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Canada eases migration norms for int'l students
Economic Times - India
US’s loss could well become its northern neighbour’s gain.
New immigration rules promise to make Canadian varsities
more attractive for international students.
International students at Canadian colleges and universities
will now be allowed to work off-campus while pursuing their
studies. Another change is that international students can
work for two years as against one year after completing
their studies.
Currently, international students have to work on-campus
jobs. The new rules will permit them to work off campus as
well. After graduation, they will be allowed to work for two
years, instead of one, the proviso being they work outside
the major metropolises. The new rules would encourage
foreign graduates to seek jobs and help universities attract
more students who, on an average, contribute about $20,000 a
year to the schools.
The leeway to international students willing to work beyond
the metropolises mirrors the US system of waiver for
international medical graduates willing to work in
underserved areas. The US requires that international
medical graduates return to their home country for at least
two years.
Additionally, the new measures will it make it easier for
immigrant parents to join their children who already live in
Canada. The Canadian immigration minister hopes to triple
the approvals of parents and grandparents seeking
citizenship in Canada to 18,000 a year.
The minister has also committed to spending an additional
Canadian $72 million ($58 million) over the next two years
to deal with a backlog of 110,000 cases. Besides which
applicants over the age of 55 who fulfill the residency
requirement will no longer have to take the language and
knowledge tests required for citizenship.
Canadian minister Joe Volpe said that in the interim period,
starting this week, parents and grandparents waiting for
their immigration visas to be processed would be granted
five-year, multiple-entry visas so that they could visit
their children in Canada. This is bound to be popular with
the large Indian community in Canada.
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