Question for Students from GCC- UAE,Saudi, Qatar,Oman,Bahrain

[ryan28Dubai]

Hi Guys

My Name is Ryan( Indian National) and have been living in Dubai all my life. I am 27 years old and am working for a US Defense Corporation in Dubai. I decided to take a break from work and do my studies so applied to UNI in Canada got my admission. Here are my questions :

1) Many of my friends just like me who applied from Abudhabi got their visa rejected and the reason stated was no strong ties in India. Now what do guys like us do..I mean i dont have any strong ties in India, i was born in Dubai, my whole family moved to DUbai in the mid 60's so how can i establish strong ties in India.

2) Because of this i decided to apply from India under SPP. I did not want to do it from Abudhabi since i reckon the home ties factor might sneak up. Do you guys think this is a right move or i should have just done it from Abudhabi.

3) I have 6 years of experience in HR ( Primarily Payroll and Compensation- Benefits with my current company) and i wanted to do my financial services 3 year program in Canada. But no uni is giving me admission since i dont have frickin Math 11. UBC gave me admission in Economics and told me i need to do a math assessment in canada and if i crack it then i can switch my program to the financial services. Now this is what is worrying me..I mean the visa consular will think why is a guy who has 6 years of HR experience going to canada to do a silly degree in economics?

4) To avoid this i wanted to put in a SOP and the referral letter from my company in Dubai that i will come back to my current employer after i finish my studies. But my agent in India told me they cannot put in any other document other than what is mentioned on the SPP checklist. I saw a few forums on people advising on putting in a SOP but my agent ( both in DUbai and India) told me they cant do it since it will hold against me.. I really wanted a SOP to put in and my referral letter from my company but i cant do it because it seems its against norms? What do you guys think?

Appreciate any answer guys..you can email me on Ryan

 

[Obeid_oo]

Hello Ryan,

I'm Obeid an Indian national from Saudi Arabia. I've been living here since I was born.I'm 18 years old.I have done all my schooling from here itself from a CBSE affiliated school.I was really hoping someone start a topic like this... finally GCC students could get some benefits from this forum.I completed my 12 th grade back in June 2010 , decided that Canada was the next thing..I went to India spent a few months with friends and family thinking this was my last year here, I didn't even bother too do some homework in regard to the Canada study visa requirement.. I applied for Canada study visa in October of last year and was refused on home ties. Well since then I 've decided to re-apply in may or June in a proper and prepared manner.

So Ryan coming to your problem

when it comes to India, SPP and Canada, the documentary requirements are very limited. An applicant under SPP must only stick to the given guidelines, you can check with your respected consultant.

I don't think one is supposed to write an SOP under SPP or anything like that, if you do intend to write one then you would have to apply under normal category.

home ties means a lot to guys like us in the GCC :-\ , if your entire family is in DUBAI then the ties part is gonna be a big problem, unless you're married or have some property under your family.

Choosing SPP was a good idea because the bank loan thing creates a kind of financial tie with the country , so that's nice.

Even I thought about SPP for a moment but I couldn't quite get the whole idea of Income tax return thing cause we are NRI's .Our ITR for past 2 years would be 0 rupees with a big NRI written on the letter.

Anyways SPP focuses entirely on the liquid money, fixed deposits and loans which make an applicant credible to the bank.

the main financial requirements of SPP are

1. 80% of 1st year fee and accommodation

2. ITR statements

3. FD's for future funding

and any other form of liquid money available would work.

What is the yearly cost of your tuition ?

Hoping we can further discuss this

God bless

 

[Obeid_oo]

my e-mail Id is nazirahmedmir@yahoo.com

 

[ryan28Dubai]

Obeid- Thanks for the reply bud.

Your visa was rejected once then how is your next application different from the first one..what i mean is what are you doing different this time around?

See i dont think the NRI thing is a problem because i applied from India not Abudhabi..I consulted many people and all of them told me its best to apply from India since the success rate is better.

Its just a big mess man..i mean i never knew living in Dubai would hold against us...How can we prove home ties...You know even though we are born in DUbai or saudi we are still under Iqama so the visa consulor needs to be convinced that we will return back to Dubai/Saudi or back to India.

I really have no one in India..all my family lives here in DUbai...

I will send you an email now...

 

[ryan28Dubai]

This is the email that i sent to my consultant : i did not get a reply yet...

dear Oceanic

1) The first think the visa consular looks at with a student application is " Will the student return back to Dubai/ India after he finishes his studies" This is why i want my employers referral letter included in the SPP checklist even though it says that is is not needed in your check list. In my referral letter it says that after Jason finishes his studies my employer will make every effort to rehire me in one of our offices around the world. And this is true...i mean even if my visa gets rejected ( touch wood and pray it does not) i will be returning back to Dubai and will be posted with my company in Saudi Arabia...and i am for sure certain that even if the visa consular calls up my HR in Dubai and talks to the HR manager they will tell the same thing...So by including this letter it will make my case even more strong in reassuring the Visa Consular that " Yes Ryan will leave Canada and go back to his previous employer after he finishes his studies" I cant see why this should not be included because all it does is it adds up to the weight-age of my files success and will not create any negative impact..

2) Why cant a SOP be included as well even though it is not mentioned..i want you to go thorugh this link...and may people on the internet whose visa was rejected did not have a SOP.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/visa-rejection-under-spp-t50909.0.html

3) This is my real concern and i am not getting an answer from you Ayona so i need HO to answer this also...See i have around 7 years of HR experience...and now i want to go for my financial services program in Canada...but as you are aware i cannot do it unless i crack the math assessment this is why i had no other option but to choose for the Economics program..now here is my third question. If i was the visa consulor i would think " Ryan has been working for a US Defense corporation earning decent money in Dubai and doing well in HR, why does he want to resign and get into something as silly as Economics?" I mean dont you think we need to point it out in my file somewhere that i plan to do my financial services and not economics and only doing it because of my math pre-requite limitation? See Ayona you and your HO are the experts here..i am just thinking these questions which i am sure the visa consular will think also..its not rocket science its common sense..so what do you or your HO suggest about this? Are you going to tell them somewhere that he plans to do his Financial services and not economics? If so we can mention that in point 2 ( SOP) above.

I need an answer to these questions asap.

 

[ryan28Dubai]

Am just copying what you wrote above..my comments are

the main financial requirements of SPP are

1. 80% of 1st year fee and accommodation- Understand this..It is ok...what i have done is taken a loan in India for 10 lakh rupees which covers by first years tuitoon fees and the CDN 10000 living expenses

2. ITR statements- Who asks for the ITR? I mean i had to show the bank to get the loan but as far as i know the consulate does not need to see the ITR.

3. FD's for future funding - Again who do you show this to...it does not say that you need to show FD for futire funding. The only thing about SPP is the students loan which is the 80% and living expense that you mentioned ..i dont think you need to show anything else..correct me if i am wrong please.


ONe more question i read somewhere that if the visa is rejected you cannot apply for 6 months..is that true? Then how are u reapplying?

 

[Obeid_oo]

HI Ryan,

you're right I may be wrong on the on the financial requirements , I'm not that familiar with SPP but i've been reading a few posts in regard to that and the results are quite positive indeed.

Your course should be a continuation of previous studies not away from it. It should make sense to the officer that the course has job offerings in INDIA as well.

If you are already employed and have given the job letter from your company then without doubt these are strong ties to Dubai and for INDIA it's the loan ties so no problem.

 

[Obeid_oo]

you don't need to write an SOP , you can write a letter called study plan ..since that would make sense.In that you can explain everything Starting from your family something like this

Para 1

1. family details

2. Personal details

para2

1. why canada( list some positive things about canadian education)

2. how it would help you after you return back .( you can say it would offer better employment prospects etc)

Bottom line is don't try to explain an officer something, just give information regarding your family, why canada how it will help you , and your parents completely support you and all , that's all.

 

[ryan28Dubai]

This is exactly what i want to do Obeid..But my stupid consultant wont do it.. I mean these guys are the best in DUbai and they have offices all over India as well..According to them ( the consultatnt) if any extra document is added then it will go under general...They know best but it really beats logic since i cant even put my employers letter in or write a small introduction like how you mentioned.

Obeid what you are doing different this time around..since your visa was rejected the first time and why could you not apply under SPP?

 

[Obeid_oo]

I can understand your situation , but you need to make the consultant understand that your entire family is in Dubai and these few documents are very necessary

 

[Obeid_oo]

there's no limit to how many times one can apply to the Canadian embassy for a visa , and surely no time limits . If I get refused today I can re-apply tomorrow... so you get the picture


Well in my case I will re-apply under the general category from Saudi,My parents have a house and some property in India so that rules out ties , that's something which I didn't show the first time. Also I selected a course that matches my education background . I selected Electronics engineering at Holland college. Previously I selected a four year BBA course , the consular never raised the question of course mismatch

Regarding ties to Saudi , I think they don't need any except an exit and re-entry visa

 

[ryan28Dubai]

So the first time you applied under SPP? But why didnt u opt for the SPP option cos its much simpler..i went through the general option and it was too much paper work..

One more thing that concerns me is i traveled to Iran ( kish) to renew my Dubai Iqama 4 years back..you know how Canadians hate the Iranians..i am seriously so worried about that Iranian stamp in the PP.

Apparently no one is allowing for any documents and it clearly states on the VFS website that no other document should be submitted other than what is mentioned in the checklist..So that rules out my employers letter and the personal introduction.

And have u applied already or just still in the process?

 

[Obeid_oo]

I never applied under SPP. I applied under general last year , and got refused for genuine reasons.

I didn't consider applying through SPP since I have some ties to INdia so I wouldn't need more ties.

Out of the 18 years that i've been in Saudi , I visit india every year , my previous passport is filled with 9 exit re-entry stamps to india , i didn't show my previous passport earlier i'm planning to show it now.

I think the IRAN stamp could raise an eyebrow, any how , you write a 3 -4 sentence explanation that it was
regarding job offer and all.

You can also apply with loan under general category , there's a person on this form who did the same and got his visa vizag-canada is his ID.

 

[ryan28Dubai]

The whole point is i dont know what the visa officer will think about guys like us..We cant call Dubai or Saudi home and we dont have ties in India also...So im just concerned if he thinks so where will Obeid return to...Saudi or India..Saudi is not his permanent home, he is just a temporary resident on iqama so why would he come back to Saudi and India cant be called home also because he has never lived in India. You get my drift? Its the same dilemma that i am goin through.

I dont get what you mean by you culd not apply with SPP because you have ties in India and dont want more ties..More the ties in India the better are your chances under SPP..

 

[Obeid_oo]

hello Ryan

I read the CHC guidelines direct from the Canadian embassy website , there's a clause which says "What can I show for ties?"

the answer is also stated property,house,job offer, wife,kids family, loan,deed agreements and any other documents that provide strong ties.

If you visit the website for Canadian embassy in Saudi Arabia (saudiarabia.gc.ca) you can check the study permit checklist . All of these are mentioned , I think it's present for all of them.

Studying in a foreign country does create a problem of ties but not that big of a problem. Otherwise people would never migrate. To a consular a student in a foreign country may also demonstrate sufficient evidence that he would abide by rules and regulations since he's already a foreign student in another country