Student Direct Stream in Canada

Student Direct Stream is Canada’s expedited study permit process, meaning the visa process is faster and more immediate. The Canadian country’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched the Student Direct Stream visa program in 2018 for international students. The implementation of the SDS visa program is to make it easier and faster for international students to reach the country. The Canadian country has set certain eligibility requirements for students to receive the SDS study permit.

Let us see in detail about the Student Direct Stream, its related information, and more in this page. 

The applicants must submit the following documents to be eligible for SDS study permit processing.

• Students must be legal residents of one of the countries listed above.
• Letter of Acceptance from a Canada’s Designated Learning Institute.
• Educational documents of recent secondary or post-secondary education.

• Proof of English Language Proficiency
• If students choose IELTS, the band should be 6.0 or higher in each of the skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.
• If they choose TEF, test evaluation de francais, the score should be 7 in each ability.
• The score certificate must not be older than 2 years during the time of SDS application.

• Proof of a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC)
• The GIC amount must be CAD 10,000 or more.
• The GIC amount must be insured by Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) or any bank listed on the IRCC SDS web page.
• The applicant must have the Letter of Attestation issued by the bank.
• The GIC Certificate.
• The Investment Direction Confirmations or the Investment Balance Confirmation.
• Upon arrival in Canada, the student must register himself at the bank and validate his identity to receive the funds.
• Proof of payment of tuition fees for the first year of study.
• A receipt from the DLI.
• An official letter from the DLI confirming payment of tuition fees.
• A receipt from a bank indicating the full tuition fees have been paid.

• Proof of completion of medical examination.
• Police certificate.

In addition to the above-mentioned documents, students must submit the following ones.

• Completely-filled Application form applied from outside Canada.
• Family information form.
• Temporary Resident Visa application form.
• Marriage license or certificate.
• Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) if applied to a university in Quebec.
• Proof of application fee payment.
• Proof of biometric fee payment.
• Biographical data page of the applicant’s passport.

The IRCC has facilitated only the option of applying online for an SDS study permit. There is no paper application for the Student Direct Stream.

To successfully apply for the SDS study permit, students must ensure they have the following.

• Instruction guide to fill out the form.
• Scanned documents.
• Debit or Credit card to make the payment.

Application Process

• Gather the documents.
• Fill in the application form.
• Pay the application fee.
• Submit the application.

Incomplete applications are refused without any re-consideration. If students have not paid the application fee or if the paid fee is not sufficient, the application will be refused. If the biometric fee is not paid, the application will not be refused, instead the visa officer will make a request to pay the fee.

The major benefit of applying for the SDS study permit is students will have their applications processed faster and will be issued their SDS study permit within 20 days.