Scared

[knoxis]

Hi,
I am posting here as I am quite worried about my study permit application. First of all, it's been about 2 weeks since I submitted my application online from Malaysia. I am a US citizen, and have done an upfront medical examination. However, in the two weeks since submitting it, I've only received confirmation of submitting of documents, and confirmation of receipt of my application. Not even the medicals have been reviewed or approved. The CIC website states that applying from Malaysia will take 6 weeks. Is this estimate generally accurate? If so, I'm quite worried as a third of the time frame has passed already with no updates whatsoever.

Also. I have been accepted into a high school in Toronto (which automatically counts as a designated learning institute). I have also already paid the school fees, and have been issued my official letter of acceptance. However, my only source of funds are my father's estate account since he passed away. My family no longer has an income, since my mom can't work, and the estate account reflects this. The estate account, however, had more than enough to support my studies in Toronto, and I indicated that my parents would be paying for my costs. I have also attached my birth certificate, which has my father's name on it, which proves ownership of the account. Will this be a problem with the visa officer in proving sufficient funds? I also didn't attach a letter of sponsorship from my mother, but I am not sure if that will even count since the estate account statements are in my father's name only.

Lastly, will I be required to submit proof of ties to Malaysia? I've graduated from school here, so I have no school to return to, which I'd assume is the norm for most applying to study in Canada. My family lives in Malaysia, of course, but we only rent a house and do not own any property or business here. I can submit the utility bills we pay in order to prove residence in Malaysia, but since we rent our house, the name on the bills is the landlord's and not my mother's, so those may not be good enough to prove residence. However, I saw on CIC that job opportunities in one's home country as a reason to leave Canada, and since I am a US citizen, I can return to the USA to work and live with no problem. As such, will CIC accept my citizenship as reason to leave Canada?

Thanks!

 

[Linzar]

Hi Knoxis

1. The processing time mentioned on the CIC site is the average processing time for the application. It can be less or more, totally dependent on how the application is made by the applicant and the volume of applications at that particular period. So do not worry. Keep checking your inbox, spam folder and CIC account so that you do not miss any update. Once the 6 weeks time frame passes you can always contact the CIC call center for update on your application.

2. Did you provide the acceptance letter, fees paid receipt and bank statement of estate account with your application? Sponsorship letter from mother would have been advantage. Did u explain the funding in your Letter of explanation. We cannot predict how a visa officer interprets the documents. No we can only wait n hope for the best.

3. In your case the best way to explain home ties would have been through a letter of explanation where u could have mentioned about your education back ground, family information like your mother staying in Malaysia or about any siblings(if any) and your citizen status. Estate ownership papers and its market value also could be used home ties as well financial docs.

hope this helps. My best wishes are with u. Hope to hear good news.

 

[knoxis]

Hi Linzar,
Thank for the reply. I have, in fact, paid for all my school fees, and I have been issued an official letter of acceptance which I attached to my online application. I have also attached the bank statements, as well as the fees receipt, to my application. I did not think much of the "letter of explanation" since it was listed under "optional documents", and at the time I didn't know what to do with it. Given that it was listed under "optional documents", I think it is fair that I didn't attach anything for it — though in hindsight, you're right in that I should have attached a letter explaining my situation.

Also, since I am a US citizen, will it be easier to prove I will leave Canada, given that I can get a job and live in the US with no problems? My only other experience with applying for a study permit is that of my sister, who applied for one similarly 5 years ago. She, unlike me, is a Malaysian citizen, and as such one of the required documents was a form about our family, in which she had to list all the names of our family members and their respective relationships to her. In my application, though, there was no such mandatory form, and it wasn't even an optional one, so I'm assuming they don't generally require one from US citizens. The only other optional form I could attach is a form outlining all my past travels, but since Malaysia and Singapore are so close, and my family still has personal affairs in Singapore, we tend to travel in and out of Singapore a lot, and so I felt that this document would be too tedious to fill in, especially since I'd have to provide all the dates of entrance and departure, for the last 5 years.

Thanks for your help! It is still rather worrisome that nearly 2 weeks have passed with no update.

 

[09june]

I am very scared as well. I sent my visa application to the embassy and some people I know told me that I lack documents for my proof of funds but I honestly don't know that it is required because it is not stated in the cic.
The waiting is so agonising, I cant sleep soundly at night. ??? ??? ???

 

[knoxis]

@09June:

CIC does in fact require a proof of funds. Did the people at the visa office tell you that you didn't have the proof of funds or were they just friends? Most of the time, bank records showing that you have sufficient funds to cover your school fees, plus 10,000 dollars for every year you'll be in Canada (11,000 per year for Quebec) should suffice. You will also need to submit a letter of sponsorship if someone else is paying for your school fees, or a letter stating you received a grant or scholarship if you have one. It will help tremendously to submit your receipt of school fees payment as that'll prove that you have at least enough to cover the school fees.

Good luck. I know exactly how you are feeling. I went through that as well. I was feeling extremely frantic throughout the whole process. Every hour I would log into my CIC account to be greeted with disappointment, as no change had occurred. Then on the day my approval letter came, I was excited. What you can do for now to calm your nerves is tell yourself that you have no reason to be afraid. Tell yourself that you've never had a criminal record, you have enough money to support yourself (supposedly), that you are in good health and are a good, law-abiding person. Tell yourself that CIC will have no reason to refuse your application, and it will work out fine. You may not be able to determine the outcome of your application, but you can make yourself feel better. Regardless of the outcome, it is not worth it to make yourself feel bad, which I realise now. Feeling scared and nervous will not help the outcome one bit, so relax, sit back and enjoy yourself while you wait. If it is approved, you will realise that the worrying was senseless.

 

[rdpldo]

Hi,
I am posting here as I am quite worried about my study permit application. First of all, it's been about 2 weeks since I submitted my application online from Malaysia. I am a US citizen, and have done an upfront medical examination. However, in the two weeks since submitting it, I've only received confirmation of submitting of documents, and confirmation of receipt of my application. Not even the medicals have been reviewed or approved. The CIC website states that applying from Malaysia will take 6 weeks. Is this estimate generally accurate? If so, I'm quite worried as a third of the time frame has passed already with no updates whatsoever.

Also. I have been accepted into a high school in Toronto (which automatically counts as a designated learning institute). I have also already paid the school fees, and have been issued my official letter of acceptance. However, my only source of funds are my father's estate account since he passed away. My family no longer has an income, since my mom can't work, and the estate account reflects this. The estate account, however, had more than enough to support my studies in Toronto, and I indicated that my parents would be paying for my costs. I have also attached my birth certificate, which has my father's name on it, which proves ownership of the account. Will this be a problem with the visa officer in proving sufficient funds? I also didn't attach a letter of sponsorship from my mother, but I am not sure if that will even count since the estate account statements are in my father's name only.

Lastly, will I be required to submit proof of ties to Malaysia? I've graduated from school here, so I have no school to return to, which I'd assume is the norm for most applying to study in Canada. My family lives in Malaysia, of course, but we only rent a house and do not own any property or business here. I can submit the utility bills we pay in order to prove residence in Malaysia, but since we rent our house, the name on the bills is the landlord's and not my mother's, so those may not be good enough to prove residence. However, I saw on CIC that job opportunities in one's home country as a reason to leave Canada, and since I am a US citizen, I can return to the USA to work and live with no problem. As such, will CIC accept my citizenship as reason to leave Canada?

Thanks!

I'd just like to ask if your study permit is already approved? How many weeks did it take?

 

[rdpldo]

@09June:

CIC does in fact require a proof of funds. Did the people at the visa office tell you that you didn't have the proof of funds or were they just friends? Most of the time, bank records showing that you have sufficient funds to cover your school fees, plus 10,000 dollars for every year you'll be in Canada (11,000 per year for Quebec) should suffice. You will also need to submit a letter of sponsorship if someone else is paying for your school fees, or a letter stating you received a grant or scholarship if you have one. It will help tremendously to submit your receipt of school fees payment as that'll prove that you have at least enough to cover the school fees.

Good luck. I know exactly how you are feeling. I went through that as well. I was feeling extremely frantic throughout the whole process. Every hour I would log into my CIC account to be greeted with disappointment, as no change had occurred. Then on the day my approval letter came, I was excited. What you can do for now to calm your nerves is tell yourself that you have no reason to be afraid. Tell yourself that you've never had a criminal record, you have enough money to support yourself (supposedly), that you are in good health and are a good, law-abiding person. Tell yourself that CIC will have no reason to refuse your application, and it will work out fine. You may not be able to determine the outcome of your application, but you can make yourself feel better. Regardless of the outcome, it is not worth it to make yourself feel bad, which I realise now. Feeling scared and nervous will not help the outcome one bit, so relax, sit back and enjoy yourself while you wait. If it is approved, you will realise that the worrying was senseless.

I just found out about the date of your application and the consequent approval. You are indeed lucky to have got your study permit for less that 2 weeks.