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Business Standard
02-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Canada visa time: 18 days for Indian tourists, 8 weeks for students
Are you are planning to visit Canada or are waiting for an immigration decision? The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released the latest processing times, updated on April 30, 2025. Indian tourists can expect a Canada visitor visa in about 18 days, while Indian students applying for a study permit from outside Canada are currently seeing processing times of 8 weeks. Permanent residency applications under the economic class for Indians, such as the Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Worker Programme, are mostly being processed within 5 to 6 months. Since 2022, IRCC has shifted to real-time data for a more accurate estimate of application processing, scrapping the old service standards. Updates for citizenship, permanent residence, and family sponsorships now come monthly, while PR cards and temporary visas are refreshed weekly. According to IRCC, the timelines reflect 80 per cent of cases and are adjusted based on application volumes and available resources. Take a look at the current figures compared to last month. Citizenship grant: 8 months (reduced by 1 month) Citizenship certificate (for proof): 3 months (reduced by 1 month) Resumption of citizenship: not enough data Renunciation of citizenship: 8 months (reduced by 2 months) Search of citizenship records: 15 months (reduced by 1 month) Do note that delays may occur for citizenship certificates requested from outside Canada or the United States, according to IRCC. IRCC also said that Acknowledgment of Receipt (AOR) notices are now being sent for applications filed around March 24, 2025. Canada: Permanent resident cards New PR card: 19 days (up by 1 day) PR card renewal: 10 days (up by 1 day) Family sponsorship processing times Spouse/common-law partner (outside Canada, non-Quebec): 11 months (no change) Spouse/common-law partner (outside Canada, Quebec): 35 months (no change) Spouse/common-law partner (inside Canada, non-Quebec): 24 months (no change) Spouse/common-law partner (inside Canada, Quebec): 36 months (increased by 1 month) Parents and grandparents (non-Quebec): 36 months (increased by 3 months) Parents and grandparents (Quebec): 48 months (no change) Canadian passport processing times In-person application (within Canada): 10 business days (no change) Mail-in application (within Canada): 20 business days (no change) Urgent pick-up: By end of next business day (no change) Express pick-up: 2 to 9 business days (no change) Application from outside Canada: 20 business days (no change) Permanent residency – economic classes Canadian experience class (CEC): 5 months (no change) Federal skilled worker programme (FSWP): 6 months (increased by 1 month) Federal skilled trades programme (FSTP): Not enough data Provincial nominee programme (PNP) via Express Entry: 6 months (reduced by 1 month) Non-Express Entry PNP: 21 months (no change) Quebec skilled workers (QSW): 9 months (no change) Quebec business class: 72 months (increased by 1 month) Federal self-employed persons: 50 months (increased by 1 month) Atlantic immigration programme (AIP): 11 months (increased by 1 month) Start-up visa: 40 months (no change) Temporary resident visa processing times Visitor visa applications outside Canada India: 18 days (no change) United States: 17 days (no change) Nigeria: 93 days (reduced by 10 days) Pakistan: 23 days (increased by 1 day) Philippines: 25 days (increased by 3 days) Other temporary categories Visitor visa from inside Canada: 17 days (increased by 1 day) Visitor visa extension: 140 days (increased by 10 days) Super visa for parents and grandparents India: 127 days (reduced by 2 days) United States: 94 days (increased by 4 days) Nigeria: 61 days (increased by 7 days) Pakistan: 138 days (increased by 5 days) Philippines: 119 days (increased by 5 days) Study permit applications From India: 8 weeks (reduced by 1 week) From United States: 4 weeks (reduced by 1 week) From Nigeria: 6 weeks (no change) From Pakistan: 8 weeks (no change) From Philippines: 10 weeks (increased by 3 weeks) Other timelines: Study permit from inside Canada: 4 weeks (no change) Study permit extension: 220 days (increased by 13 days) Work permits From India: 18 weeks (no change) From United States: 17 weeks (reduced by 64 weeks) From Nigeria: 9 weeks (no change) From Pakistan: 8 weeks (no change) From Philippines: 7 weeks (increased by 1 week) Other categories: Work permit from inside Canada: 227 days (increased by 9 days) Seasonal agricultural worker programme (SAWP): 11 days (no change) International Experience Canada (IEC): 4 weeks (no change) Electronic travel authorisation (eTA): Processed within 5 minutes in most cases, although some may take up to 72 hours
Montreal Gazette
25-04-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
Court ruling a wake-up call for Quebec to work with English universities, not against them, Concordia says
By Buoyed by a partial court victory, Concordia president Graham Carr says the time has come for Quebec's anglophone universities and the Legault government to turn the page and begin working together. 'The decision to seek legal action came after months and months of trying to have data-driven conversations with the government and frustration at the lack of genuine dialogue and collaboration,' Carr told The Gazette. 'My hope is the government will look at this judgment and the larger context and (decide) we can hit reset and take a genuinely collaborative approach to supporting a higher education system that is world-class.' Last year, Concordia and McGill sued the Coalition Avenir Québec government over its university funding overhaul, which specifically targeted English-language institutions. The institutions said the changes hurt their finances, forcing them to make deep budget cuts. On Thursday, Quebec Superior Court Justice Éric Dufour ruled that parts of the funding revamp were 'unreasonable.' The affected measures are the 33-per-cent tuition hike for out-of-province students that took effect in 2024, as well as French proficiency targets for non-Quebec students at English universities, set to begin in the fall of 2025. Dufour gave the provincial government nine months to revise its tuition policy in line with the judgment. He ordered an immediate end to the French-language requirements. However, the judge rejected the anglophone universities' argument that another aspect of the overhaul — concerning the portion of international student fees retained by Quebec — was unlawful. Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry has not commented on the decision. Parties involved in the case have 30 days to appeal. 'I am relieved and reassured that on some very critical matters, the judge found in our favour,' Carr said. He said on francization, Quebec's English universities — Concordia, McGill and Bishop's — have long been committed to helping non-Quebec students learn French. Carr said that 'commitment remains.' Concordia is struggling financially. The university has cut millions in spending as it tries to restore a balanced budget by 2028-29, as set out in a recovery plan approved by Quebec's Higher Education Ministry. In February, the university said it still needed 'to realize $21.8 million in additional savings and increased revenue — the equivalent of (three to four per cent) of the university's overall operating budget of $665 million.' Carr said the court judgment will not solve Concordia's money problems. He noted that a drop in applications from out-of-province and international students has hurt his university's finances. More recently, the provincial and federal governments have cut the number of international students that universities can accept. In March, McGill announced it would lay off about 100 employees as it worked to eliminate a projected $45-million deficit for next year. The university said several factors led to the possible shortfall, including the out-of-province tuition increase and a provincial clawback of a portion of tuition revenues. It also pointed to caps on international student admissions at the provincial and federal levels and lower capital grants from Quebec. In a statement sent to students and staff late Thursday, McGill president Deep Saini said his university is reviewing the court decision 'McGill remains firmly committed to playing an essential role in Quebec's economy, talent pipeline, research ecosystem and to contributing to the promotion and vitality of the French language,' Saini said. He thanked the university community for its 'dedication to McGill as we work to protect its mission and place as one of the world's top institutions of higher education.' The Quebec Community Groups Network, which has described the university reform as an 'attack on Quebec's English-speaking community,' welcomed the court decision. 'This is an important ruling on a crucial issue,' Eva Ludvig, president of the umbrella group of anglophone associations, said in a statement to The Gazette. 'It confirms our belief that the government acted rashly last fall in first blaming out-of-province students for the decline in French it perceives, and in imposing a discriminatory tuition burden on these students who contribute mightily to Montreal and Quebec, as well as the English language-institutions that are at the heart of our English-speaking community.' Ludvig said it's telling that the judge was 'so critical of the lack of evidence and data to back up the tuition policy. The government blew it on this one, and the universities' partial victory is well deserved.'
