Ircc is making students depressed

[Bishops2020]

I guess canadaians are more xenophobic, they just put the blame to usa.

It's not Canadians generally that is the problem for students and family reunion cases, it is the lack of transparency, so many have found out their study permits were approved months ago in complete opposition to the public statements which is making the situation difficult to handle.

My daughter is fortunate in that her university is small, the university has made thorough plans for quarantine, yet nowhere near the number of international students have made it due to the 18th March rule, in fact a single new student made it from Africa but I suspect he only had his permit before 18th March as his permit was late in arriving for last semester. All those plans the university made for students who still were barred from arriving, as the government have not had any transparency and the university planned for all their international students to still come as it is an in person university, in the end it's only returning students and now 1 single new international student.

 

[GradStudent18]

That is simply untrue. My daughter's university is a small one and lots of communication. One residence is now full with students who arrived from around the world with permits issued before 18 march only and 2 bus loads were picked up and taken directly from the airport to quarantine on campus. No one was denied entry and no one denied boarding.

That's good to hear. I suppose those who entered with approval before March 18th - those students got a support letter from the University saying their "physical presence on campus is mandatory" ?

 

[Buletruck]

There is widespread support for keeping the border closed for recreational purposes but not necessarily for close family right on the border or one way journeys into Canada which students and family reunion are examples of.

In fact, Canadians are able to leave for holidays to most of Europe and I've met a few in my job, they've had to do quarantine on return. Seems a little hypocritical that Canadians are able to pass backwards and forwards on holiday whilst one way entries of students and spouses and children of Canadian residents/nationals are having their entries made so difficult.

What is hypocritical of canadian citizens and permenant residents being able to leave and enter their own country? Its their right to enter once their status has been declared and verified..as for children and spouses of citizens and permanent residents, there is nothing preventing them from entering Canada either as long as they have a TRV (assuming they aren’t citizens or PRs). You seem to assume that acceptance to and/ or tuition paid to a Canadian learning institution grants you some special privilege....it doesn’t. You are still a foreign national who has no specific right in Canada (until you enter).

 

[GradStudent18]

What is hypocritical of canadian citizens and permenant residents being able to leave and enter their own country? Its their right to enter once their status has been declared and verified..as for children and spouses of citizens and permanent residents, there is nothing preventing them from entering Canada either as long as they have a TRV (assuming they aren’t citizens or PRs). You seem to assume that acceptance to and/ or tuition paid to a Canadian learning institution grants you some special privilege....it doesn’t. You are still a foreign national who has no specific right in Canada (until you enter).

Oh please...

Canadians touring around the world & moving back & forth inside & outside of Canada making round trips to Europe that are for recreation, tourism & entertainment & not for an "essential" purpose - this supposedly doesn't cause a spike in Covid? And seemingly doesn't bring Covid into Canada....


But students whose lives & careers depend on studying there, who've invested so much into a Canadian education, committed to studying there - their precious, time, energy, efforts, entire life's worth work into getting an education there ( we are also humans by the way, & our lives should matter as much as anyone else's ) - such students of high academic merit cannot enter even though our entry is just a one-way travel.

 

[GradStudent18]

What is hypocritical of canadian citizens and permenant residents being able to leave and enter their own country? Its their right to enter once their status has been declared and verified..as for children and spouses of citizens and permanent residents, there is nothing preventing them from entering Canada either as long as they have a TRV (assuming they aren’t citizens or PRs). You seem to assume that acceptance to and/ or tuition paid to a Canadian learning institution grants you some special privilege....it doesn’t. You are still a foreign national who has no specific right in Canada (until you enter).

If students have no specific right even after obtaining a valid visa before March 18th, then why did IRCC not right away declare in May/June that from now on, till the pandemic ends (i.e., for the next 3 years), all previously issued student visas of those who've not yet travelled will be invalidated, no more student visas will be issued from henceforth, and no more international students will be admitted / allowed in anymore.


That would've been better & fair to all international students as everyone would've had the same fate - not like what's happening now. They're arbitrarily allowing students inside with fake letters from colleges that state their "presence is mandatory" when in fact it's a certificate course with no research component where everything can be completed remotely. On the other hand, I have a grad level research intensive program at a top public university & am not getting that support letter which means I can't go, can't use the library, no computing software, no lab, no research, nothing. Entire life's worth of work getting invalidated.

 

[GradStudent18]

I totally agree and feel empathy with your words and thinking. Why can they just completely cancel all students intake for fall 2020??? I accepted the admission offer from Canada because of good scholarship + school reputation + good country though I had other choices from Europe & US. But so far I have felt so stressful with their unstable policies for study permit visa (be waiting for 4 months) + traveling - IRCC keeps changing every month, and when they announce a new update, people like us have to find the other way for our situation. With their traveling restriction still holds + delays in visa process right now, I have lost like 2 month rent (because I have already signed a lease with housing) + thousands of dollars (fundings have to be hold in Canada) + other fees. I hope at the end of this month there may be a better changes in their policies.

Hii

Thank you so much for your reply and understanding words. It's hard to see kindness in the world now, and your empathy and your words are like the hope of light in darkness. It's getting extremely stressful and I can totally feel you regarding what you mentioned about the rent, thousands of dollars & all the effort, energy, time & money. I only hope your situation gets better by the end of the month, as you said. Best wishes & best of luck to you, friend!!!!

 

[GradStudent18]

I totally agree and feel empathy with your words and thinking. Why can they just completely cancel all students intake for fall 2020??? I accepted the admission offer from Canada because of good scholarship + school reputation + good country though I had other choices from Europe & US. But so far I have felt so stressful with their unstable policies for study permit visa (be waiting for 4 months) + traveling - IRCC keeps changing every month, and when they announce a new update, people like us have to find the other way for our situation. With their traveling restriction still holds + delays in visa process right now, I have lost like 2 month rent (because I have already signed a lease with housing) + thousands of dollars (fundings have to be hold in Canada) + other fees. I hope at the end of this month there may be a better changes in their policies.

By the way, I am forced to start online classes from home now. What are your plans? You're looking to travel or start online for this fall? Cheers!

 

[phuongdong]

By the way, I am forced to start online classes from home now. What are your plans? You're looking to travel or start online for this fall? Cheers!

I have to start online classes from a third country which is US since I got AIP letter. But my supervisor for grad program is really nice, he can write me a formal letter stating my essential presence as long as I get the visa to travel to Canada. In the situation right now if I travel back to my home country, then I am afraid I could not travel to Canada because of the restrictions. Second thing is that airline tickets are extremely high if traveling back-and-forth. I think I am still luckier living in US beforehand than other persons whom have worse situations than I am, though I am very tired waiting for months to get the visa stamped & final decision. This incoming week 24-31 August is the last week for travel restrictions on hold. I hope something looks brighter for people here. If they extend the deadline, then I have to determine other options for my fate: perhaps I will find another country to study (maybe applying to UK schools again). I do not understand why this takes so long for them to release the decision - I knew my final decision through GCMS note & passport req. letter is in print queue (their printers are out of ink for months????). Look at other commonwealth nations: Australia makes straight decision to international students that they cannot travel til 2021 so they know what's going on with their own life. Or UK, universities and visa application are still processing like normal and intake will be as planned for all students despite of the fact that most UK schools start online as well. Those are hit pandemic countries, even the worst-hit US still keeps issuing visa to students though some Consulates are closing but reopening back when situations are better.

 

[resilientflora]

I have to start online classes from a third country which is US since I got AIP letter. But my supervisor for grad program is really nice, he can write me a formal letter stating my essential presence as long as I get the visa to travel to Canada. In the situation right now if I travel back to my home country, then I am afraid I could not travel to Canada because of the restrictions. Second thing is that airline tickets are extremely high if traveling back-and-forth. I think I am still luckier living in US beforehand than other persons whom have worse situations than I am, though I am very tired waiting for months to get the visa stamped & final decision. This incoming week 24-31 August is the last week for travel restrictions on hold. I hope something looks brighter for people here. If they extend the deadline, then I have to determine other options for my fate: perhaps I will find another country to study (maybe applying to UK schools again). I do not understand why this takes so long for them to release the decision - I knew my final decision through GCMS note & passport req. letter is in print queue (their printers are out of ink for months????). Look at other commonwealth nations: Australia makes straight decision to international students that they cannot travel til 2021 so they know what's going on with their own life. Or UK, universities and visa application are still processing like normal and intake will be as planned for all students despite of the fact that most UK schools start online as well. Those are hit pandemic countries, even the worst-hit US still keeps issuing visa to students though some Consulates are closing but reopening back when situations are better.

What do you mean aug 24-31 is the last week with restrictions? If you’re talking about the US, didn’t they extend the restrictions into September?

 

[phuongdong]

What do you mean aug 24-31 is the last week with restrictions? If you’re talking about the US, didn’t they extend the restrictions into September?

If you are traveling by airline, the deadline for restriction is 31st August. According to this restriction, the "essential" students are exempted if following into one of the categories: (1). holding study permit before 18 March, (2). Traveling directly from US . The restriction you mention is the extension of the border between US-Canada which is until September. I am definitely not qualified for getting visa stamped at the border US-Canada so waiting for new updates gives more hope than that.

 

[Alamj]

We all are going through significant stress and a hopelessness, to the point thay we are numb to most emotions.

yes most of us are going through confusions about our education, with so much invested in a country and visa application hanging God knows where. Some people left jobs when they got a visa in March, those guys have been jobless ever since. The pressure of family, the Bank's loan, the taunts of relatives and in general our mental well being and overall health. We've all been going through a lot!

To blame IRCC, Canada or US, viral a hashtag and expect it to give us a fruitful return is just venting out.

At a strategic level, if there are a bunch of Indian students tagging the Prime Minister of Canada in spammy tweets, how exactly are we presenting ourselves?
Do you think the 1000s of student that you expect would comment each day would all talk sane? What if some of them are soo frustrated that they end up abusing the system, the country or even Canadian Citizens!

Yes our future is in jeopardy and yes Canada needs Our money and not us.

But raising webforums or war through twitter to tell them what they probably know already, is not going to leave a positive impact.

Why not focus on skill development? Why not ask your college whose fees you have already paid to offer you with additional learning resources that we can use before landing in Canada? Why not do something that would be useful and more probable. Than ask for something that might hurt the image of students from a particular country in general.

 

[primaprime]

I empathize with people in this thread, but posting here about how unfair things are, or spamming messages on Twitter, does not help.

1. Life is not fair and immigration is not the government's top priority. IRCC is already allowing applicants to begin their programs from outside Canada and still count up to 50% toward a future PGWP. I'd take what I can get.

2. Travel restrictions are widely popular among Canadians; it would be political malpractice to lift them. Americans have it somewhat easier because the Canadian economy depends on America.

3. It has never been a secret that Canadian schools recruit international students for their money. The system is meant to benefit Canada, not you.

4. If you don't want to study in Canada after all, you are always free to stay in your current country or seek opportunities elsewhere. Otherwise, I would suggest you find more productive ways to spend your time.

 

[phuongdong]

I empathize with people in this thread, but posting here about how unfair things are, or spamming messages on Twitter, does not help.

1. Life is not fair and immigration is not the government's top priority. IRCC is already allowing applicants to begin their programs from outside Canada and still count up to 50% toward a future PGWP. I'd take what I can get.

2. Travel restrictions are widely popular among Canadians; it would be political malpractice to lift them. Americans have it somewhat easier because the Canadian economy depends on America.

3. It has never been a secret that Canadian schools recruit international students for their money. The system is meant to benefit Canada, not you.

4. If you don't want to study in Canada after all, you are always free to stay in your current country or seek opportunities elsewhere. Otherwise, I would suggest you find more productive ways to spend your time.

I agree with you for (2), (3) and partial (1) because I have been living in US and understood that Canada's economy depends on US. I accept to take the online course temporarily from outside Canada (life is not fair tbh anyways), but my whole program (Ph.D program) takes 5 years. So if counting up to 50% PGWP, I have to sit and take the program through laptop in 2.5 years. This is a ridiculous policy from IRCC!!!! (4). Yeah, because of waiting for the unstable process from them (evidently in April or May, they have not announced the 2-step policy), I declined other offers from other schools and opportunities as well. Do you think it is easy to apply/take back the opportunities now?

 

[GradStudent18]

I empathize with people in this thread, but posting here about how unfair things are, or spamming messages on Twitter, does not help.

1. Life is not fair and immigration is not the government's top priority. IRCC is already allowing applicants to begin their programs from outside Canada and still count up to 50% toward a future PGWP. I'd take what I can get.

2. Travel restrictions are widely popular among Canadians; it would be political malpractice to lift them. Americans have it somewhat easier because the Canadian economy depends on America.

3. It has never been a secret that Canadian schools recruit international students for their money. The system is meant to benefit Canada, not you.

4. If you don't want to study in Canada after all, you are always free to stay in your current country or seek opportunities elsewhere. Otherwise, I would suggest you find more productive ways to spend your time.

With all due respect, the generalisation that you make here is ridiculous & patronizing.

Not all international students are recruited for money.

I am an international student and have been offered space in a highly competitive, very selective graduate level program at a top ranked public university.

I am about to start TA and RA positions.

Not everyone goes for diplomas & certificates.


So please don't group all students into the category of "recruited for money". Some international have consistently topped all their lives, have very high academic credentials, and it isn't as easy to suddenly change a major life choice as you're suggesting - some students aren't simply cash cows to throw away cash elsewhere to study now. We are humans as well who've gone through a lot, and invested intangibles in this life choice.


As I said earlier, if they aren't even going to stick to their earlier promise of allowing those approved before March 18th inside, then, they should have not played the sinister game of keeping people in the loop, and giving hope to people who've already advanced so much in this path.


Why not announce no international student would be admitted henceforth? Since anyway borders are going to be closed till 2023, right?


And no one is asking then to lift the travel restrictions. The issue is that till June end, the IRCC website simply stated that those with an approval before March 18th can enter. Starting July begininng, they went back on their word & added that we need an "essential" reason to enter, while simultaneously allowing students with "non-essential" reasons inside at the border. Now, my online graduate level classes are supposedly deemed "non-essential" and therefore I can't board a flight from my home country. But what about those who still manage to use unfair means to board a flight & get to the border, with online classes, and are actually allowed inside even with a "non-essential" reason? Where is the consistency? This is the problem. I suppose 6 months aren't enough to put together coherent rules & also to implement them properly.


I now have to attend rigorous research-intensive grad classes sitting 12.5 hours away. Of course, the extent to which this affects my mental & physical health is no one's concern & I understand that.


Anyway, those who preach here can only do that. There's hardly any respect given to other humans & their suffering here.

 

[GradStudent18]

I agree with you for (2), (3) and partial (1) because I have been living in US and understood that Canada's economy depends on US. I accept to take the online course temporarily from outside Canada (life is not fair tbh anyways), but my whole program (Ph.D program) takes 5 years. So if counting up to 50% PGWP, I have to sit and take the program through laptop in 2.5 years. This is a ridiculous policy from IRCC!!!! (4). Yeah, because of waiting for the unstable process from them (evidently in April or May, they have not announced the 2-step policy), I declined other offers from other schools and opportunities as well. Do you think it is easy to apply/take back the opportunities now?

Exactly. Looks like our lives are a joke despite slogging every second of the way till now. Is it that easy to go back on a life choice one has made long ago & to change course when one has proceeded so far along the way already.


Just because we aren't privileged to have been born in the west, our lives can get destroyed despite having qualified enough?

Wow. Great. A pandemic shows the true nature of humans - not valuing merit, skills & high academic credentials just because the person is an "outsider".

I wonder whether they'll treat international students from the UK, France, New Zealand, etc. the same way too.