Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that students who submit a complete study permit application by May 15th, 2021 will receive a decision in time to attend the Fall 2021 semester.
Students who submit their complete application by May 15th will receive a decision by August 6th, 2021. IRCC will continue to process study permit applications submitted after that as quickly as possible, but students who miss the deadline may not receive a final decision before the Fall semester begins.
“We encourage you to accept your program offer, pay your tuition fees so you can receive a fees receipt and complete your study permit application by the May 15th deadline,” says Scott Smith, director of iHeartCanada and a licensed immigration consultant. “The government is optimistic that travel restrictions and flight suspensions will not impact international student travel for the Fall 2021 semester and is actively working on supporting international students beginning studies in the Fall.”
Last month, the Canadian government announced a new pathway to permanent residency for over 90,000 essential temporary workers and international graduates in Canada.
ILAC International College students with part-time and co-op work experience earned within the past three years may be eligible for the new pathway to immigration program.
“International students who have been working at least 15 hours per week in a paid job under a valid study permit may be able to apply for PR under this new program,” says Smith. “They will still need to show a recent IELTS General language test with a minimum of 4.0 in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.”
Under this new program, international students must demonstrate they have worked 1,560 hours within the past three years in an “essential” job, such as cashier, customer service representative, bank teller, retail clerk, cleaner and other sales related occupations.
The program opens on May 6, 2021 and a maximum of 30,000 applications under the “essential worker” stream will be accepted for processing on a first come, first served basis.
“Canada has a target of 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021,” says Smith. “We expect the government will announce more opportunities for temporary residents currently in Canada to become permanent residents throughout the year.”
Please visit the government website for a complete list of occupations that fall under Canadian work experience in essential occupations.
For any immigration-related questions, visit iHeartCanada or contact Scott Smith by email.
For information about IELTS or to book an English proficiency test, visit www.ieltsvancouver.com or [email protected]
