SHIWANI NAILWAL/VOIWORLD
For students in India dreaming to study in Canada for foreign higher education, applications for the winter session 2024 are open at many colleges. But this time, the Indian students may take a detour from their most preferred destination, Canada. The hopeful students are caught in the crossfire of the ongoing diplomatic rift between India and Canada.
Concerns have been expressed by Indian students, particularly those who have sought student visas, about the diplomatic tension between the two countries. While some applicants have been successful in getting visas, others are uneasy. The anxiety is on the rise since Canadian colleges have encouraged them to hold off until the next admissions round.
There haven’t been any known delays in the month-long process that usually goes into issuing student visas. However, there is now some ambiguity as a result of India’s decision to stop processing visas. There are worries that future delays in the processing of student visas may occur. Three intakes typically occur each year: the January/Winter intake, the May/Summer intake, and the September/Fall intake. Some Canadian colleges are advising students to think about postponing their enrollment until next year as a safeguard, echoing these worries.
The diplomatic drift between India and Canada began in September after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said New Delhi may have had a hand in the murder of a Sikh separatist advocate in British Columbia. India denies the allegation.
With over 40% of all study permits issued, India is by far the greatest source of international students in Canada’s rapidly expanding international education sector. The annual economic impact of international students in Canada is around CAD 20 billion ($14.6 billion). According to the Canadian Bureau of International Education, almost 320,000 Indian students studied in Canada in 2022, with a 47% increase. The huge investments made by Indians into the Canadian education sector were recently revealed in research that stated that there are at least 3.4 lakh Punjabi students living in Canada, who give the country a combined $68 billion annually.
However the number of Indian students studying in Canada has increased significantly
Despite promises from Canadian colleges and their Indian representatives that the recent diplomatic difficulties were just temporary and that everything will soon be back to normal, the growing issue has had an impact on some Indian students who desire to study abroad. As a result, Indian students are increasingly looking at alternatives to Canada for their studies, including Australia, the UK, and the US. This is due to worries about delayed student visas and prospective caps on the number of Indian students admitted to the country.
Meanwhile, as Canada-India tensions rise, Canadian colleges are seeking to limit the fallout on a flourishing business. Canadian universities are reassuring students of their safety and offering resources to deal with the uncertainty triggered by the diplomatic crisis.
https://www.voiworld.com/canada-is-not-looking-to-escalate-the-situation-with-india-justin-trudeau/
https://www.voiworld.com/what-is-deportation-row-involving-indian-students-in-canada/
https://www.voiworld.com/canadian-allegations-against-india-serious-u-s/
