Still waiting for my Study permit and Visa....

[LoudNClear]

Hello everyone! I was admitted to SFU, Vancouver campus for my Masters in Digital Media. I applied to Canadian High Commission in Islamabad on June 13 and now wait for my visa application to be approved. 30 August being start for my session, things have started tantalizing me as I have to make lots of arrangements to fly from my homeland. Does it usually take this long when applying from Pakistan? Please do advise on the overall chances and how to make arrangements in haste if they return my documents at the brink of my session start.

Best regards,
Jahan zeb

 

[jazz2011]

Hello everyone! I was admitted to SFU, Vancouver campus for my Masters in Digital Media. I applied to Canadian High Commission in Islamabad on June 13 and now wait for my visa application to be approved. 30 August being start for my session, things have started tantalizing me as I have to make lots of arrangements to fly from my homeland. Does it usually take this long when applying from Pakistan? Please do advise on the overall chances and how to make arrangements in haste if they return my documents at the brink of my session start.

Best regards,
Jahan zeb

my frnd see this link plz...hopefully it will help u!!!1

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aovj20uHVWyzdDlMblpOX1pIeU92TXhzcnZ1SkJzSmc&hl=en_US&authkey=CP7ahYID#gid=0

 

[Nightrocker]

Hello everyone! I was admitted to SFU, Vancouver campus for my Masters in Digital Media. I applied to Canadian High Commission in Islamabad on June 13 and now wait for my visa application to be approved. 30 August being start for my session, things have started tantalizing me as I have to make lots of arrangements to fly from my homeland. Does it usually take this long when applying from Pakistan? Please do advise on the overall chances and how to make arrangements in haste if they return my documents at the brink of my session start.

Best regards,
Jahan zeb

Hey buddy, Have you got your medical letter? Visa cannot be approved without medical exam, firstly you will go through medical then it will take about month or two for your visa to be approved. And ya my cuzn also applied on the same date, and he hsn't got medical yet. It is usual timing, you people were supposed to apply about at least 4 months before the start of your classes.

 

[evolvingfaith]

Jahanzeb, I also got into SFU (Burnaby campus) for a PhD in Psychology. I applied on June 20 from Islamabad (through Gerry's FedEx), and got a medical call on July 28 (a little over 5 weeks since I submitted). The average processing time is 10 weeks, but what I've heard is that security checks can delay things. Did you make sure to submit the police certificates? Those are really important for the Canadian Study Permit application. (I submitted police certificates from both Islamabad and Lahore, as well as an FBI background check since I have studied in the US for two years before.)

Write the CHC an e-mail to ask for your application status, and/or write to your graduate program secretary and have him/her send the CHC a formal letter asking them to speed up your application processing.

Also, inform SFU that you could be 2-3 weeks late for your program. I told them that I could be late and they were okay with it.

 

[LoudNClear]

my frnd see this link plz...hopefully it will help u!!!1

Hi jazz, I am afraid my name is not in the list but I manage to deduce some generic assumptions from the document like people who applied after June 6 are untouched and so on. thank you for your help!

Hey buddy, Have you got your medical letter? Visa cannot be approved without medical exam, firstly you will go through medical then it will take about month or two for your visa to be approved. And ya my cuzn also applied on the same date, and he hsn't got medical yet. It is usual timing, you people were supposed to apply about at least 4 months before the start of your classes.

Nightrocker, I haven't got any medical call. In fact i haven't heard from the CHC at all even 2 months are nearing to elapse. I have heard not everyone has to go through a medical. In case of medical, I am afraid it'll be too late for me and I'll miss the most important lectures at my university. Well I could not apply any earlier because i got my letter of acceptance in first week of June. Good luck to your cousin and I need the same too I suppose!

Jahanzeb, I also got into SFU (Burnaby campus) for a PhD in Psychology. I applied on June 20 from Islamabad (through Gerry's FedEx), and got a medical call on July 28 (a little over 5 weeks since I submitted). The average processing time is 10 weeks, but what I've heard is that security checks can delay things. Did you make sure to submit the police certificates? Those are really important for the Canadian Study Permit application. (I submitted police certificates from both Islamabad and Lahore, as well as an FBI background check since I have studied in the US for two years before.)

Write the CHC an e-mail to ask for your application status, and/or write to your graduate program secretary and have him/her send the CHC a formal letter asking them to speed up your application processing.

Also, inform SFU that you could be 2-3 weeks late for your program. I told them that I could be late and they were okay with it.

Evolvingfaith, glad to know we are heading to the same university. I applied through Gerry's also but never heard from the Canadian embassy to date. I did submit my police certificate and meticulously submitted all the required documents to avoid these delays. So how did your medical go and when are you expecting your permit/visa to arrive?

Initially, on your advice, I have written to my program adviser to help me expedite the visa process for me if they can. I think CHC doesn't encourage launching any inquiries before the expected processing time (10 weeks).


Thanks all for your help and valuable advices.

 

[evolvingfaith]

The CHC will reply to you if you write a politely-worded e-mail with flawless English -- they've always replied to me. Give your passport number, full name, and date of birth. They will e-mail you back your file number, and maybe give you a generic response, but if they reply, at least you know you are still on their radar.

I had my medical tests on July 30, and am hoping the visa comes in by the first or second week of September at the latest, though I hope it comes in the last week of August so I can take my September 2 flight.

I've heard that a personalized letter from an adviser at a university can make a big difference. Have your adviser make it clear that he/she wants to work with you and give you the training you're looking for.

 

[LoudNClear]

Hey thanks a lot. I shall try emailing them tomorrow. What is the email address by the way? I browsed CHC website and found there are two types of emails, one for general inquiries and the other is case specific. please advice me what email address should i write to.

Well this a strange that I applied a week prior to you and haven't received a medical call...
I sense being exempted from a medical lol!!!

By the way are you planning to live on-campus?? I have yet to arranged for an accommodation in Vancouver somewhere around my campus....

Good luck with your visa papers, wish you be there to attend the orientation for international grads on 2nd of September!

 

[evolvingfaith]

You have to make a case-specific inquiry at islamabad-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca.

I've got graduate student housing on the Burnaby campus.

Good luck with everything to you too - I hope your application status gets sorted out soon!

 

[LoudNClear]

Hello again, I received the reply for my email requesting CHC to send me the status of my application. They told me that my application has been finalized and I'll be sent my papers back soon.

I was wondering about the prospects as I was not called for an interviewed or medical... Is this a NO straight away?

 

[JaGuaR.Xi]

Application has been finalized means that its may be a medical call or a straight no