Why did Canada stop SDS student visa program? Understand in 4 points how it will have a big impact on Indian students

Canada SDS Program News: It is becoming increasingly difficult for Indian students to get a visa in Canada. The program through which Indian students could easily get visas has now been discontinued. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) has closed the Student Direct Stream (SDS) program in a major change to the immigration rules. Through this program, students from 14 countries including India, Pakistan and Philippines were able to get visa quickly if they applied for it.

The biggest advantage of SDS was that through it the visa approval rate was good and students could get visas without any hassle. The Canadian government is struggling with housing shortage and social problems, to deal with which it has tried to reduce the number of students studying in the country. Working in this direction, the SDS program has now been discontinued. Similarly, Canada is going to give only 4,37,000 study visas in 2025. Let us know what effect the closure of SDS will have on Indians.

What was the SDS program?

The SDS program was launched in 2018. Through this, the process of obtaining study permit i.e. student visa was simplified for students from certain countries. If the students fulfilled the necessary conditions, they were given the visa in just 20 days. The best thing about SDS was that it had a very good approval rate. About 95% of the students who applied for visa through SDS got the visa, whereas if applied through the normal process, the visa would take weeks or months.

What impact will the end of SDS have on Indian students?

Indians form the largest group of students studying in Canada. 70 percent of Indians who received study visas for Canada in 2023 had applied through the SDS program. Due to the closure of this program, they will now have to apply through the normal application process. In this, along with the processing time being slow, the approval rate is also low. Let us know what effect the closure of SDS program will have on Indians.

Increase in processing time: The biggest impact on Indian students will be that now the processing time for visa will increase. Under the SDS program, visa applications were processed in 20 days. But without this system, students will have to wait for an average of 8 weeks for the visa. Indians thinking of studying in Canada will now have to apply in advance to get a visa.

Low approval rate: Indian students will now also have to face low approval rates. Most Indian students who applied under the SDS program got visas. By the beginning of 2023, 73% of Indian students who applied through the SDS program had received visas. On the contrary, only 10% of the students who applied through the normal process were able to get the visa. Due to closure of SDS, it has become difficult for Indians to get visa.

Providing proof of having excess money: Indian students will now also have to prove that they have enough money so that they can study in Canada. Earlier, under the SDS program, students had to demonstrate that they had enough money to pay for their education. If now the Canadian government has increased this amount. In such a situation, the financial burden on students has increased further. Proof of having money in SDS had to be given, this rule may become more stringent now.

Less work opportunities for spouse: Ending the SDS program will have a huge impact on the spouses of Indian students. Under the old rule, spouses of students who obtained visas under the SDS program had complete freedom to work in Canada, but this is no longer the case. After the change in policy, these facilities have reduced. Due to this, financial pressure on Indian students will also increase.