Ministerial Instructions: Priority Processing for the Student Direct Stream Program

Released on 2023/05/27

These Instructions are published in the Canada Gazette in accordance with subsection 87.3(6) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the Act).

These Instructions are given pursuant to section 87.3 of the Act by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (the Minister) as, in the opinion of the Minister, these Instructions will best support the attainment of the immigration goals established by the Government of Canada.

These Instructions are consistent with the objectives of the Act, as set out in section 3.

These Instructions are directed to officers who are charged with handling and/or reviewing certain applications for study permits, and establish conditions that must be met for these study permits to receive priority processing. For the purposes of these Instructions, “priority processing” refers to an intended shortened processing time as compared to the regular study permit application process.

CONSIDERATIONS

Considering that Canada’s immigration objectives, as set out in section 3 of the Act, include the establishment of fair and efficient procedures to maintain the integrity of the Canadian immigration system;

Considering the aim to provide priority processing for study permits through the Student Direct Stream (SDS);

Considering that upfront language test results for the SDS maintain program integrity while allowing the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to issue study permits that meet the requirements of section 216 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) within an expedited time frame;

Considering that the SDS is an optional program to which applicants can apply in order to have their study permit application processed on a priority basis.

SCOPE

These Instructions set out the conditions that study permit applications need to meet in order to be considered part of the SDS and receive priority processing.

These Instructions apply to applications for the SDS submitted on or after the date on which the Instructions take effect.

INSTRUCTIONS TO PROCESS ON A PRIORITY BASIS CERTAIN STUDY PERMIT APPLICATIONS

Officers are instructed to give priority processing to study permit applications that meet the following conditions.

Student Direct Stream
To be eligible for priority processing under the SDS, the study permit application must have been made by an applicant who is a legal resident of Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, or Vietnam.

In addition, applicants must provide the following documentation at the time they present their study permit application:

• an acceptance letter from a postsecondary designated learning institution, as per section 211.1 of IRPR;
• evidence that the tuition has been paid to the postsecondary designated learning institution referred to in (1) for the first year of study;
• a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) of CAN$10,000;
• a medical examination, as per section 29 of IRPR;
• a police certificate;
• recent secondary or postsecondary school transcript(s); and
• a language test result, as described in these Instructions.
• Applicants intending to study in Quebec must also have a Québec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) from the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration.

For the purposes of these Instructions, language test results accepted are

• Results of an evaluation from a designated language-testing organization using a general language test approved pursuant to subsection 74(3) of the IRPR: IELTS General, CELPIP General, TEF Canada and TCF Canada; with a score that is equivalent to a Canadian Language Benchmarks score of at least 7 for each of the four language abilities (speaking, listening, reading, and writing); or

Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) – General Test score equivalency chart

CLB Level	Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
10	10	10	10	10
9	9	9	9	9
8	8	8	8	8
7	7	7	7	7
6	6	6	6	6
5	5	5	5	5
4	4	4	4	4

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – General Training – Test score equivalency chart

CLB Level	Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
10	8.0	7.5	8.5	7.5
9	7.0	7.0	8.0	7.0
8	6.5	6.5	7.5	6.5
7	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
6	5.0	5.5	5.5	5.5
5	4.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
4	3.5	4.0	4.5	4.0

• Results of an academic language test from a language-testing organization designated pursuant to subsection 74(3) of the IRPR: IELTS Academic (minimum score of 6), CAEL (minimum score of 60), Pearson PTE Academic (minimum score of 60), TEF – 5 épreuves (minimum score of 400) and TCF – tout public (minimum score of 400), with results from each of the four language abilities (speaking, listening, reading, and writing); or
• Results from the academic language test from Educational Testing Service (ETS) TOEFL iBT Test (minimum score of 83), with results from each of the four language abilities (speaking, listening, reading, and writing).
  Additionally, all above noted tests must be taken in their in-person format to be accepted for the SDS. Online remotely proctored tests will not be accepted for the purposes of the SDS.

EFFECTIVE DATES

Applications to be submitted with language test results
These Instructions take effect 90 days from the date they are signed.