International students flying to Canada may face hurdles due to Vaccination Shortage

Canada has been added to the list of those countries that are all set to open their borders for international students. After a protracted battle to control the ongoing pandemic and to bring life back to the normal routine the country has finally announced that permanent residents of Canada, those who have acquired citizenship of Canada and certain group of international students are allowed to come back.

Fall 2021 Intake

Universities in Canada are all set to welcome international students back to the campuses. Previously it was announced that Canada is providing study permits to international students for Fall 2021 intake. Those students who have submitted their applications by May 15^th, 2021 their applications will be processed by August 6^th 2021.

IRCC (Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada) has also declared that since the pandemic began, the department has been busy accepting and reviewing various study permit applications submitted by overseas students. When asked about the exact number of accepted study permits, IRCC Media Relations Officer Nancy Caron stated that IRCC has issued around 100,000 study permits to international students in the first four months of 2021, which is nearly equal to the 96,000 target set in 2019, and double than the number of study permits which were approved at the same time in 2020.

Vaccination Challenges for International Students

However international students who are planning to travel to Canada in hopes to start their studies may face numerous difficulties like vaccination shortage, Visa issues, and disturbed flight schedules. Vaccination shortages in many countries, including Pakistan, may have an impact on the travel plans of thousands of students from these countries.

Many Universities in Canada have made it compulsory for international students to be completely vaccinated before coming to campus from September 2021.In order to be considered fully vaccinated, international students are required to have received both shots of either AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or one dose of Johnson before coming to Canada.

However those students, who could not receive vaccination shots in their home country, will have 14 days to get vaccinated in Canada before starting their on campus studies. Many universities in Canada will provide accommodations to international students for self-isolation if required.