Canada stops allowing Vietnamese people to study abroad without proof of financial resources.

The Canadian government has decided to stop the financial proof-free study abroad program that has been implemented for the past 6 years, following a series of consecutive tightening regulations being issued.

Canadian school representatives consulted Vietnamese parents and students about studying abroad at an exhibition held in October.

PHOTO: NGOC LONG

Will approval be slower and more difficult?

The Student Direct Stream (SDS) is a priority visa program applied by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in 14 countries around the world, including Vietnam. Applicants only need to meet English requirements and meet other criteria as prescribed to be able to apply for an SDS study permit, with an average processing time of 20 days, IRCC informed. However, IRCC announced on November 8 that it would stop accepting applications for studying under the SDS program. The decision took effect from 2 p.m. the same day (0 a.m. on November 9 in Vietnam). This means that Vietnamese people now have to prove their financial capacity with at least one of the documents mentioned in current regulations, instead of just submitting a guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) worth CAD 20,635 (VND 374 million) issued by Canadian banks. However, international students can still use GIC to prove their financial capacity, IRCC noted. IRCC explained that the suspension of SDS is to strengthen the integrity of the system, better protect students and ensure that all students have access to the study permit application process in a fair and equal manner. In addition, the Canadian government also stopped the NSE program, which is a program similar to SDS but is being applied in Nigeria. Thus, SDS and NSE applications submitted after 0:00 today will be processed according to the normal process. "Canada continues to welcome international students from all over the world . This change will not negatively affect the study permit application conditions of those coming from countries that have applied SDS," the announcement from IRCC emphasized. According to IDP, the SDS program has been applied in Vietnam since March 15, 2018, and has been in operation for more than 6 years. In addition to faster processing time, the SDS program has a higher approval rate than the normal study permit application process. Because, according to data from IRCC, 22% of Vietnamese people applied for study permits under the SDS in 2022 with an approval rate of 77%. This is 16% higher than the normal process in that year. Therefore, students now need to prepare their documents earlier and more carefully than before, according to CIC News . And according to information updated from IRCC on November 5, the current average processing time for study permit applications submitted from Vietnam is 11 weeks.

International students in some countries will no longer be able to study in Canada without financial proof.

PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Continuously tightening regulations

Over the past 12 months, Canada has continuously issued many regulations with the aim of reducing the number of temporary residents in the country, including international students. Specifically, Canada limits the number of new study permits issued each year and by 2025, Canada will only issue a maximum of 437,000 new study permits. This level also includes both master's and doctoral degrees, instead of being limited to bachelor's degrees as in 2024. In addition, from the beginning of November, IRCC has stipulated that applicants who want to apply for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) must now supplement their English or French language certificates according to the requirements of their level of study. In addition, in cases where applicants do not graduate with a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from university, they must study in the fields on the list published by IRCC to apply for a PGWP. Previously, IRCC also doubled the financial proof requirement for international students, to 20,635 CAD, in addition to tuition and travel expenses for the first year. IRCC also stipulated that applicants studying master's programs with a training duration of 16 months or more are eligible for their spouses to apply for a work permit, instead of just studying a master's degree as before. However, experts say that tightening regulations will bring many new opportunities for Vietnamese international students. As at present, applications are reviewed at three levels: the school, the provincial or territorial government, and finally the federal government. This helps to improve the quality of applications. "Based on data on the number of study permits issued to countries, we can also see that Canadian classes will be more diverse than before, helping to improve the learning experience. In addition, the number of international students coming to Canada this year will decrease, helping Vietnamese people increase their chances of being admitted to very competitive majors and schools and increase their ability to settle down," Mr. Tung Phan, Director of CEI Toronto (Canada) and Director of Phan Immigration (Canada), told Thanh Nien recently. According to a report from IRCC, Canada attracted more than 1 million international students to study in 2023. IRCC statistics also show that the total number of Vietnamese studying in Canada has been on a continuous downward trend, from 21,480 in 2019 to 16,140 in 2022. But in 2023, Vietnamese international students in Canada increased slightly, to 17,175 and ranked 8th in number.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canada-dung-cho-phep-nguoi-viet-du-hoc-khong-can-chung-minh-tai-chinh-185241109100502475.htm