Travel Guidelines for Study in Canada

November 2020

Every aspiring international student is keen on attending classes on campus. For a significant number of students in India, Canada remains a popular study abroad destination.

October 20th onwards, those DLI's that have an approved COVID-19 plan, can welcome international students. Before students decide to travel, they need to ensure that their institution's plan was approved prior to their travel plans.

As a prospective student looking to study at universities and top colleges in Canada, here are the latest travel guidelines.

1. To study in Canada, students need to be traveling for necessary purposes only. These include:

Students living in Canada
Students required to be in Canada for classes in person
If the college or university in Canada does not offer online classes
Students cannot study from their home country due to technical restrictions
Students cannot study through online classes due to time zones

2. Only international students possessing a student permit or one that was approved for a study visa before or on 18th March, 2020. Or, students traveling directly from the USA will be permitted to enter Canada.

3. At the end of the day, it is up to the discretion of the border service officer to let you in the border of the country.

4. Border Service Officers will take into considerations factors such as:

Reasons for travel
Ability to complete 14-day quarantine
The ability of students to study online during quarantine and if the pupil has time to complete the quarantine before attending classes

5. When traveling to study in Canada, students must posses proof of exemption.

6. Items that students need to carry whilst on their travel to Canada include

Valid student visa
Port of Entry of Letter of Introduction highlighting the approval of visa before 18th March, 2020
Passport & Visa
Visa Approval Letter
Letter of Acceptance
Support Letter from College
Proof of Funds
Quarantine Plans

Thus, to summarize that as a student looking to travel to Canada, one must follow all the rules laid out and have a 14-day quarantine plan.

Quarantine rules that students must follow:

Only those students with an in-class component can travel for the Fall intake
Border officials will ask for your quarantine plans
Students are responsible to cover the costs incurred during the quarantine
Students cannot leave quarantine location for 14 days

Academic Updates

For online study in Canada, students must have a laptop and an internet connection.
Students must check whether their exams, grading schemes have been altered due to the crisis.

Post Study Work Rights Eligibility

Students outside Canada are eligible for PSW if they have a study permit, approved for a study permit, applied for a study permit before starting programs in 2020, will apply for a study permit prior to their program in January'21.
Students who graduated or graduating from DLI offering eligible programs can attain PSW if their classes are conducted online due to COVID-19, had to put studies on hold or study part-time due to COVID-19 in 2020.

Students can complete 100% of their study in Canada through the online medium if:

Program is between 8 and 12 months in length, and, students started their studies between May and September 2020

Students can complete up to 50% of their program online (until April 30, 2021) if they complete the other 50% of their program in Canada or complete up to 50% of their studies online (until April 30, 2021) if

They graduate from 2 different eligible study programs within 2 years of each other
1 of the programs started between May and September 2020
each program is at least 8 months long
They complete at least 50% of the combined length of the programs in Canada

Students applying for a study permit before starting the program, any time spent studying online from outside Canada since spring 2020 now counts toward the length of a post-graduation work permit. Students won't have time deducted from the length of the post-graduation work permit for studies completed outside Canada until April 30, 2021.

The student visa process is one of the most challenging processes in the study abroad journey. It is natural to require assistance. Get in touch with Edwise, India's Leading Overseas Education Consultants for your Canada Study Visa.