The Student Direct Stream (SDS) is an expedited study permit processing program available to legal residents of India, China, Philippines and Vietnam who are living in 1 of these 4 countries and wanting to study in Canada at a post-secondary designated learning institution (DLI) and who meet specific requirements by providing upfront documentation.

About the SDS

SDS applications are centralized and processed by the Centralized Network (CN).

The service standard for SDS processing is 20 calendar days. Processing starts after receipt of a complete application and biometrics.

Only applications received electronically are eligible for SDS processing. All paper applications are processed under the regular study permit application stream and are subject to the associated processing times.

SDS processing is available to legal residents of India, China, Philippines and Vietnam who currently reside in 1 of these 4 countries. Applicants must be destined to study at a post-secondary DLI and meet the specific eligibility criteria below.

Foreign nationals eligible for SDS processing are still subject to all other eligibility and admissibility requirements under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).

Transitional measures

SDS applications received before April 30, 2019, are continuing to be processed by the respective office or mission until all applications received before that date have been finalized.

Applicants who have submitted a paper application that meets SDS eligibility criteria before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on May 15, 2019, are eligible for SDS processing by the respective office or mission until that time.

Visa application centres (VACs) are considering paper applications for SDS processing only until 11:59 p.m. ET on May 15, 2019.

Eligibility criteria

The applicant must include the following 5 documents to be eligible for SDS processing:

1. proof of a valid language test result, completed within 2 years of the date the SDS application was received, showing either of the following:
   • an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6.0 or higher in each language skill: listening, reading, writing and speaking
   • a Test d’Évaluation de Français (TEF) score that is equivalent to a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) score of at least 7 for each ability: at least 310 for speaking, 249 for listening, 207 for reading and 310 for writing. See Language test equivalency charts for more information.
2. proof of a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) of CAN $10,000 or more from any bank insured by the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) or any bank listed on the IRCC SDS Web page. The GIC must meet the following criteria:
   • When the GIC has been purchased, the bank provides a letter of attestation, the GIC certificate, the Investment Directions Confirmation or the Investment Balance Confirmation to the applicant.
   • The bank holds the funds in an investment account or a student account that is inaccessible for release to the applicant until the applicant’s arrival in Canada.
   • Upon entry to Canada, the bank must validate the client’s identity before releasing funds to the study permit holder.
   • The applicant receives an initial disbursement upon identifying themselves, and the remaining funds are disbursed in monthly or bi-monthly installments over a period of 10 to 12 months.
   • Note: It is at the officer’s discretion to validate the authenticity of the GIC. If the authenticity of the GIC is in question, it should be referred to a risk assessment officer.
3. proof of full payment of tuition for their first year of study This may be in the form of the following:
   • a receipt from the DLI
   • an official letter from the DLI confirming payment of tuition fees
   • a receipt from a bank showing that tuition fees have been paid to the DLI
   • proof that the tuition fee amount has been transferred into a repository account at the DLI to be applied to the tuition bill at a later date
4. letter of acceptance from a post-secondary DLI
5. proof of completion of upfront medical examination from a panel physician for applicants:
   • who have lived or travelled for 6 months in designated countries or territories during the year before coming to Canada
   • whose field of study requires upfront medical examination results. Note: The medical examination confirmation may be either an information sheet printout, if the physician uses eMedical, or an Upfront Medical Report form [IMM 1017B].

Applications that do not meet SDS eligibility criteria

Officers must make the eligibility decision based on the information provided in the application. If an officer receives an SDS application that does not meet SDS eligibility criteria, the officer must either refer the application for regular study permit processing to the migration office or request further information, if there is information missing that could support a final decision at the Case Processing Centre in Edmonton (CPC-E).

Examples

• If the system does not trigger the required document, the officer must request the missing document from the applicant.
• If the system triggers the required documents, and the applicant has not submitted a document required to be eligible for a study permit, or if they have failed to submit an explanation as to why it was not submitted, the officer may refuse the application.
• If the system triggers the required documents, but the applicant has submitted documents that do not meet the SDS eligibility criteria, the officer is to remove the SDS special program code and refer the application to the appropriate office.

Global Case Management System (GCMS) coding

Note: The instructions below are interim. Once the system is updated, all family packs with at least 1 study permit application coded as SDS will be automatically assigned to the CPC-E for processing.

GCMS automatically codes eligible e-applications as SDS. If family packs are submitted, only members who meet SDS eligibility requirements should be coded as SDS.

At the promotion stage, the Operations Support Centre (OSC) changes the primary office and e-transfers all applications in the family pack to the CPC-E for concurrent processing.

See the Family members of study permit applicants under SDS section below for additional information on how to process a family pack.

Referring an application

Officers must refer an application to the migration office if any of the following occur:

• The required upfront medical examination has not been initiated (CPC-E to remove special program code).
• The applicant is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (CPC-E to remove special program code).
• There are documents that require translation (CPC-E to remove special program code).
• There is adverse history, that is, admissibility concerns (special program code is not to be removed).
• There are adverse medical results (special program code is not to be removed).

To refer an application, officers must:

• remove the SDS code and enter a note in the “Notes” section of GCMS explaining why the application is being reassigned to the mission; the note should read as follows: “Application does not meet SDS eligibility. Referred to <insert name of the migration office> <insert reason>.”
• not remove the SDS coding for case referrals with adverse findings and add a note in the “Notes” section of GCMS indicating “Application is referred to <insert name of the migration office> for review of X <insert adverse info to be reviewed>.”
• e-transfer the file to the appropriate migration office

The migration office is responsible for accepting the e-transfer.

For more information, see instructions on how to accept an e-transfer on GCMS Online Help.

Once the e-transfer is accepted by the migration office, the primary office in the application will change.

Incomplete applications

Incomplete applications are refused. With the exception of the biometric fee, if the application processing fee has not been included or is incorrect, the application is refused. If the biometric fee is missing, the officer is to request the fee.

Family members of study permit applicants under SDS

Family members of principal applicants who are applying under SDS are eligible for concurrent processing if they apply at the same time as the primary applicant. For more information, see the definition of a family member in subsection R1(3).

Temporary residence applications (work permit, study permit or temporary resident visa applications) of the accompanying family members must be submitted online as part of a family grouping. Family members must not be coded as SDS unless they also meet SDS eligibility criteria.

Prerequisite courses and bridging programs of study

Applicants who are taking a prerequisite course or bridging program of study at a DLI before starting their main program may be eligible to apply under the SDS, provided they meet all the program eligibility criteria.

Please Contact Us for more information.