As things look bleak amid the pandemic, Canada has introduced 3 new measures to ensure individuals are provided with ample opportunities to obtain study and work permits.

 The following are the new measures made public by the IRCC on PGWP (Postgraduate Open Work permit) eligibility for international students who did their courses online during the COVID-19 outbreak.

• If students would be completing 50% of their studies in Canada, they can continue to study online while being overseas up until April 30, 2021, without any deduction from the length of their PGWP.
• If a student had enrolled in an 8-12 months program that has a start date from May to September 2020, they may complete the entirety of their studies abroad and still be eligible for PGWP! (no need to be in Canada)
• International students who have done more than one eligible program, with one program that has start date between May and September 2020 (and study online up to April 30, 2021) can combine the lengths of their programs while applying for a PGWP given that at least 50% of studies is done in Canada.

For international students to qualify for the above measures, they need to have submitted a study permit application prior to starting a program  with a designated learning institution in the Spring/ Summer/ Fall 2020 semester or Jan 2021 semester. They need to be approved eventually for a study permit to be eligible.

The IRCC is closely monitoring the spread of COVID-19 and keeping a close watch on the changing international situations and one can expect additional announcements/ changes in the upcoming weeks or months.

The role that international students play in the Canadian economy is one that cannot be looked over.
The 640,000 international students in addition to creating a diverse and wholistic learning
environment, contribute some $22 billion to the economy each year which supports around 200,000
Canadian jobs.
Recognizing that difficulties that international students face during COVID-19, Canada has
announced a variety of special measures to help the international students already in the country,
and those who hope to come into the country soon. The following are the latest updates concerning
international students:
Implied status
Current and Post-Graduation Work Permit holding international students who wish to extend their
stay in Canada during the coronavirus impact may be eligible for implied status. Implied status
provides international students the chance to continue their studies and/or work while Immigration,
Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reviews their work/study permit extension application
Working hours
IRCC has temporarily allowed international students to work more than the previously allowed 20
hours if they are working in 10 priority sectors. This rule holds water until August 31. These 10
sectors are:

 Energy and utilities
 Information and Communication Technologies
 Finance
 Health
 Food
 Water
 Transportation
 Safety
 Government
 Manufacturing

CERB

The federal government provides income support through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit
(CERB) which offers $500 per week for up to 16 weeks to eligible workers whose lives have been
disrupted by the pandemic. International students who qualify for the requirements may receive the
benefits.

PR pathways

Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, both levels of government have issued more invitations to
apply for permanent residence to those with Canadian experience due to the high levels of
education and linguistic proficiencies that international students bring with them to the Canadian
economy.

More time to submit immigration applications

IRCC understands the impact that COVID-19 might have had on the abilities of immigration
applications. IRCC announced that it will not turn incomplete applications and that they will provide
an additional 90 days to complete the application considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

PGWP

The Post-Graduation Work Permit helps international students gain Canadian work experience.
International students have no need for concern with regards to their PGWP since IRCC has
announced that students who were slotted for a study permit to begin their Canadian education in
May or June will be able to begin their program online without affecting their eligibility to eventually
apply for a PGWP. The same applies to international students already in Canada.

More support for international students on the way

Canadian response to the pandemic situation has surpassed that even of the United States. It has
done more than what anyone could have expected when compared with other countries. The care
and concern that the government has shown to accommodate its foreign nationals have helped
cement Canada’s status as a truly inclusive and diverse country made up of a cultural mosaic.
Considering the current trends, it is highly probable that more help would be coming for international
students.

The announcement came within a few days after Delhi witnessed widespread riot and furor against the newly implemented Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) along with a crackdown on Jammu & Kashmir that led to unchecked violence and blood-soaked streets as a result of Hindu-Muslim conflicts thanks to the Hindu nationalist frenzy evoked and stoked by Narendra Modi’s claptrap.

In what could only be described as the worst religious act India has seen in decades, the recent policy championed by BJP (the ruling party in India which advocates extreme Hindu nationalist notions) mainly bases religion as the test of true citizenship. This bill, while claiming to help non-Muslims who have fled from Muslim-dominated neighboring countries fearing persecution on the surface, blatantly targets and discriminates against Muslims which violates the most secular tenets of its constitution.

Police officials have been issued shoot-at-sight orders if that’s what it takes to quell the uprising and communal discord in certain parts of North East Delhi.

To further add salt to injury, the Indian government has also put Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which is a curfew that forbids gatherings of more than four people in various areas. What this means is that even marriages and funerals can’t be foreseen if there are more than 4 people. Also, it is expected that network connectivity would be partially or fully cut in volatile regions to impede the spread of communal hatred. Public places that would be on high alert include airports, places of worship, public transport hubs, government buildings as well as schools.

A map of India showing areas with political  unrest

In face of such imminent threats to its citizens who plan to visit India, the Canadian Government has issued a high degree of caution towards the states of Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam other nearby states. As of now, Canada has marked the ongoing pandemonium in India as “risk towards civil disorder and acts of terrorism”. The official number of deaths was 38 last week, a number that has since continued to swell.

Fears of Coronavirus in India

While India has remained relatively unscathed despite being in close proximity to China ( the assumed epicenter of the virus), three new cases of the virus have been reported including that of a 69 year old Italian national in the state of Jaipur. The first reported cases of the deadly virus in India were from the southern state of Kerala, which had managed to contain the outbreak and successfully discharge the infected patients. It remains to be seen whether the rest of India can limit the number of infected people to the aforementioned as it grapples with religious discrimination and political unrest on the side.

With a potential travel ban hanging in the balance if the situation gets exacerbated, it is advised that for now, any non-essential plans to travel to India would have to be temporarily shelved. This alert had been issued last Friday.

Imitation of visas and international IDs to permit voyager’s access to Canada is a lucrative business in northern India.

The greater part of falsification cases revealed at Delhi Airport identify with travelers utilizing fake visas or international IDs to attempt and get into Canada, where they either need to stay or hope to proceed onward elsewhere.

Corrupt travel operators are frequently sharing new thoughts to remain in front of the extortion recognizing specialists.

Authorities say first-time travelers are focused on account of their naivety.

Three distinct strategies are utilized with regards to travel archive extortion.

The first is to use filtering machines and PC programming to make entirely new visas and travel permits, which are then sold for extortionate charges. The best false reports can be to a high degree hard to spot for airplane terminal authorities and outskirt security operators.

Also, falsifiers can take real travel archives and adjust them by posting pictures and including stamps and marks.

The third strategy utilized includes using a relative’s international ID or visa on account of closeness in personalities, particularly simple to do where twins are involved. These sorts of fakes can be hard to spot on account of religious clothing and similar facial hair.

Fringe operators utilize a few distinct manuals and advanced methods to spot fakes. Be that as it may, regularly the counterfeiters have effectively profited when explorers get got with the wrong reports.

Forgers tend to go after poor and uneducated explorers searching for business openings abroad.

Regardless of the possibility that they do get past Indian outskirt security, the fakes are regularly spotted by specialists from the Canada Border Security Agency.

Where fakes are suspected, the reports are sent to the Canadian international haven to check if they have been formally issued.