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iliana

Newbie
Apr 30, 2017
2
0
Hello,

I am about to graduate from an undergraduate university in the United States and am thinking about applying to a Ph.D program in Canada. I am currently living in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which grants me lawful status and allows me to work legally. My country of origin is Mexico, which is a visa-exempt country in terms of entry to Canada. Would I be able to apply to a Canadian university and obtain a student permit?

Thanks!
 
iliana said:
Hello,

I am about to graduate from an undergraduate university in the United States and am thinking about applying to a Ph.D program in Canada. I am currently living in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which grants me lawful status and allows me to work legally. My country of origin is Mexico, which is a visa-exempt country in terms of entry to Canada. Would I be able to apply to a Canadian university and obtain a student permit?

Thanks!

Yes u could certainly apply to Canadian universities and obtain study visa if u have all necessary documents. BTW I don't think that u can directly do ur Ph.D after undergraduate in Canada. U need to first complete masters then apply for Ph.D. I don't know how authentic is my knowledge about courses. Just confirm once
 
iliana said:
Hello,

I am about to graduate from an undergraduate university in the United States and am thinking about applying to a Ph.D program in Canada. I am currently living in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which grants me lawful status and allows me to work legally. My country of origin is Mexico, which is a visa-exempt country in terms of entry to
Canada. Would I be able to apply to a Canadian university and obtain a student permit?

Thanks!
You surely can do phd right after undergraduate but for that you will have to do thorough research into universities and its provisions. Your acceptance to phd program will largely depend upon your performance in undergraduate if or not you have any research under your belt, test scores if that is a requisite of program.
 
iliana said:
Hello,

I am about to graduate from an undergraduate university in the United States and am thinking about applying to a Ph.D program in Canada. I am currently living in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which grants me lawful status and allows me to work legally. My country of origin is Mexico, which is a visa-exempt country in terms of entry to Canada. Would I be able to apply to a Canadian university and obtain a student permit?

Thanks!

Not sure I would be leaving the US if you're under DACA (unless you're good with not returning to the US for 10 years). It's quite possible it may trigger the 10 year ban automatically when you leave. Make sure you research the consequences of leaving before you do it. It's quite possible your status in the US may make it more complicated for you to obtain a study permit in Canada as well. However you can certainly give it a shot and see what happens. Good luck.
 
Thank you all for your responses! I'll give it a shot and see where that gets me.

In the United States, you do not gain unlawful status until you're age 18. After that, you have 180 days to leave the country with no US ban. If you you have unlawful status for less than one year, you have a 3-year ban. If you have unlawful status for more than a year, then it's a 10-year ban. I obtained DACA at age 18 3/4, so I will only get the 3-year ban. Which is fine since, with research, one rarely gets breaks. And I would be able to travel anywhere outside the US after, whereas if I stay in the US, I'd be constrained to the US borders. The only downfall is being unable to re-enter the country for three years, so I would not see my family or friends for that period of time.
 
Sounds like you've done your research on the DACA side which is great.

Note that to be approved for the study permit in Canada, you'll need to demonstrate you have no plans on remaining in Canada long term and typically must also demonstrate ties to your home country / country of residence to show you plan to leave Canada and return home once your studies have been completed. This last bit will be the tricky part for you given your status in the US.

But again, you can certainly give it a shot. Good luck.