When submitting a Study Permit Application, or any application for that matter, first make sure that you understand all the qualification and requirements. Make certain that you, at minimum, meet the requirements in order to have your application assessed. If you are uncertain whether or not you definitively qualify or are uncertain, do not waste your time compiling an application or gathering documents. Seek legal assistance or do your own research to ensure that this is the right application for you.
In the case of a study permit, in order to qualify, you must:
- You must have been accepted by a school, college, university or other educational institution in Canada.
- You must prove that you have enough money to pay for your:
- tuition fees
- living expenses for yourself and any family members who come with you to Canada and
- Return transportation for yourself and any family members who come with you to Canada.
- You must be a law-abiding citizen with no criminal record and not be a risk to the security of Canada. You may have to provide a police certificate.
- You must be in good health and willing to complete a medical examination, if necessary.
- You must satisfy an immigration officer that you will leave Canada at the end of your authorized stay.
These are the basic minimum requirements. When considering them, you should consider what exactly it is that you intend to demonstrate to an officer and what an officer what might like to see. We, at Akrami & Associates, refer to this as “anticipating the officer’s needs.”
For example, when demonstrating that you have sufficient funds for your stay in Canada, simply giving an officer a bank account with a huge amount of money will not be sufficient. The officer will question how you obtained said funds.
Instead, connect the dots of the officer. How did you get this money? Where did it come from? Can you provide proof of this? In many case, parents or relatives are supporting students and have provided these funds.
If this is the case, you should get a letter from your family member stating this fact. You should then provide their banking information that shows the money exiting their account and entering yours, for example.
In this way, you have anticipated the officer’s concerns and have avoided the delay of the officer requesting this information from you before they continue processing.
This is just one example of how you might anticipate an officer’s needs. Providing as much documentation that supports your argument or creates a “clear picture” for the officer will greatly strengthen your application.