Study In Canada: IRCC Opens Its Student Direct Stream (SDS) to Seven New Countries

Study In Canada: IRCC Opens Its Student Direct Stream (SDS) to Seven New Countries

Foreign students from Brazil, Peru, and Columbia amidst other four countries can now enjoy fast-track educational programs in Canada

One of the best news following the ease of travel restrictions by the Government of Canada is the expansion of Canada’s fast-track program to accommodate international students from seven new countries. The announcement was released by the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada on July 9, 2021, which lists the following countries;

• Brazil
• Columbia
• Peru
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Costa Rica
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

So what role does the Student Direct Stream (SDS) play for foreign students intending to study in Canada? The SDS offers prompt student permit processing to international scholars looking to enroll for educational programs in any Canadian Designated Learning Institute (DLI). Before getting in touch with the SDS, potential Canadian students must have their Letter of Acceptance (LOA) as proof of admission.

All government-approved colleges, universities, and other post-secondary educational institutes are classified as DLIs in Canada. As foreign students get their letter of acceptance (LOA), they can now proceed to submit a study permit application to the IRCC. Study permits help international students to migrate into Canada to pursue their educational goals and programs Are you edible to Apply

Check your eligibility here.
Contact Online Offer Letter Team of Experts for Study Permit assistance.

The processing time for study permits varies across different countries but it could generally take a few months at the very least. However, with the influence of the SDS, foreign students that meet their requirements can get their study permit applications ready in the space of 20 calendar days. To this effect, students from the 7 countries recently added to SDS’s list can process their permits in 20 calendar days.

Potential Canadian students that fall under the Student Direct Stream must meet the following requirements to process their study permits;

Language Proficiency Test: Applicants must have an average of at least 6.0 score on their IELTS score which comprises of tests on speaking, writing, reading, and listening. Candidates that choose to go for the Francophone test must plan to attain an average of 7 points on every skill from their Test d’Evaluation de Français organized by the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Find out the 5 best books for IELTS prepration.

Authentication of at least $10,000 Guaranteed Investment Certificate: All applicants must have this proof ready from a legitimate and approved Canadian financial institution

Provides full proof of applicant’s first-year tuition payment

Must tender LOA from any Canadian DLI

Must submit an updated copy of their educational transcript

Result from medical examination: These criteria are designed to get results on the current state of health of foreign students that have traveled for study in designated countries in the last six months. More importantly, the medical exam becomes mandatory for students studying in fields that require medical examination upfront.

Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Canada unlike other western country opened its doors to 642,000 foreign scholars in 2019. These international students were evenly spread among countries like Brazil, India, Morocco, Columbia, Vietnam, China, and other SDS participants.

Of the recent additions to the SDS, Peru, Columbia, and Brazil have the higher chances of making the most significance on foreign scholars enrolling in Canada in the coming years. In the past 20 years, the number of foreign applicants from Brazil had multiplied by nearly ten-folds while foreign scholars from Columbia multiplied by four. Over the last twenty decades, the number of foreign students from Peru has increased over fives times since 2000. IRCC recently records that roughly 16,000 study permits were sent out to international students from the 7 new SDS countries last 2019. Of this number, almost two-thirds of the applicants came from students in Brazil with the other 4,000 scholars from Columbia.

Foreign students from SDS-approved countries get to experience swift processing of their study permits. The IRCC and DLIs also benefit greatly from the recent SDS additional countries because they both get qualified students and also have their study permits ready in time for admissions and immigration.