No need to worry about Canada's high visa rejection rate: Consultants

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, August 29

Even though the reports of dramatic increase in the rejection rate of study visa permits and bulk rejections by the Canadian government in recent days have triggered alarm bells in the state, the visa consultants say there is nothing to worry as of now.

Huge backlog

The Canadian government has a backlog of nearly 2.4 million immigration applications in different categories, including study visa. Until August 3, around 1,80,000 files had been pending for only study visas, of which 44 per cent belonged to India.

Applications now getting accepted

A high pendency rate, staff crunch and fair evaluation are to blame for the current situation. Many deserving students, who were earlier denied visa, reapplied and their applications have been accepted now. — Sumit Jain, ICCRC member

As per information, the rejection rate for students from Punjab and other states of India seeking study visas has risen to over 60 per cent, particularly for those looking to enroll in Canadian universities in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia (BC). There were also reports that the visas of even students with IELTS bands of 6.5 or 7, a decent academic record and a stable financial situation have also been rejected recently.

Sumit Jain, a member of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) and owner of Jain Overseas in Jalandhar, said: “At present, the Canadian government has a backlog of nearly 2.4 million immigration applications in different categories like study visa permits, PR applications, temporary resident, etc. Until August 3, around 1,80,000 files had been pending for only study visas, of which 44 per cent belonged to India.”

He said a high pendency rate and the lack of fully-trained staff and fair evaluation are to blame for the current situation. “Many deserving students, who were earlier denied visa, had reapplied and their applications have been accepted. So clearly, whatever is happening is due to the huge backlog. We expect the situation to improve by the end of this year or by March 2023,” he added.

Another, Bhavnoor Singh, Managing Director, Pyramid eService said nearly 2.5 lakh students applied for study visas for Canada in 2021. “In 2022, we were anticipating a similar number. However, the number of applicants has almost tripled this year,” he added.

He said with such a high rate of pendency and fresh applications being filed in bulk, the situation has become tricky. “But students in Punjab need not worry, instead focus on achieving strong academic records and good bands in IELTS — the key factor Canadian authorities consider,” he added.

Meanwhile, a Toronto-based visa consultant, who wished not to be named said, apart from high pendency, there are many other factors contributing to the rejection rate. “The fraud documentation by students in some cases, licensing issues with certain private colleges, and rising cases of gang wars involving Punjabi men in Canada, are also some of the reasons contributing to the trend”. He said the sad part is that because of such incidents, even deserving students were facing problems and their visas were getting rejected. “Only way to get a Canadian visa is a good IELTS and academic score. Students must not indulge in unfair practices in order to get a visa, rather work on their language proficiency and skills,” he added.

He also said recently an advisory pertaining to new admissions and delay in visa approval has been issued. “We expect the situation will soon approve”, he added.