Is it Hard for a Pakistani Student to Get a Canadian Student Visa?
The consensus is that it is hard for Pakistani students to get a Canadian student visa, or study permit as it is officially referred to by the Canadian government. Statistics would say that this belief is true. Or perhaps the statistics say more about what Pakistani students do wrong rather than the toughness to get one. So, what is behind the belief and the statistics? If that question is answered, perhaps it is not so hard after all.
Student Direct Stream
November 2019, Canada introduced the SDS (Student Direct Stream) processing route to Pakistan. While students in some other countries could use this stream before, it was new to Pakistani students as of 2019. This route takes around 21 days of processing time. Students are expected to pay 1 year of tuition and purchase a $10,000 GIC from select Canadian banks prior to applying for their visa. Students using this route must also take Academics IELTS to prove their English language proficiency. The required score is 6.5 overall with no band less than 6 in any band.
Because finances are secured, this has improved the processing time and the success rate for Pakistani students applying for study permits to Canada.
Regular Processing Stream
The regular route of processing a Canadian study permit is still available and still can take 3 to 6 months of processing time. Students are encouraged to apply as early as March/April for a September start date to their study program. Sufficient funds in a Pakistani bank account, with supporting documents and ties to Pakistan are driving points for having a study permit application approved. This route probably lent itself to more errors in applying, thus the lower success rate.
Errors in Applying for Student Visas
In the 7 years I have been actively recruiting in Pakistan, some of the common errors I have seen are 1) insufficient funds, 2) insufficient backup to sustainable finances and 3) ties to Pakistan. While a student might be able to show sufficient funds, they fail in supporting documents. I know of one student who had an “uncle” sponsor him, but it was not a biological uncle. Biological kinship is particularly important. Another student had his mother as a sponsor and that is fine. But he said she was a housewife. To him, that is what she is. His application for a Canadian study permit was denied. He reapplied and claimed his mother for her occupation -a landlord with substantial holdings. He got his visa approved.
I think this gives a clearer picture of what can go wrong in applying for a visa to Canada. It is not that the Canadian government is systematically rejecting Pakistani students when they apply for a visa, but rather their application is not what it should be. To answer this issue, three years ago, one of the leading universities in Canada put together a webinar on how to apply for a student visa. Success rate on study permit applications for their students climbed to 75%
Do You Need a Consultant?
The answer is no, you do not need a visa consultant. There are excellent articles on the web, universities and colleges have visa information sessions or webinars, and education advisors include some visa guidance in their services. But if you want to use a visa consultant, they should be licensed with IRCC, the Government of Canada’s regulatory council. Please check your would-be consultant against this registry. Please note, in Pakistan, the number of licensed visa consultants for Canadian visas is less than ten.
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