denied boarding by airlines is still better than denied entry by CBSA
Covid_19-Fall'20 students who got their visa approved
- Thread starter fatimajill
- Start date
I would assume that studying is an essential purpose anyway, as it's not efficient if you study in your country even if online because of different time zones. Even if your instructors allow you to not participate in the Zoom meetings, it's still better if you can since you need to be engaged in class discussions, asking questions, etc. rather than watching recordings, etc.
Amidst all the serious discussion, I agree that this is true!! Imagine travelling half way across the globe only to go back home and for the courses online!
But these issues apart, I think the government will come up with some concrete guidelines for Fall 2020 students in particular.
There's still time, and I think there should be a sizable number of people like us who have the approval/permit for fall but gabe online classes "due to COVID". If not for the pandemic, we won't be facing this confusion of "(non)essential" travel due to courses being shifted online.
I'm counting on the website to put out detailed instructions for people like us.
Exactly! I'd much rather attend a live online class rather than a pre-recorded one!
But again, details on course methods and particulars are still awaited.
It makes sense about Time Zones. It really does. Especially after we are paying like $15-20k, i would really like to not mess up life with sleep cycles and get the Canadian experience. Sitting in front of a screen in a different country without knowing the educational methods of a different country is too much of an hassle. I am waiting since 2019. That's when i was approved. Now everything is just a mess.
Just another point - till now, the restrictions are in place till June 30th. Assuming the restrictions are in place till the time we travel, we already have 1 thing going right:
1. Being exempted
2. The issue is with "essential" travel, given that fully online classes may be construed as being "non-essential".
But then, if most (just most, not all) universities there are shifting to an online mode for fall and presumably for January term too, then, does CBSA want students to not travel to Canada till the time ALL travel restrictions are lifted?
I think that'll take a year or two (for them to lift ALL restrictions) & get international arrival procedures been to normal.
So, if we are not allowed to travel now, and they're going to deny boarding based on the online aspect, that defeats the purpose of having students in the exempted list in the first place.
This is as far as I can understand. Rest, will have to wait for their advisory for students.
It does defeat the purpose of being exempted if most students are going to be denied entry. That would be just good PR to the rest of the world that we are being considerate towards everyone, when in fact many would face uncertainty and issues. There's already enough issues relating to flights and all. This just adds another layer to it.
Just came across this which might be helpful: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2020/03/canada-provides-update-on-exemptions-to-travel-restrictions-to-protect-canadians-and-support-the-economy.html
"March 20, 2020—Ottawa—The Government of Canada is providing an update on travel restrictions put in place to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Exemptions to the air travel restrictions will apply to foreign nationals who have already committed to working, studying or making Canada their home, and travel by these individuals will be considered essential travel for land border restrictions.
The exemptions include
- seasonal agricultural workers, fish/seafood workers, caregivers and all other temporary foreign workers
- international students who held a valid study permit, or had been approved for a study permit, when the travel restrictions took effect on March 18, 2020
- permanent resident applicants who had been approved for permanent residence before the travel restrictions were announced on March 18, 2020, but who had not yet travelled to Canada"
See the mentioned term "essential travel"? Just hope for the best
Its definitely true. But things have changed a lot in the last 3 months, sadly. Hoping for the best.
Rest assured, no one is working on our file for the past 100 days. Because most of us haven't even got "Medical Passed" status yet. It takes hardly 48 hours after application submission to get a "Medical Passed" status. The day we receive medical status, it would be an indication of the file being processed. I do mean to sound depressing or rude, but India might just be heading for a COVID II round and it wouldn't be surprising if our intake gets deferred to January 2021. Because I don't see the situation getting any better in the next couple of months. For the reference, I had submitted my file on March 14th as well. My brother is an IRCC authorized consultant and these are his views.
You are probably right for the most part. But don't just rely on Medical passed as an indicator of process. In my case, Medical was passed the same day as PPR. Again, these are unprecedented times. There's nothing people can do other than wait. Nobody knows what's going to happen in the future. I wish everyone's files get processed in time for the Fall.