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Who is planning to travel to Canada for this fall/September intake?

prospectiveab said:
There's a whole lot of students actually affected, e.g those from India refused boarding by Air India, more in the responses to IRCC tweets:
https://twitter.com/CitImmCanada
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My fall term courses are online but there's a compulsory in-class component (essay / thesis) of the program that'll happen later on.

But still, my University's international student office as well as CBSA clearly told me that online classes are considered Non-Essential.

So, we'll most likely be denied entry even if we reach the port of entry there.


In the tweets of the High Commissioner of Canada to India, it's clearly seen that the only people eligible to board the Air India flights are Canadian citizens and PRs.

No wonder if students book, they are being denied entry, as online classes are not considered an essential reason to travel.
 
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GradStudent18 said:
My fall term courses are online but there's a compulsory in-class component (essay / thesis) of the program that'll happen later on.
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Doesn't your condition fall under the following exception?
  • their presence in Canada is necessary for their continued participation in the program (such as in laboratories or workshops) (link)
It's terrible to be left with this uncertainty. I am already considering to study remotely and defer my airline ticket because of these new updates.
 
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prospectiveab said:
Doesn't your condition fall under the following exception?
  • their presence in Canada is necessary for their continued participation in the program (such as in laboratories or workshops) (link)
It's terrible to be left with this uncertainty. I am already considering to study remotely and defer my airline ticket because of these new updates.
Click to expand...


You're right...I think it does fall under that exception. But the issue is, this in-class essay/thesis will not be in the fall term - it's during a later term (3rd or 4th), as a capstone towards the end of the master's degree.


So, I'm thoroughly confused as to whether this would be considered an essential reason for entry in the fall term (given that fall courses are going to be held online).

I don't want to take the risk of travelling for 28 hours and then getting denied entry / being stranded in one of the airports, with difficulty in getting a return flight back home.

Like there's the real risk of being denied entry & then getting stuck at any one of the airports along the way, and not being able to return home for some time till we can book another flight. It's up to the CBSA officer at the port of entry and I've called CBSA - they say online classes are non-essential and I'm afraid I'll be denied entry.
 
prospectiveab said:
Doesn't your condition fall under the following exception?
  • their presence in Canada is necessary for their continued participation in the program (such as in laboratories or workshops) (link)
It's terrible to be left with this uncertainty. I am already considering to study remotely and defer my airline ticket because of these new updates.
Click to expand...


I totally agree - the uncertainty is real bad. By the way, if I may ask, which airlines have you booked through? For my part, I'm finding it difficult to book flights - there are so many cancellations from their end and it's a lot of money for the ticket.
 
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GradStudent18 said:
You're right...I think it does fall under that exception. But the issue is, this in-class essay/thesis will not be in the fall term - it's during a later term (3rd or 4th), as a capstone towards the end of the master's degree.


So, I'm thoroughly confused as to whether this would be considered an essential reason for entry in the fall term (given that fall courses are going to be held online).

I don't want to take the risk of travelling for 28 hours and then getting denied entry / being stranded in one of the airports, with difficulty in getting a return flight back home.

Like there's the real risk of being denied entry & then getting stuck at any one of the airports along the way, and not being able to return home for some time till we can book another flight. It's up to the CBSA officer at the port of entry and I've called CBSA - they say online classes are non-essential and I'm afraid I'll be denied entry.
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Ah, I see. The latest updates concern the fall term and your thesis should be in the final term I suppose. So yeah both your uni and the CSBA officer were right, that doesn't make your fall courses essential.

You shouldn't worry though, there will be new updates about upcoming terms soon, and maybe we'll be allowed into Canada then,
 
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GradStudent18 said:
I totally agree - the uncertainty is real bad. By the way, if I may ask, which airlines have you booked through? For my part, I'm finding it difficult to book flights - there are so many cancellations from their end and it's a lot of money for the ticket.
Click to expand...

I booked with Air Canada, they offer unlimited changes as part of their COVID policy.

I thought I did the smart thing booking my flight early in May. This month my flight leg got cancelled and I couldn't find any flights that take off earlier than my program start date.

I have no clue about Air India prices and flight schedules though, sorry. You can always find airlines for your route via Kayak and book directly on their site
 
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prospectiveab said:
Ah, I see. The latest updates concern the fall term and your thesis should be in the final term I suppose. So yeah both your uni and the CSBA officer were right, that doesn't make your fall courses essential.

You shouldn't worry though, there will be new updates about upcoming terms soon, and maybe we'll be allowed into Canada then,
Click to expand...


Yeah, that's right. It's around the end of the program and that makes fall entry non-essential.

I hope so too. Looking forward to further updates from IRCC in these challenging times. Thank you so much for your kind words - I too hope we're eventually allowed entry in the near future.
 
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GradStudent18 said:
Yeah, that's right. It's around the end of the program and that makes fall entry non-essential.

I hope so too. Looking forward to further updates from IRCC in these challenging times. Thank you so much for your kind words - I too hope we're eventually allowed entry in the near future.
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Thanks man. Remember, you've come a long way, don't risk anything. Fingers crossed
 
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prospectiveab said:
I booked with Air Canada, they offer unlimited changes as part of their COVID policy.

I thought I did the smart thing booking my flight early in May. This month my flight leg got cancelled and I couldn't find any flights that take off earlier than my program start date.

I have no clue about Air India prices and flight schedules though, sorry. You can always find airlines for your route via Kayak and book directly on their site
Click to expand...


Oh that's good. Air Canada isn't operating scheduled flights right now here. But it's good you booked with them. Being the flag carrier, they're expected to accurately reflect the Canadian government's ideas and plans about international travel. Very sorry to hear about the flight leg getting cancelled.


Regards Air India, thank you again for your kind words and for your suggestion about Kayak. I'll have to check it out. Thanks again!
 
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GradStudent18 said:
Oh that's good. Air Canada isn't operating scheduled flights right now here. But it's good you booked with them. Being the flag carrier, they're expected to accurately reflect the Canadian government's ideas and plans about international travel. Very sorry to hear about the flight leg getting cancelled.


Regards Air India, thank you again for your kind words and for your suggestion about Kayak. I'll have to check it out. Thanks again!
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Haha well there's this saying about them: we're not happy until you're not happy. It actually started making sense lately. My flight leg got cancelled because of Philippine Airlines.

There are certainly better airlines. But AC is remains a cheaper option that's why I went with them. You can try switching airport codes around in Kayak to find airlines, I believe Air Canada works with Air India as they're in the same alliance and you can book flights with both airlines.

Good luck to us = )
 
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prospectiveab said:
Haha well there's this saying about them: we're not happy until you're not happy. It actually started making sense lately. My flight leg got cancelled because of Philippine Airlines.

There are certainly better airlines. But AC is remains a cheaper option that's why I went with them. You can try switching airport codes around in Kayak to find airlines, I believe Air Canada works with Air India as they're in the same alliance and you can book flights with both airlines.

Good luck to us = )
Click to expand...


Haha that saying! I agree Air Canada is cheaper even for long-haul 16 hour flights. I've noticed that when I was trying to book earlier in May / June, but then decided I'll book later, closer to the fall since there was some uncertainty back then. Now, looks like I'm not going to book for the fall term - so better to focus on starting the program at home. Thanks for the additional suggestion about Kayak - will surely try. Best wishes to you too! :) :)
 
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GradStudent18 said:
Haha that saying! I agree Air Canada is cheaper even for long-haul 16 hour flights. I've noticed that when I was trying to book earlier in May / June, but then decided I'll book later, closer to the fall since there was some uncertainty back then. Now, looks like I'm not going to book for the fall term - so better to focus on starting the program at home. Thanks for the additional suggestion about Kayak - will surely try. Best wishes to you too! :) :)
Click to expand...

You're right, it's too early to plan a late December trip. I don't think IRCC will change anything for the fall term.

Thanks for the wishes, same goes to you!
 
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