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Canada Student Direct Stream Prioritizes Philippines
September 5, 2018
It is just bewildering how Canada keeps popping up in the top ranks of education worldwide. Not a few attribute this to Canada’s reputation of attracting people that share similar beliefs and principles as that of a teacher and past mayor of Amos, Quebec Ulrick Chérubin (1943 – 2014) once said, “The color of skin is not what makes the person. What makes a person is what is in his head, in his heart."
In 2015, educational institutions across Canada participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). These are actually a series of tests, used by countries that joined the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD. The PISA for every three years evaluates academic performance and revealed that the teenage population in Canada are at par with students of countries giving highest priority to education. Canadian students performed better than their counterparts in the US, the UK or France.
Canadian universities, when compared worldwide, showed we have the highest ratio of adults at working-age who have gone through higher education. More than half or 55 percent of this population has taken up post-secondary education compared with the average 35 percent as average in OECD.
Surprisingly, our country does not really run a centralized national education system, the Canadian education set-up relies on its autonomous provinces. The federal government takes a backseat when it comes to overseeing our learning institutions, but the PISA results undeniably put Canada alongside the United Kingdom and Singapore.
The federal government plays an active role however, in facilitating the provincial approach to education. The Student Direct Stream (SDS) is a federal program for international students to process their student permits faster.
At present this stream is open for legal residents of four countries namely, China, India, Philippines, and Vietnam. We are hopeful that in the future, the SDS will be adding new countries. The most likely would be Kenya and maybe even Senegal.
For now, if an aspiring student is not a legal resident of the SDS approved countries, the applicant needs to go through the regular study permit processes. If it happens that a citizen of an SDS approved country takes residence in a country that is not included in SDS, that citizen too must apply through the regular study permit application process.
When you qualify for this program you may want to consider the following when preparing your checklist:
• Have a medical examination with an IRCC approved Panel Physician
• Secure a $10,000 Guaranteed Investment Certificate from a Canadian Bank. For now, the SDS program authorizes only these three financial institutions, SBI Canada Bank, Scotiabank, and ICICI Bank Canada.
• Be admitted to a Canadian Designated Learning Institution.
• Prepare documents as proof that you have paid in full your first-year tuition fee.
• For applicants who finished high school outside Canada they are not required to take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Test d’évaluation de français (TEF), otherwise, consider either of these.
There are variations with the documentary requirements between countries in the SDS program. If you have decided to avail of the SDS program, check the IRCC website https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html for details. We suggest that you learn more about the system by seeking consultation with a licensed professional or engaging the services of a qualified organization prior to any application. We know that you value your resources and that you will not waste it for mistakes that you could have avoided.
Disclaimer: “Any article or posts on this page is intended to provide general information only. The article or post may become outdated. It is not meant to serve as legal opinion or advice nor should it be relied upon with legal concerns. If you require answers to particular legal or immigration questions we highly recommend that you seek consultation with a lawyer or a registered immigration consultant.”
Entering Canada through Express Entry
August 30, 2018
Canada’s immigration landscape is in a state of flux continuously conforming and growing through the challenges of the ages. For example, did you know that during the latter half of the 19th Century people moved freely into Canada except for individuals with severe medical conditions, disabilities, and those who are dispossessed? With the present Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) of 2001, there are now three categories of immigrants that Canada considers for permanent residency. These are Family Reunification, Economic Immigration, and Refugees.
From the very open Immigration Act of 1869 that gradually increased in restrictions, to the radical program changes of the 1976 Immigration Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of 2001 still continues to develop as it responds to social issues, security concerns, and economic policies among other factors within and outside our borders.
One of the recent developments in the immigration environment here in Canada is the introduction of the Express Entry system. Brought into action on the very first day of 2015, this file management system supersedes the original arbitrary selection system that ranks immigrants according to the dates of their application. Many people referred to this as the “first-come-first-served” system. What we do have right now is what some individuals call the Express Entry system and it is the process used by candidates wanting to gain permanent residency in Canada under the category of Economic Immigrant. The Economic Immigrant group are those that fall in the streams of Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), member of the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) or under the Provincial Nominee program.
Here is an overview to help you deal with the Express Entry system:
Have a language proficiency test in both English and French or either one. For applicants who studied outside of Canada, they are required to have their education evaluated and matched to Canadian standards.
The applicant creates an online Express Entry profile. This is done on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website. Provide complete details regarding your work experience, give a clear picture of your skills and your ability to communicate in Canada’s official languages, educational background, etc. It is not uncommon that applicants take on the services of a licensed representative. In such cases, the representative creates the account for their client through a designated portal with the IRCC.
IRCC then goes through the application and if it satisfies the conditions of any of the programs under Express Entry, the application is pooled along with the files of other previously screened candidates. Here the system assigns points based on the information the applicant provides.
IRCC selects from the pool regularly which usually happens every few weeks. Applicants with higher scores or points have higher chances of getting an invitation to apply for immigration to Canada.
When an applicant gets picked out of the pool, IRCC requires several supporting documents to be filled up and to be uploaded.
Finally, IRCC reviews the supporting documents and if the applicant’s eligibility passes their scrutiny a medical examination ensues along with complete background assessments and a security screening. These standard procedures are necessary to guarantee that the candidate is legally allowed to enter Canada. When the candidate passes all required tests they could now live and stay in Canada as a Permanent Resident.
This article alone is not enough to cover everything you should know with the Canadian Express Entry system. We suggest that you learn more about the system by seeking consultation with a licensed professional or engaging the services of a qualified organization prior to any application. We know that you value your resources and that you will not waste it for mistakes that we could have avoided together. We will be posting more on this topic so keep checking on us.
Disclaimer: “Any article or posts on this page is intended to provide general information only. The article or post may become outdated. It is not meant to serve as legal opinion or advice nor should it be relied upon with legal concerns. If you require answers to particular legal questions we highly recommend that you seek consultation with a lawyer.”
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“Yes, I was born in Somalia, but I took my oath of citizenship to this country 15 years ago. I am a Canadian. I have spent most of my life here and I continue to be proud of our country, our ability to be generous, to continue to view those who seek protection as being welcome to this country.”
~ Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship