Proposed Changes Would Strengthen Canada's International Student Program

New measures to prevent fraud in the International Student Program (ISP) were proposed today by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

"Attracting the best and brightest young minds from around the world is key to the continued success of Canada's economy and long-term prosperity," said Minister Kenney. "But there are too many stories of international students who pay a lot of money and leave their families back home to study in Canada, only to find out they have been misled. These changes will help us better protect international students and the reputation of Canada's post-secondary education system by making sure that international students are coming to quality institutions that comply with basic standards of accountability."

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is proposing regulatory changes to limit study permits to students attending institutions designated by provinces and territories. The proposed changes would address concerns that some institutions are providing poor-quality programs or facilitating, knowingly or not, the entry of foreign nationals to Canada for purposes other than study.

Under the proposed amendments, CIC would work with provinces and territories - which are constitutionally responsible for education - to develop a framework to designate educational institutions that will be permitted to host international students. If a school is not designated, it would be able to continue offering programs of six months or less to foreign nationals in Canada on regular visitor visas. Visitors who wish to enroll in short-term courses do not currently require a study permit, and this would continue to be the case.

Eligible international students attending designated institutions would also be able to work part-time off-campus, without having to apply for a separate work permit. This new flexibility would contribute to Canada's appeal in attracting the best and brightest students from around the globe.

Furthermore, to help eliminate abuse of student visas, changes are being made to ensure that the primary intent of an international student in Canada is to study. Currently, foreign nationals are able to apply to any Canadian school or business offering training in Canada and need only demonstrate an intent to study - there is currently no requirement for them to actually pursue studies once in Canada and no way of tracking whether they do. These changes would provide CIC the authority to request evidence from study permit holders to verify their compliance with study permit conditions. International students would be removed from Canada if they fail to meet new requirements.

The proposed changes respond to findings from a 2011 evaluation of the International Student Program, which concluded that gaps in the program leave it open to abuse and fraud. Similar reforms have already been implemented by Canada's key competitor countries for international students. These changes will strengthen Canada's position as a leader in international education.

"By improving the International Student Program, we are strengthening Canada's reputation as a destination of choice for international students," said Minister Kenney. "In addition to the economic impact, international student graduates are a great source of potential permanent immigrants. For those who choose to stay in Canada, their Canadian education and their language skills are important factors for success."

"International students are vital to the global experience offered on university campuses across Canada," said Paul Davidson, president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). "They enrich our institutions with their cultures, languages and unique perspectives and have a positive economic impact on communities coast to coast. We support efforts to strengthen Canada's reputation as a destination of choice for students around the world."

"The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and CIC collaborate to maintain the integrity of Canada as a destination of choice for international students," said James Knight, President and CEO of the ACCC. "Canada's 140 public colleges and institutes are renowned for the quality of their programs and services for international students. We welcome measures to preserve the excellence of the Canadian brand."

As part of the consultative process, the proposed changes were posted today in the Canada Gazette for a 45-day public comment period.

Alexis Pavlich
Minister's Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064

Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca

International students first victims of embassy closure

The first people affected by the Canadian government's decision to close the Iranian embassy in Ottawa were Iranian international students who had come to the capital to renew their visas.

Milling around outside the gated building, a handful of students said there had been no guidance from inside, except for a hastily written sign that said in Farsi, "According to the government of Canada, the Embassy is closed and there is no consular services for Iranians until further notice."

A woman who was inside the embassy Friday morning and preferred not to give her name said: "It's very chaotic inside ... they don't know what to do because ... they have to wrap up everything so it's kind of disappointing for them. They're kind of victims of all the politics and things and they were doing their job and now they have to leave."

"It's just going to make everything harder - just translating my documents, renewing my passport and this stuff," said a 27-year-old mechanical engineering student from the University of Ottawa who moved from Tehran eight years ago and preferred not to give his name. "I'm just a student. I don't want to get involved in all these politics between two countries. It's affecting regular people who don't have anything to do with it."

In Vancouver, PhD computing science student Ouldooz Baghban Kar-imi received her passport Friday morning after applying for renewal last week.

"I don't know what would happen if I'd applied just one or two days later," the Simon Fraser University student said.
"But this is one of the complications that it would introduce to lots of lives of students."

Karimi's husband, an engineering graduate student, had to go through the embassy to renew his exemption from military service last month. Both needed embassy confirmation of student status earlier this year.

"I think it will make life for students and permanent residents who still have to do any paper work for Iran a lot harder. And also it scares me very much," she said. "All of the ties with the outside world are being cut for the Iranian people. I am really scared for my family."

Amir, a UBC engineering student and dual citizen of Iran and Canada, said he uses the embassy three times a year.
"Passport renewals, document notarizing. ... The majority of my issues have to do with getting exemption from military service. I can't go back to Iran if I don't have that."

The university Persian Club member, who preferred not to give his last name, worried the suspended relations would affect his parents in Iran even more.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 3,247 international students from Iran were studying at Canadian universities in 2010 (the most recent statistics available).

In the United States, Iranian embassy business is conducted through the embassy of Pakistan. There is no word yet where Iranian-Canadians can expect to get consular services in Canada.

Source: The Vancouver Sun

Canada High Commission, New Delhi introduces Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC)

Canada Student Partners Program (SPP) has been quite successful in India compared to China. To maintain the success of SPP in India, the Canadian High Commission, New Delhi has introduced a major change in visa filing to ensure that it attracts serious and sincere students only. From now onwards, student has to compulsorily pay one year tuition fee instead of one semester only. This means that the investment for filing of student visa has doubled in terms of tuition fee. Alongwith this the students needs to show the evidence of purchase of a special Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) from a participating Canadian financial institution, in the amount of $10,000 CAD to cover living expenses for the first year in Canada. As an alternate option, the student can fulfill the financial requirement by submitting a copy of the receipt for the first year’s tuition fee AND a copy of an Educational Loan from an Indian Chartered Bank equivalent to $10 000 CAD.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada guidelines, the student will require approximately $10,000 CAD per year, not including tuition fees, to cover your living expenses. This requirement is fulfilled through the purchase of a participating GIC, and evidence that the student has paid tuition fee.

At present, Scotia bank is the only participating Canadian financial institution. For more information, contact Scotia bank or their affiliate, Kotak Mahindra Bank, at:

Scotia bank, Mumbai Branch
Ground Floor, Mittal Tower, ‘B’ Wing, Nariman Point,
Mumbai 400 021
Tel: 91-22-66364200

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Chandigarh Branch, Sector 9
S.C.O. 153-154-155, Sector 9 – C, Madhya Marg,
Chandigarh – 160 017
Tel: (0172) 5008600

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Chandigarh Branch, Sector 35
Ground Floor, Sco-335-336, Sector-35 B
Chandigarh 160 035
Tel: (0172) 4051300/19

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Prahlad Nagar
Bungalow 1, Paras-II, Nr. Auda Garden, Prahladnagar,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380 015
Tel : (079) 40056086

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bangalore – Kormangala
The Pinnacle, Ground Floor, No. 8, 5th Block, Koramangala
Bengaluru, Karnataka – 560 095
Tel: (080) 66330200

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Rajouri Garden
J-13/65, Rajouri Garden,
New Delhi – 110 027
Tel : (011) 45656278

You may ask more questions on this blog or visit our website for updated information.