How to apply for a Canadian Student Visa?
The number of students looking to Canada for their education are increasing each year. The closeness to the United States, the comparative costs of studying in Canada vs studying in the U.S, the quality of education and lifestyle and the lure of good career prospects all make Canada an increasingly preferred destination for the millions of students each year.
The first step to study in Canada is of course to get admission to a college or university in a course that you are interested in. Next up is getting a student visa. This guide will detail the steps you need to take to navigate the Canadian student visa application process.
First up is to get study permit forms from the Canadian embassy in your country of origin or you can download it from here.
Next is to get all the required documentation in order. The documents you would need are listed below.
Identity Proof
Photocopies of your passport along with two recent passport sized photographs. Do ensure that the photos are 2″ x 2.5″. Make sure you write your full name and date of birth on the back of the photographs. Do ensure that your passport remains valid for the duration of the course.
Financial Support Proof
How much money to show to get a student visa for Canada? This question has been asked many times over and is one of the top questions when it comes to Canadian student visas. The rule of thumb to use here is that you have to show enough money to cover your tuition costs and the cost of living in Canada. So for example, if the cost of living in Canada is about $10,000 CDN then you have to show this amount plus the cost of your tuition.
You can either show the money in your ban accounts by providing bank statements for the past 6 months or letter of sponsorship along with bank statements from the sponsor showing enough funds to fund your living expenses and tuition costs when you are in Canada.
Do also note that if additional members of your family are going to accompany you to Canada, then you must add them to your overall living expenses cost and ensure you show enough funds to meet these expenses.
Letter of Acceptance from an approved Canadian university
The letter of acceptance must be a signed official letter from the university and must have your full name, date of birth, mailing address, course details, full time or part time, estimated duration of the course, last date to register for the course, date of course commencement,tuition fee, any conditions for acceptance and all relevant educational details of the college or university such as license
Custodianship proof
If you are under 18yrs of age then you must provide a notarized statement from your parents or legal guardians and the appointed legal guardian in Canada that suitable arrangements have been made for the guardian in Canada to act on your parents behalf if such a situation should arise.
As long as you have all your documents in order, convincing the visa officer of the genuineness of your application should be pretty straightforward. Good luck!!