Indian students to benefit from Canadian Visa rule changes
Torronto, June 25: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), said that students from India and three other Asian countries will get faster visas to study in Canada as it has introduced major changes in visa procedures to reduce the processing time. The Canadian decision comes at a time when the UK's government has decided to exclude Indian students from easier visa norms.
IRCC, in a statement said that the agency is making great efforts in promoting Canada as a destination of choice for international students in search of quality education by finding efficient ways to process applications.
To support the growth in study permit applications, IRCC announced the Student Direct Stream (SDS), which is available to students applying for a study permit from China, India, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Students from these four countries who demonstrate upfront that they have the financial resources and language skills to succeed academically in Canada will benefit from faster processing times, said the statement.
IRCC also said similar programs have been in place in these 4 countries for a few years.
"We are aligning them together into 1 program to ensure consistency," the statement said.
IRCC is also working on expanding SDS to Africa and are looking at options in Kenya and Senegal.
"Expansion to Senegal would be in line with the department's focus to attract more French-speaking students to Canada," added the statement from the immigration authority.
To qualify for SDS, applicants need to meet additional requirements, in particular language levels that are stricter than regular study permit requirements. Students who do not have all of the additional information required for SDS can apply through the regular study permit application process, either online or at a Visa Application Centre.
The SDS complements the Express Entry system as these students will be well placed to continue on the path to permanent residence and Canadian citizenship after completing their studies in Canada, if they wish to.
The success of the SDS program will be evaluated with the intention to expand the program in 2019.
The new program shall cut down the processing time for study permits (which are student visas) to within 45 days from within 60 days.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
