Difficulty of getting a visa (Czech Republic)

[microx]

Hi,

I've never applied for a visa before and I have several questions related to how it works. I'm trying to find out how it works for the Czech Republic, but any kind of general help is welcome.

How difficult is it to get a study permit if you want to go to Canada as an exchange student (for 1 year)? Does it happen often that your application is rejected? What is typically a cause of that? What can you do to have it accepted? How long does it take to arrange the permit - i.e. if I want to go to Canada in September, when should I apply? Can you get both study and work permit (so as to try to have a part-time job while studying)?

Thanks.

 

[veri]

Since I am originally from the Czech Republic, I`m gonna try to answer ur questions. First, you need to be accepted to a Canadian school (and have all the fees paid) in order to be eligible to apply for study permit. I`d suggest to start preparing your travel to Canada at least a year before the school start day (it takes some time to be accepted, you generally need to pass TOEFL exam - the required score differs from institution to institution). Once accepted, the application itself should not be sent later than cca 6 months before the start day, ideally even earlier.

Yes, you can get rejected. I applied for study permit few years ago and got rejected. The reason was my already finished degree in the Czech Republic which lead them to conclusion that I was not a genuine student. It took them 6 months to reject me. I reapplied and got approved in 3 months. If you`re planning to use some kind of exchange program (Erasmus, Socrates) and your studying in Canada would count as a part of your degree completion in CZ, you should be fine. Make sure you have enough money on ur bank account (check with CIC how much they require, I think it is something like $10 000 - $12 000 minimum on top of the school fees). If you`ll be on scholarship, it might be less, not sure.

You can not have both study and work permit. In fact, you are not allowed to work in Canada while studying. You have an option to apply for a off campus work permit after 6 months of full time study which would allow you to work 20 hours/week.

Hope it helps.