In a recent episode of CAEL Live, we spoke with immigration consultant Luis Guillermo Guerra from Curiosity Immigration about what international students should know about studying in Canada:

To begin with, what is process like to get a study permit in Canada?

• First, you must select the destination for your studies. Selecting a school that is the right fit for you and your goals is essential.
• After finding a school that fits your goals, applying, and getting accepted, comes the application for the study permit. 
• Before COVID, a study permit application could take 4 to 6 weeks, but students can now expect for that process to take several months, and should plan accordingly.

Is it necessary to take an English exam to study in Canada?

• Taking an English proficiency test to study in Canada is the most important step for an international student. In order for a school to qualify for the immigration process, they must require an English proficiency test for international students.

Does having work experience improve an international student’s chances of getting a study permit?

• Not at all. While work experience my help a student get accepted to their desired school, work experience is not a necessary component to successfully obtaining a study permit.

Is age an issue when applying for a study permit?

• Age is not an issue, but again, having a reasonable case for studying in Canada is important to obtaining a study permit, and so the older an applicant is, the more scrutiny they will face. For older international students who are working in a new field, or are looking to complete graduate studies, this again is not an issue, but it must be addressed in the application.

Conclusions

• Working towards studying in Canada is an involved process, and above all, international students need to be mindful of what they want to achieve by studying abroad. 
• With the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been notable processing delays in study permit applications, so students need to be mindful of this when applying for programs and permits.
• For international students looking to study in Canada, the CAEL scholarships are just one example of how you can potentially fund your studies in Canada!