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Students from China, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines applying for full-time study at Canadian institutions or schools can now access a new, expedited student visa processing stream just announced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The new system is called the Student Direct Stream (SDS), and it is open to students from the four countries who meet certain language and financial criteria.
The SDS was launched following similar visa expediting pilot programmes in the four countries and it replaces and consolidates those programmes. Under Canada’s regular visa processing stream, Chinese students wait on average four weeks for their visas to be processed, Filipino students six weeks, Indian students seven weeks, and Vietnamese students 17 weeks. These processing times will be reduced for students who qualify for the SDS.
Chinese, Filipino, Indian, and Vietnamese students applying to study in Canada who can accommodate a longer processing time or who do not meet SDS criteria can still apply through the regular student processing stream. In addition, students from the four markets who are not living in their home country when applying to Canadian institutions are not eligible for the Student Direct Stream, and must apply through the regular visa processing stream.