Canada ends fast-track visa programme for international students, Indians to be affected

Representative image
| Photo Credit: Mohammed Yousuf

Canada has closed the “The Student Direct Stream (SDS) ‘’, a faster Visa application process that helped international students secure visas quickly. A statement issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on Friday (November 8, 2024) stated they have taken this step to provide fair and equal access to all foreign students to the application process for study permits.

The Student Direct Stream (SDS) was launched in 2018 to provide faster processing for eligible post-secondary students. Citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam could access this Visa programme.

The Canadian government justified the closure of the programmes stating their goal is to strengthen integrity and address student vulnerability.

The statement added that all eligible SDS applications received before 2:00 p.m. ET on November 8, 2024, will be processed under these streams, but study permit applications submitted on or after this time will be processed under the regular study permit stream. From now on, students need to apply through the regular study permit stream, which accepts Guaranteed Investment Certificates as proof of financial support.

The study permit is a document that allows foreign nationals to study at designated learning institutions (DLIs) in Canada. But the study permits require the student to submit provincial attestation letter (PAL) or territorial attestation letter (TAL) from the province or territory where they plan to study.

Canada’s Immigration and Citizenship website has mentioned that if anyone applies without a PAL/TAL, their application will be returned with fees.

The statement assured that these new changes wouldn’t create any hurdles for those who wish to apply for a study permit but has clearly mentioned that the students now need to fulfil Canada’s study permit application requirements.

The statement reads, “All students, regardless of whether they were eligible for the SDS or NSE, are required to meet Canada’s study permit application requirements.”