African Students Facing Difficulties for Getting Study Permit in Canada

A new study from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada shows that every three in four African students were rejected who applied for study permits between January and May this year. The rate skyscraping the global rejection rate of 39%. The statistic for the rejection of African students does not include withdrawn applications.

The refusal and approval rate varies according to the country of origin of the applicants. Africa is observed to have the highest rate of rejection.

The applicants from Nigeria and Algeria were rejected at the rate of 81 and 86 per cent respectively. In comparison to this, the Japanese and Korean applicants’ rejection rate is only four per cent recorded for this year. However, the Japanese and Korean applicants usually apply for English-as-second-language (ESL) program. The rate of refusal for ESL programs is lower than the study for university or college programs.

The Vice President of Colleges and Institutes Canada, Alain Roy, said that his firm has tried to persuade Immigration, Refugees and Institutes Canada to find strategies to improve the approval of study permit for African applicants. 

He said that approval rates are low for the African applicants’ even though when African students come to Canada, they do quite well.

There are many reasons for the officials to reject the applicants’. The applicants may not be able to prove that they are financially strong to support themselves for studying in Canada. The applicants may not be able to pass the medical exam. The officials may suspect that the student may not return to their home country after completion of the program.

The applicant may possess a security or health threat to Canada. The application may be incomplete, or any evidence of fraud may have been found in the application. The Assistant Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Institutions Canada, Harpreet Kocchar stated that 10% of the applications are either duplicitous, tailored, or no longer valid.

When requested for an interview about the trend of study permit refusal rate, the officials of the Immigration, Refugees and Institutions Canada declined. The universities of Canada also denied commenting on this issue.

Canada recently introduced a five-year strategy to expand and support international education. This strategy aims to entice students from a variety of countries to study in Canada. Global Affairs pinpointed eleven countries, where the focus of marketing effort will be on Canadian education.

Amongst these countries, Morroco was the only African nation seen on the list. So, even in the new strategy, Africans stand a slim chance to evolve themselves and study in Canada.

Not only the university and college applicants but the PhD students also face rejections who are applying to enter Canada for conferences. A Researcher at Google Mountain View, California, said that African scientists’ difficulty to get a Canadian visa had been a long-standing problem that needs attention. He stated that the officials deny the opportunity for the people to do fantastic work.