Why Canada is the best country to study in the COVID era?

Canada has emerged as the top destination for international students from around the world during pandemic. When most countries closed their doors to International students, not only did Canada allow students to travel but they also extended support to students who were already in Canada.

In March 2020, COVID struck Canada and the country was forced to close its borders to all foreign nationals. The precautionary measures continue to this day, in one form or another.

May 2020 and September 2020 intake students were affected by border closures. This is when Canada rose to the occasion and extended support to such students by:

1. Allowing them to start their online classes permitting that up to 50% of the course can be completed before landing in Canada. For these intakes, it was later allowed to complete their programs 100% online until December 31, 2021

2. An important consideration for most international students was the Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP). Government of Canada announced that all affected students who complete their courses online will be eligible for their full quota of PGWP duration

The above measures helped students take a decision and start their classes online. It saved them from wasting an important year in their lives. IRCC continued to prioritize the study permit applications and even with reduced capacity, they were able to slowly process all applications. A 2 stage processing was introduced for study permit applications which allowed students to be more certain when starting their online classes and helped IRCC expedite a larger number of applications.

In November 2020, IRCC resumed Biometric services in India. Their support for students can be measured by the fact that study permit was the only category that resumed Biometrics along with Family Class sponsorships. Canada understands the importance of international students and it continued to support them in every way possible. All designated learning institutions (DLI) were advised to come up with quarantine plans in order to help students safely quarantine while also protecting the health and safety of Canadians.

Canada was the only top study abroad destination that opened its doors to International students as early as October 2020.

IRCC did not just stop there. It took cognizance of the fact that international students in Canada suffered undue hardships due to the pandemic, lockdowns, and stay-at-home orders. Due to these exceptional circumstances, many students on their PGWP lost the opportunity to gain Canadian work experience. IRCC gave students a one-time extension of 18-months on their PGWP. This measure has made a world of difference to many former international students living in Canada.

Following up on the PGWP extension, in April 2021, IRCC announced that it will give 40,000 former international students an opportunity to apply for Permanent Residence. This is the easiest PR pathway for international students ever – there is no need to get higher scores in IELTS or have a high skilled work experience. The basic eligibility criteria are the completion of a 2-year study in Canada, and being employed at the time of submitting an application.

The measures described above are a testimonial to Canada’s commitment towards international students. Who wouldn’t want to study in a country that values international students so much?

The unfortunate surge of COVID cases in India led VFS to shut its operations temporarily in April 2021. While services are expected to resume as soon as it is safe for the staff, it is sure that IRCC will provide all the support it has to offer. They have proven this in the past 12 months and there is no reason to believe otherwise.

If you are looking to study abroad, and have a long-term settlement in mind – Canada should be at the top of your list. Not only does it offer excellent immigration pathways, but the people are also very immigrant-friendly. A large chunk of the Canadian population is comprised of first and second-generation immigrants – this is truly a multicultural society that has a place for everyone.

EduVisa Services is a Canadian company with operations in Canada as well as India. If you need counseling that will make a difference in your life – reach out to our expert counselors. We take pride in our expertise on immigration, geographic and career-related factors in Canada. On top of that, our services are free for students.

Let us start building a successful future for you!