Indians to Canada : Diplomatic Strain, But Student Visas Soar

In a surprising turn of events, the tensions between India and Canada, resulting from recent diplomatic disputes, have not deterred Indian students aspiring to study in Canada. Visa applications for Indian students continue to yield astonishingly high success rates, ranging between 85% to 95%.

Even those with scores hovering near the minimum requirements find themselves with a student visa in hand. This exceptional trend speaks volumes about the mutual commitment of both nations to promote international education and foster cross-cultural ties.

Canada Student Visa Updates

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Pearson Test of English (PTE) centres in Punjab, especially in the Doaba region, have emerged as key hubs for visa success, maintaining a consistently impressive rate between 90% and 95%. Notably, some centres reported a remarkable 18-19% surge in visa approval rates over the past month.

This surprising resilience in student visa approvals comes amidst a period of strained relations between India and Canada, triggered by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s suggestion of Indian involvement in the murder of Canadian citizen and militant Hardeep Singh Nijjar. However, the diplomatic standoff hasn’t dissuaded Indian students from pursuing their dreams of studying in Canada.

Visa offices have noted a significant increase in student visa applications to Canada, with a substantial portion of these requests being processed during the ongoing diplomatic crisis. Sumit Jain of Jain Overseas, a prominent IELTS centre and overseas consultancy in Jalandhar, revealed, “We have been processing between 250 to 300 student visa files every month, and in the past month also, we did the same.

Our visa success rate is between 90 to 92% in the past month, and the majority of these files were processed post-crisis.” He further shared that his consultancy recently received a staggering 205 visas in a single day, all of which were applied for after August 10. These visas are being granted within a remarkably short period, typically ranging from 12 to 20 days.

Even more astonishingly, students with Pearson Test of English (PTE) scores as low as 57, 58, and 59 have secured their student visas, despite the benchmark score for visa consideration being 60. This leniency in visa processing demonstrates the commitment of both nations to foster educational ties and promote international student exchange, even in the face of diplomatic tension.

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