Canada Study Permit Process Changes to facilitate Online Classes from SEP 2020 intake

14th Jul 2020: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has announced the following Study Visa process changes to make it possible for prospective students to take their classes online till Biometrics collection & Medical tests are resumed again across the World and students can travel to Canada to attend offline classes at their respective University or College:

The new study visa process is to support international students who cannot travel to Canada due to Covid-19 situation but wish to take their classes online without loosing their eligiblity for Post Study Work Permit. Below are the key highlights of the new process:

Study Visa/Permit applications submitted online will be processed on priority from now onwards. Offline applications cannot be accepted until SEP 2020.
Students who have applied for Study Visa/Permit online & their application has passed the "approved in principle" stage, which is the first stage of the new TWO stage visa process, then student can start their classes online without loosing their eligiblity for Post Study Work Permit provided they have completed their 2nd half of the program offline in Canada.
The Study Visa/Permit applications can now be "approved in principle" if the student meets all the requirements of the study visa except Biometrics & Medical Test. Both Biometrics & Medical Test can be done at a later stage to get full visa application approval once the VFS resumes their services again.
Once the Study Visa/Permit application is "approved in principle" the student will be notified & then they can start their classes online, the visa will be stamped after Biometrics & Medical Test are done so that student can travel to Canada in order to attend offline classes.
There have been NO change in Study Permit requirements, only the process has been divided in TWO part to allow students to take online classes without giving Biometrics & Medical Test.