Teal2019

Hello all,

I have been accepted into a 2 year programme of study in Calgary for August 2019 entry. My husband will be accompanying me for the duration. We have wanted to travel and experience living in Canada for quite a number of years, but too old for iec and I wanted to do further study, the study permit allows us to do both. Beyond the 2 years, we aren't sure what we will do yet! I have some worries that I hope some of the experienced members of the community can help me address.

Firstly, up until now, everytime I've checked the processing times for study permits for UK the times have varied between 2 weeks and 6 weeks. I checked again before Christmas and have been checking each week since. The processing time is currently huge! 18 weeks. This is worrying to me as we won't have the funds from the sale of our house until mid March. That's cutting it fine for classes starting and getting over there. I wondered if anyone had been through the process and had theirs approved quicker than the estimated time?

I also read that it might be better to apply for my husbands open work permit upon arrival in Canada as opposed to submitting that with my application for the study permit. Is this true? We don't want to be in a position where he can't work.

I would welcome any advice and shared experiences from anyone who has been through this process.

Thank you in advance.

Former Lancastrian

If he is a UK citizen and accompanying you then yes he can apply at the POE for the open work permit and pay the fees at the same time you would be issued with your study permit after receiving the letter of invite for the study permit that you would produce at the POE.

Teal2019

He's a UK citizen - so that should be fine then. Thank you for your response. That's really helpful .Is there any benefit to not submitting his application along with my initial study permit application?

I have also heard it is better to apply online than on paper through a vac. Is there any truth in that?
We just want to make sure we do as much as we can to limit delays.

Former Lancastrian

Why even bother filling out forms and sending them off? A good CBSA officer can rattle off a work permit in a couple of minutes. Pay the fees and Voila job done. Only becomes a pain if there are a few in the line at the POE before you.

Teal2019

Thanks! Makes sense.

You wouldn't happen to know how accurate the processing times are would you? I've searched so many forums to get a gauge for the answer to that but all I've seen is that normally, UK processing times don't really take anywhere near that long. Tried calling vfs global to see if they could shed light but it was like talking to a brick wall.

What I want to avoid is getting down the line, waiting months for the permit and it not being approved before we go and we lose thousands in the process. I know we just have to be patient and wait but I suppose I'm wanting to know if it's realistic to get the study permit within 4 months.

Nail biting time...