Hi all,
I am among the Syrians that obtained a Canadian study permit. I was born and raised in the UAE and I applied in May 2019 as soon as I got university acceptance, received approval in mid-August 2019, and started my Master's program in September. It took around 10 weeks to get an email requesting my passport (which almost always means your visa has been approved).
Honestly, I've been rejected 4 times, for both visit visas and one study permit for my undergrad, in the past 5 years, so never give up. The only thing that changed was that I had the opportunity to intern abroad and that I am applying for a Master's degree and not a Bachelor's. However, I did not have a lot of funds (reasonable amount to show that I can pay for the first year of study) so I wouldn't necessarily say the more money you have to show the better.
Opening my passport and seeing the Canadian visa plastered on it made me cry like crazy.. It feels so many doors are being shut in our face and so many opportunities lost for the sole purpose of nationality.
My advice:
Write your study plan that the visa office requests (in this case the Abu Dhabi Canadian visa office) extremely well. You are trying to inform the immigration officer that you are a genuine student that has a career path set in mind so take that document seriously (1 page is enough).
Apply as early as possible (it took almost 3 months for me!)
The longer the wait time without a response.. the better.
Also, as some have mentioned above, there are countless paths you can take so do not feel discouraged in any way if you do not receive approval. Continue to work hard wherever you are and you will receive the fruits of your labor.