sam001 said:
are they giving the 5 adaptability points for two years of completion now??
It's still not certain whether Ottawa will award the 5 adaptability points to those who appealed to Sydney and got a positive decision. However, I believe Dani1982 was rejected at Ottawa level, and he did not get awarded the 5 adaptability points.
For next year, there have been some changes in the wording, and I mentioned that two years of study without a degree would be enough. But actually now I am not so sure anymore. The wording will change from the current one, which is
a skilled worker shall be awarded 5 points if the skilled worker or their accompanying spouse or accompanying common-law partner, by the age of 17 or older, completed a program of full-time study of at least two years' duration at a post-secondary institution in Canada under a study permit, whether or not they obtained an educational credential for completing that program.
to
for a period of full-time study by the skilled worker, of at least two academic years in a program of at least two years in duration whether or not the skilled worker obtained an educational credential for completing a program in Canada and during which period the skilled worker remained in good academic standing as defined by the institution, 5 points
So the new wording still contained the word 'completing', which, once again, brings about ambiguity in interpretation, though it does look like that the 5 points will be awarded for just the period of two years, else they wouldn't say "of at least two academic years in a program of at least two years in duration". Provided that the PhD stream will adapt the new point system, then if these 5 points are awarded for any period of two years of full time study, then it should be much easier for most students to score above 67 points this time. Even without ANY adaptability points, provided you max out the first language scores, have at least 1 year of work experience, and have a Master's degree, you'd already have 68 points.
EDIT: I found another clarification regarding the 5 adaptability points for previous study, though it's still hard to discern exactly what they mean by "having obtained the necessary credits to successfully complete two years of study". It only says having obtained credits to complete two years of study, rather than having completed a program of at least two years in durations. So confusing, I wonder why they did not use this opportunity to, once and for all, clarify everything. And I wonder how exactly they would measure the credits for PhD program. Having finished the classes requirement and passed the qualifying exams?
To be awarded points for their previous study in Canada, the applicant or accompanying spouse would need to have obtained, studying full time in a program of at least a two-year duration, the necessary credits to successfully complete two years of study. For the purposes of adaptability, secondary school will be accepted as an eligible program of study.