Hello All,
I have benefited immensely from this website/ forum and I now I want to share my experience so others can learn/ benefit from it.
I applied for Student visa on 1 Jan 2018 and got approval on 7 March 2018 - more than 2 months delay !!
- My profile : Age 34, B.E (2005), Masters in Finance management (2017), 10 yrs professional experience with total 2 year gaps from work.
- I got admitted for my second masters program from a reputed university in Canada which I think complements my earlier education and experience.
- Scores :- IELTS (GT) - 8.0 band, TOEFL ibt - 108/120, GRE score 324/340 (Q - 164, V - 160, AWA - 4.0)
- I am a married guy. Have kids too.
- I applied via online and it got processed at Bangalore office since I applied from Mumbai. I didnt know offline/VFS applications are faster as its counter-intuitive.
- Offline/VFS applications seem to be faster.
- Bangalore office processing seems to be much longer than north Indian ones. So people from western and southern India should keep that in mind.
- During the online application , I went strictly by the application guidelines and checklist. I didnt send a cover letter explaining why I should be granted visa, nor any educational documents.
- I had a US b1 visa but I havent been to US or Canada. I think having a US visa was favorable.
- My financial condition was quite strong so that was never an issue.
- My guess is travel history to north america can be favorable. I think its a good idea to make a short trip to North America.
- 5 weeks after the application I started to write emails and raise queries using the official channels to enquire about my visa application. I also applied for GCMS notes. I guess that helped in processing my 'stalled' application. Cant say for sure.
Moral of the story
- Age probably is not a big factor in granting student visa. As long you are a bonafide student, age should not matter.
- English skills and previous education/ work history are likely important apart from financial condition.
- Your Canadian school's reputation is also likely important.
This was just my experience and my understanding from it. Each case is different.
If you guys have any queries, I'll be happy to answer.
Best of Luck!!