Canada ‘safe and stable’ for international students

The year 2020 has been a very unpredictable year for international students. In March, most students planning to study abroad, including in Canada, had to either postpone their study plans or opt for the online mode due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. Luckily, governments of several top study destinations took measures to safeguard international students’ future, in which Canada remained among the top countries.

In recent surveys by Navitas, it has been found that Canada is considered to be ‘safe and stable.’ Further, its reputation as an ‘open and welcoming’ country has improved. The findings highlighted that ‘safe and stable’ does not mean ‘open and welcoming.’ Still, Canada has fared well on both the parameters collectively compared to other countries like New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and the US.

Since the start of the pandemic, Canada’s government has taken several measures to protect international students’ interests. In May, the government allowed international students to start their study programs from their home country on an approval-in-principle of a 2 stage study visa process. The two-stage study visa process allowed international students to continue their studies without creating a gap as well as without affecting Post-Graduation Work Permit eligibility. PGWP is a vital component that makes it possible for international students to stay in Canada for up to 3 years after completing their study programs. During this, several students also apply for permanent residency. Noticeably Canada has set a target of welcoming 401,000 immigrants in 2021, another 411,000 in 2022, and 421,000 in 2023.

Cautiously relaxing the travel restrictions in October, Canada allowed international students to enter Canada whose university or college has an approved Covid-19 readiness plan. The readiness plan outlines how the institutions would safeguard the student and surrounding community’s health from the coronavirus pandemic. As of now, around 750 Canadian universities and colleges have got their readiness plan approved from their province or territory. Further taking more Covid-19 prevention measures, the government has made it mandatory for all the immigrants, including international students, to quarantine for fourteen days immediately after arriving in the country. For this, the government has issued guidelines from time to time.

Although a significant number of international students have been completing their study programs remotely, their enrolments in formal programs have tripled in the last decade. As per StatCan, the increase includes study programs like business, management, public administration, mathematics, computer and information sciences, reflecting the demand of the Canadian labour market.

The year 2021 seems to be promising for International students because the government has approved a coronavirus vaccination. As a matter of fact, Canada is the third country in the world to do so after the United Kingdom and Bahrain. and it is expected that travel restrictions will be eliminated in a phased manner.

Time and again, the Canadian government has signalled that international students hold great importance to the country, and their steps are in line with this. To study in Canada, international students require a study permit, for which it is recommended that they take guidance from Pyramid eServices. Students can contact Pyramid’s visa experts on 92563-92563 or visit the nearest branch.