Certain opportunities remain available for Indian students seeking to study in Canada while bringing their spouses along
Indian students in Canada, particularly those from Punjab, are facing uncertainty in the wake of the recent regulations that limit the number of international students and alter the rules concerning Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP).
Most students who were pursuing diploma courses in Canada were able to bring their spouses, but the current rules have imposed a virtual ban on the spouse visa. However, certain opportunities remain available for Indian students seeking to study in Canada while bringing their spouses along.
There are opportunities, according to a report in The Indian Express. Indian students in Canada still take their spouses along despite changes in SOWP, says the report, provided their file was submitted before March 19, 2024 under any programme, including diploma and degree courses.
Students enrolled in specific professional degree programmes can bring their spouses to Canada despite the new regulations.
A Kapurthala-based consultant, Gurpreet Singh, was quoted saying that eligible programmes include Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS, DMD), Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Optometry, Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm), Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Education (BEd), and Bachelor of Engineering.
Experts said that for medical streams like pharmacy and nursing, additional mathematics requirements are there to apply for a spousal visa. For non-medical fields, there are various offers including doing an engineering degree in any field. Students from the arts stream are also eligible if they opt for LLB or BEd courses, etc.
Students unable to change their programmes can still bring their spouses on a Visitor Visa, although spouses cannot work in Canada under this arrangement. Another option is obtaining an LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment), enabling students to obtain work permits and subsequently sponsor their spouses
Students with pending spouse visa applications submitted after March 18, 2024 will be judged according to the new regulations. Additionally, applications filed before March 18 but were turned down are also subject to the new regulations. The new announcement came on March 22.
Certain options are still available for these students. Indian students can bring their spouses to Canada after completing their studies when they become eligible for a work permit. In such cases, spouses must wait at least three years for the completion of their partner’s studies. Alternatively, students can switch to eligible programmes, including Masters or PhD, that allow immediate spousal sponsorship. This may involve cancelling the previous admission offer and enrolling in a different course, incurring a potential loss ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 Canadian dollars (approximately Rs 61,000 to Rs 1.53 lakh).
Students unable to change their programmes can still bring their spouses on a Visitor Visa, although spouses cannot work in Canada under this arrangement. Another option is obtaining an LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment), enabling students to obtain work permits and subsequently sponsor their spouses.
***********************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com