In an emailed statement to CBC Toronto, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson Julie Lafortune said that for the month of August, the department was able to process 84,000 study permits and 21,000 extension applications, which allow international students currently in Canada to continue their studies. "If IRCC looked at the numbers, looked at how many resources they had, and said 'Unfortunately, many of you won't be processed,' you could govern yourself accordingly. That has not happened," he said. (Submitted by Lev Abramovich )Ībramovich told CBC News the IRCC should have taken more responsibility in communicating with students so they could have made more informed decisions. Immigration lawyer Lev Abramovich believes Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada, which processes study permit applications, should have provided clearer communication to international students as it dealt with backlogs. "Imagine you've completed all of the requirements, paid $50,000 for first year, you're excited you're going to University of Toronto … you've rented an apartment and the best years of your adult life are about to begin and instead you're missing a year," Abramovich said, referring to a situation one of his clients is facing. Lev Abramovich, an immigration and refugee lawyer at Abramovich & Tchern Immigration Lawyers, says international students he's worked with have been angry and confused. ![]() More communication from IRCC needed: lawyer "I'm afraid I won't have received an answer by the end of the year," she said. Victoria says she's now going on eight months. ![]() CBC News agreed to only use her first name as she worries speaking out will affect her application.Īccording to the IRCC, the average processing time for a study permit from outside Canada is 12 weeks, not including the time it takes to send an application between a visa application centre and its office. "I postponed the start of classes twice - in May and September 2022," she said. Victoria, who is from Russia, said she applied for her study permit in January 2022 after being accepted to Ottawa's Algonquin College for a design program. Even pushing back their start date by a couple of weeks can have thousands of dollars in implications in terms of rent and food and rearranging flights and accommodations to come study in Canada. - Mackenzy Metcalfe, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations Some of these students worry they may lose a semester of school and say their anxiety over the situation is high. "Even pushing back their start date by a couple of weeks can have thousands of dollars in implications in terms of rent and food and rearranging flights and accommodations to come study in Canada," she said. Metcalfe says this period of time in post-secondary education is especially meaningful for students coming from a different country, and any kind of delay can also result in additional financial strain. It says 64 per cent of those applications are currently within its service standard of 60 days. This leaves potentially thousands of students whose applications may not be ready in time for them to start the school year. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says it is boosting staff and modernizing its systems to increase processing capacity and tackle the backlogs in the short term.Īccording to IRCC, as of Aug. 18, the number of study permit applications to be processed is 163,600. With international students already paying substantially higher tuition fees, advocates are pushing for the government to prioritize and process study permits faster.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |