Canada Ends Fast-Track Study Visa Program (SDS) for Indian Students - Details Inside
Introduction
Canada has decided to end its fast-track Study Direct Stream visa program recently for Indian students and this decision is to affect many seeking quicker study permit processing. The SDS program previously allowed Indian students to go along with those from a few other countries by a streamlined visa process if they met specific requirements like proof of language skills, financial readiness, and acceptance to a Canadian educational institution.
The SDS program is very popular among Indian students and was commenced to speed up study permit approvals by decreasing processing times by allowing eligible students to receive their permits in just 20 days. However, Canada’s immigration department has been experiencing backlogs as a result of the high volume of applications which makes it challenging to maintain fast processing. Due to this problem, the government halted the program temporarily.
For Indian students, the general process requires the same documents but it may also face additional scrutiny.
This means applying for the general study permit application route, which will take more time than SDS.
Many students and institutions are very concerned about the potential delays because Canada is a top destination and dream for Indian students who want to take higher education abroad. Canadian authorities have assured that they are going to work on solutions to improve processing times and it remains unclear when the SDS program will resume.
This type of change highlights the need for prospective students to want to apply well in advance and carefully review Canada’s current visa requirements.
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