Canada ends Student Direct Stream channel for student visas

Canada has stopped accepting study permit applications under the Student Direct Stream (SDS) channel from 2 pm (ET) of 8 November 2024. Canada has also announced an end to the Nigeria Student Express (NSE), a separate stream for study permit applications from students in Nigeria.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), however, will continue to accept and process study permit applications under the regular study permit stream, which requires guarantee for financial support for the students.

The SDS, launched in 2018, was intended to provide faster processing for eligible post-secondary students. It was open to students from 14 countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam.

Applicants under the SDS stream were required to provide language test results and evidence that they opened a Canadian Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) of C$20,635.

However, the approval rates were higher and the processing time faster compared to the standard study permit application process. All international students wanting to study in Canada should now plan for longer processing time.

Despite the termination of SDS, the Canadian government said it would continue to welcome international students from all around the world.

The average processing time for applications from India was eight weeks. This, however, varies for different countries.

Earlier this year, IRCC had announced changes to Canada’s international student programme, as part of the federal government’s measures to control the levels of temporary residents with study and work permits.

Canada has earlier, limited the number of new study permits in view of the housing shortages and some issues with the eduction system itself. This will limit all issuances of study permits to Canadian educationa institutions to 437,000 in 2025.

It also introduced new language and field of study eligibility for students pursuing Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). The work permits to spouses of international students have been limited and

the cost-of-living requirement raised for all international students.

The Canadian government said the change is only applicable for the SDS stream and will not have any implications on the eligibility of students.