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Canada in India: Student Partners Program |
Proposal:
To create a special processing channel at visa offices in New Delhi and Chandigarh for students destined to ACCC member institutions, with the objective of improving application outcomes while managing risks to program integrity. The key elements of the Student Partners Program would be: a) a simplified but rigorous list of supporting documents; b) a single point of contact in the visa office and at each partner institution; c) expedited processing of complete applications meeting the program criteria; d) a simple feed-back mechanism whereby the college or institute’s single point of contact would provide, once each autumn, the ‘in-good-standing’ status (or not) of individuals issued study permits under the program.
What Partner Institutions would have to do: |
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Partner institutions, in coordination with any of their approved recruiters in India, would arrange to have all applications they want to be considered under the program submitted to the visa sections in New Delhi and Chandigarh using a standard cover sheet (attached), ensuring all applications are complete with the simplified list of 7 standard documents, providing the name of any recruiter/agent involved, and committing to provide the once-a-year feedback on receipt of the visa office’s request, by e-mail. The feedback would come after the fee refund date, at a time agreed, using an agreed format to reduce administration to a minimum, and be sent to a dedicated contact at the visa office. It would confirm whether or not students issued visas under the program were currently in good standing.
To ensure compliance with Canadian Freedom of Information Protection of Privacy legislation the Student Partners Program will prepare a Release of Information form that will be signed by each student applicant and included in the document submission package. Each participating institution will ensure that they have a copy of this form on file which will then allow them to produce and submit annual ‘in-good-standing reports’ to the CIC sections in India.
Partner institutions’ single point of contact should be available by e-mail to answer or re-direct questions or concerns the visa office may have about programs and agents.
The program application process will be designed to make document preparation easier for the Partner institution, their agents, and applicants, and application handling more efficient within our office.
In particular, the visa offices in India propose to greatly reduce financial support documentation, which is extremely difficult to interpret in India and which is generally unreliable--but to require instead an educational loan from an Indian Chartered Bank. A list of acceptable institutions is provided. This is a major change. However, many applicants provide such a loan document now and we are satisfied that they are generally available. Those who cannot obtain one, or who choose not to, can of course apply for a study permit in our regular processing stream. It is our belief that Indian banks are better placed than the visa office to interpret and evaluate financial documents, and have a strong commercial interest in ensuring the loans will be repaid. Making an education loan the standard requirement will, we hope, make the visa application process clearer, and more predictable, and make our case processing more efficient and less vulnerable to the manipulation of complex sets of financial documents.
Partner institutions will acknowledge that it is a best practice to carefully manage their network of recruiters/agents in India. Specifically, they will insist that their agents strongly counsel applicants against the submission of false or misleading documents, and they will ensure that their contractual financial incentives with recruiters encourage good program outcomes by paying agents not simply for submitting applications but, primarily, for students arriving at their institutions and remaining there past the fee refund date. This is clearly a shared objective of educational institutions and the government of Canada. The Canadian partner institutions will provide to the visa sections in New Delhi and Chandigarh a list of the names and contact details of their approved institutional representative or agents.
While financial documentation with be simplified, applicants under the Student Partners program will have to provide a recent IELTS results to an overall score of 5.5 to be eligible. A score of 6.0 is recommended.
ESL Studies:
The Student Partners program will not include those going to Canada for exclusively for ESL studies. Where there is a small ESL or language skills upgrading pre-requisite component to a program, and the student already has a minimum IELTS score of 5.5, the application can be processed under Student Partners.
We will also ask for proof of fees paid. We recommend full payment of fees in advance for at least the first semester of study; however, that will not be a mandatory requirement of the program at this point. Fees paid in advance will only be refunded if the applicant is not successful in receiving the study permit through this process and will not be transferable to another institution.
Any applications received to attend studies at a Partner institution which are not submitted using the Student Partners Program cover sheet will be processed, but will not be considered part of the program for the purposes of expedited processing, data feedback, and calculation of program approval rates.
Who can be a Partner institution:
Partner institutions will be invited to join the program by the visa office, in consultation with ACCC. Those with significant volumes of study permit applications for Indian students in 2008 (more than 10) will normally be invited to join. We would be happy to discuss future participation with other institutions on a case-by-case basis.
What Student Partner institutions get:
- Partner institutions will be provided with a Study Partners dedicated e-mail box which will be monitored daily at each visa office, as well as the e-mail address and phone number of the Study Partner’s coordinator at the visa office, their back up, and the Immigration Program Manager. This information will also be provided to ACCC.
- Each partner institution will receive a report showing their program results at each visa office (applications received, approved, refused, approval rate) in 2008 (on joining) and, for comparison purposes, for 2009 (in January 2010). ACCC will receive a report for all member institutions.
- The visa office undertakes to ensure a significant increase in the 2008 approval rate for the individual Partner institution for applications submitted under the program.
- The Canadian visa offices in India will maintain a data base of Study Partner applications found inadmissible for fraud, and will provide the Partner institution with a detailed year-end report of the nature of the fraud and the name of the agent responsible for each application where fraud was found. Please note that all applicants found to have submitted fraudulent documents will be refused and will –following review by the program manager--be rendered inadmissible to Canada for a period of two years under s.40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protect Act. Where demonstrated fraud is found to make up more than 5% of applications, the partner institution concerned will be removed from the Student Partners program and their applications processed under our normal stream.
- Study Partners Program applications will receive expedited processing. This will mean the applicant will normally receive an approval-in-principle and medical instructions, a refusal letter, or a convocation for interview, within 2 weeks of application. Once the applicant undergoes their medical examination and provides their passport, the Study Permit will normally be issued within one week.
- Partner institutions may receive information on the number of applications received, approved, and refused, at any time via the single point of contact. ACCC will also be informed about the results for all partner institutions. Information on individual cases can be provided only to the applicant or their legal representative and will normally be outside the purview of the program.
Next Steps and Timelines :
The Canadian visa office in New Delhi has been working with ACCC on the proposal for this pilot program. The following 19 ACCC member institutions are being invited to join the program during the period from 2 April to 15 June. The Program will run from 1 May to 31 December, followed by a review, evaluation, and report.
Training and Info Sessions:
We feel the new documentation requirements are self-explanatory. Members can use their dedicated e-mail address to pose any questions large or small for immediate reply. However, as we do wish to develop a direct relationship with each member, the visa offices will, on request, also provide a meeting in person or by conference call with the member institution’s main Canadian point of contact. Agents or representatives in India are free to join the meeting or call.
Invitation List
- Camosun College , British Columbia
- Columbia College , British Columbia
- Vancouver Community College , British Columbia
- Vancouver Island University , British Columbia
- Bow Valley College , Alberta
- Grant McEwan College , Alberta
- Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Alberta
- Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Alberta
- Red River College , Manitoba
- Algonquin College , Ontario
- Cambrian College , Ontario
- Centennial College , Ontario
- George Brown College , Ontario
- Humber College , Ontario
- Loyalist College , Ontario
- Mohawk College , Ontario
- Niagara College , Ontario
- Seneca College , Ontario
- Sheridan College , Ontario
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| DOCUMENT CHECKLIST |
- Study Permit application form, study questionnaire, and correct fee.
- Letter of acceptance from the ACCC member institution, showing planned start and end date of program.
- Receipt for study program fees paid (pre-payment of first term is recommended)
- IELTS test result in past 12 months with score at or above the entry requirement for the intended program of study, and no lower than overall 5.5.
- IELTS test Date: __________ Score: reading ___ writing _____ oral ____ speaking ____
- Photocopy of most recent diploma or leaving certificate, and 2008-09 marks sheets (original document may be requested)
- Education Loan from an Indian chartered bank equivalent to at least 80% of tuition + living + travel expenses for one academic year (normally, tuition plus $8000). See Annex for acceptable banks.
- Name of Bank: ______________________________ Loan Amount:_________________
- Employment reference from one or both parents, showing name, address and phone number of employer, parent’s position title and current salary; OR if self-employed or a business owner: business license (if any), plus statement of number of employees and 2008 net income, current address, phone number, email of business.
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