39% of study permits worldwide were rejected in the first half of 2019. “Canadian authorities are tough on visa permits. Their documentation requirement is huge. The number of people applying has also gone up and visa officers don’t want to let anyone just go,” said foreign education counsellor Karan Gupta. “Also, you may meet all minimum requirements but not get a visa. For instance, people in their mid-20s applying for a bachelors will not get a visa. Or someone in his mid- 30s wanting to pursue a diploma will also get rejected.”
Canada also does not encourage track changes. “Also, if you are applying to a course not related to what you’ve done, your visa could be rejected. One needs to justify the career change,” said Gupta. Another foreign education expert echoed this. “If there is no clarity on how the course is relevant to the career path, visa is refused,” said Pratibha Jain, a counsellor. A Canadian study permit allows international students to stay in the country for the entire duration of their study programme. A permit is not required for under six-month courses. Canadian officials can turn down applications on several grounds - insufficient proof of financial support for the study programme, if a student is a health or security threat to Canada or if the details are incomplete or suspected to be fraudulent.
In 2018-19, Canada upstaged the US in terms of the count of fresh Indian students who travelled out for a degree. Canadian government data shows it issued 50,060 study permits by July 2019; similar data for the previous year showed around 44,000. While the US will continue to host the largest population of Indian students, those making a fresh choice, are opting for Canada, say experts.
