Applicant from PhD program after 5 Nov, 2011 connect here to get status

[abdul78]

Hi Guys,

I am really amazed about the useful cooperation in this forum. I have applied in last year and my information is as follows:

Application Reached Sydney : Dec 7, 2012 (for 2nd round, as I applied in Sep 20th, 2012 and get back-CAP issue)
CC encashed : Jan 21, 2013
Received PER - Feb 1, 2013
Work Exp: TA - back home 2004 - 2009
PCC included with the application.

Thanks,
Abdul

 

[Curious2]

Hi guys,
In order to apply for caips, do I have to request my immigration info under the access info act ($5 fee) or under the privacy act (free)? What is the difference?

 

[hossein61]

Hi guys,
In order to apply for caips, do I have to request my immigration info under the access info act ($5 fee) or under the privacy act (free)? What is the difference?

Privacy act is free and only Canada residents are eligible for that. Just send something like enrollment letter with the filled form to prove that you are living in Canada. I think there is no difference between them.

 

[jmmj]

They have discussed this issue on previous threads.

Schools differ on the policy. Some require the PR , while others only ask for PER emails.

Schools cannot differ on policy. It was noted in one of the earlier posts that on International fee exemption, Universities are guided by "Ontario Operating Funds Distribution Manual". U of T students' account website explicitly states this.
This manual is available on university of guelph website (I am not allowed to post links otherwise I would have. Just google Ontario Operating Funds Distribution Manual). If you look under 4.1.2 you will see that those who have the letter confirming that they fulfill the eligibility requirements for Permanent Resident status in Canada are considered for fee purposes as "Permanent Residents". 4.1.3 then mentions that international students who are dependants of "permanent residents" are eligible for fee exemption.

If your university is not following these guidelines you can insist on them to exempt you and your dependants on the basis of PER. In my view there is no reason why universities should not accept PER as approved "in-principle". I don't see any ambiguity here. If your Dean's office or the Registrar's office is still not waiving your international status then you should take this matter through your Graduate Students' Union or Association. If your Prof. is paying for your tuition he/she might also be interested pursuing this the university administration.

 

[asbereth]

If your university is not following these guidelines you can insist on them to exempt you and your dependants on the basis of PER. In my view there is no reason why universities should not accept PER as approved "in-principle". I don't see any ambiguity here. If your Dean's office or the Registrar's office is still not waiving your international status then you should take this matter through your Graduate Students' Union or Association. If your Prof. is paying for your tuition he/she might also be interested pursuing this the university administration.

This was what I did just before Fall, after some back and forth arguments with my school's immigration specialist. She did not agree with the PER letter being a sufficient proof for approval-in-principle. In the end, I told her that all schools in Ontario should follow the same guidelines, and York University explicitly states that the PER letter for PhD stream should be enough in getting the students the eligibility for local tuition rates.

http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2012-2013/financial/fee_categories/index.htm

They decided to look further into the issue and clarified further with the ministries. Lo and behold, roughly three weeks later, they sent a university-wide announcement, saying that all students who have received positive eligibility review for the PhD stream are qualified for local tuition rates, and that they should present the copy of the email to the graduate studies office so their residency eligibility can be reviewed. I believe this rule applies Ontario wide and some other schools, I think, have followed suit.

Also, don't forget that you qualify for OHIP three months after your PER date. The thing is, it would take roughly three months before you get the card in your hand anyway, so as soon as you get your PER, go to the nearest ServiceOntario, and get your eligibility for OHIP reviewed. They will reject you, for which you can then appeal (and provided that they haven't rejected your PR application, the appeal decision will be positive).

The appeal would take about 8 weeks, and the card will arrive in 6 weeks. In the decision letter, it will state that you won't be eligible until at least three months of your PER date, but most likely, by the time your card arrives, it would've been over the three months period anyway.

 

[asbereth]

Hi Guys,

I am really amazed about the useful cooperation in this forum. I have applied in last year and my information is as follows:

Application Reached Sydney : Dec 7, 2012 (for 2nd round, as I applied in Sep 20th, 2012 and get back-CAP issue)
CC encashed : Jan 21, 2013
Received PER - Feb 1, 2013
Work Exp: TA - back home 2004 - 2009
PCC included with the application.

Thanks,
Abdul

Hi abdul78, can you tell us your country of nationality so that we can include your info in the spreadsheet? Congrats for the PER btw. If you are in Ontario, don't forget to get your international fee waived, and also apply for OHIP

 

[Uwindsor2009]

Schools cannot differ on policy. It was noted in one of the earlier posts that on International fee exemption, Universities are guided by "Ontario Operating Funds Distribution Manual". U of T students' account website explicitly states this.
This manual is available on university of guelph website (I am not allowed to post links otherwise I would have. Just google Ontario Operating Funds Distribution Manual). If you look under 4.1.2 you will see that those who have the letter confirming that they fulfill the eligibility requirements for Permanent Resident status in Canada are considered for fee purposes as "Permanent Residents". 4.1.3 then mentions that international students who are dependants of "permanent residents" are eligible for fee exemption.

If your university is not following these guidelines you can insist on them to exempt you and your dependants on the basis of PER. In my view there is no reason why universities should not accept PER as approved "in-principle". I don't see any ambiguity here. If your Dean's office or the Registrar's office is still not waiving your international status then you should take this matter through your Graduate Students' Union or Association. If your Prof. is paying for your tuition he/she might also be interested pursuing this the university administration.

This was what I did just before Fall, after some back and forth arguments with my school's immigration specialist. She did not agree with the PER letter being a sufficient proof for approval-in-principle. In the end, I told her that all schools in Ontario should follow the same guidelines, and York University explicitly states that the PER letter for PhD stream should be enough in getting the students the eligibility for local tuition rates.

http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2012-2013/financial/fee_categories/index.htm

They decided to look further into the issue and clarified further with the ministries. Lo and behold, roughly three weeks later, they sent a university-wide announcement, saying that all students who have received positive eligibility review for the PhD stream are qualified for local tuition rates, and that they should present the copy of the email to the graduate studies office so their residency eligibility can be reviewed. I believe this rule applies Ontario wide and some other schools, I think, have followed suit.

Also, don't forget that you qualify for OHIP three months after your PER date. The thing is, it would take roughly three months before you get the card in your hand anyway, so as soon as you get your PER, go to the nearest ServiceOntario, and get your eligibility for OHIP reviewed. They will reject you, for which you can then appeal (and provided that they haven't rejected your PR application, the appeal decision will be positive).

The appeal would take about 8 weeks, and the card will arrive in 6 weeks. In the decision letter, it will state that you won't be eligible until at least three months of your PER date, but most likely, by the time your card arrives, it would've been over the three months period anyway.

Thanks !!! Such a useful information

 

[abdul78]

Hi abdul78, can you tell us your country of nationality so that we can include your info in the spreadsheet? Congrats for the PER btw. If you are in Ontario, don't forget to get your international fee waived, and also apply for OHIP

Thanks asbereth for your congrats and the country of nationality is Iraq.

 

[JVJ]

Hi Asberth,

Please update my information as well.

Application Reached Sydney : Feb 24, 2012
Received PER - March 21, 2012
No of people : 2
Work Exp: RA 2009 jan - 2012 feb
PCC not included with the application. They were expiring in Feb 2013, so I sent them in without any request from CIC on Jan 28th 2013. I hope they will consider those.

Thanks,
JVJ

 

[Curious2]

Thanks.

Privacy act is free and only Canada residents are eligible for that. Just send something like enrollment letter with the filled form to prove that you are living in Canada. I think there is no difference between them.

 

[dfbb]

a question:

when they receive bank statement, do they put a line in the system saying "we received your ..."?

 

[websphereguy]

a question:

when they receive bank statement, do they put a line in the system saying "we received your ..."?

I can't answer this question for you as I haven't had a request for bank statement yet. But what I can say is that, not too long ago, TyrusX shared something with us in this forum. It was the synopsis of the discussion between CIC reps and the movement called "forgotten PR applications from Quebec" (something like that it was called, I remember the exact words). In it, the CIC reps said that one shouldn't depend much on ecas information as they don't really update it that often. Apparently, they are working on changing the ecas system.

 

[TyrusX]

I can't answer this question for you as I haven't had a request for bank statement yet. But what I can say is that, not too long ago, TyrusX shared something with us in this forum. It was the synopsis of the discussion between CIC reps and the movement called "forgotten PR applications from Quebec" (something like that it was called, I remember the exact words). In it, the CIC reps said that one shouldn't depend much on ecas information as they don't really update it that often. Apparently, they are working on changing the ecas system.

Yes. Ecas is almost never updated.

 

[Uwindsor2009]

This was what I did just before Fall, after some back and forth arguments with my school's immigration specialist. She did not agree with the PER letter being a sufficient proof for approval-in-principle. In the end, I told her that all schools in Ontario should follow the same guidelines, and York University explicitly states that the PER letter for PhD stream should be enough in getting the students the eligibility for local tuition rates.

http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2012-2013/financial/fee_categories/index.htm

They decided to look further into the issue and clarified further with the ministries. Lo and behold, roughly three weeks later, they sent a university-wide announcement, saying that all students who have received positive eligibility review for the PhD stream are qualified for local tuition rates, and that they should present the copy of the email to the graduate studies office so their residency eligibility can be reviewed. I believe this rule applies Ontario wide and some other schools, I think, have followed suit.

Also, don't forget that you qualify for OHIP three months after your PER date. The thing is, it would take roughly three months before you get the card in your hand anyway, so as soon as you get your PER, go to the nearest ServiceOntario, and get your eligibility for OHIP reviewed. They will reject you, for which you can then appeal (and provided that they haven't rejected your PR application, the appeal decision will be positive).

The appeal would take about 8 weeks, and the card will arrive in 6 weeks. In the decision letter, it will state that you won't be eligible until at least three months of your PER date, but most likely, by the time your card arrives, it would've been over the three months period anyway.

Just One question.
I have a off campus work permit. My spouse does hold a open work permit due to my international student status.

In such case, Am i eligible for domestic fee ???

 

[asbereth]

Just One question.
I have a off campus work permit. My spouse does hold a open work permit due to my international student status.

In such case, Am i eligible for domestic fee ???

Hi Uwindsor2009, I don't think it matters whether your spouse holds an open work permit. We're still all technically international students. It's just that, for the purpose of tuition calculation, we are considered local, but it doesn't change our status.

Yes. Ecas is almost never updated.

Yes, eCas doesn't usually mean much. But I think the second line usually appears after medical request has been sent out, or after they receive the further documentation they requested. Though for the past several days, there had been cases where eCas status had not been accessible for those with medical requests (or after they have submitted further documentation as requested by Ottawa).