₦airaland Forum

Nogen:
...They said NO! I MUST SEND BY COURRIEL! Just 2 pieces of paper and I will 17k plus. This is breaking my heart! It's so painful. Please, who in Canada (even in Québec ) will help me mail the document ? So I can pay less. Kindly send me a mail to nogen123@yahoo.com . Thanks

Pay the 17k and courier the document ASAP.

Have you heard the phrase "penny wise and pound foolish"? You don't want that to be you.

Favourina87:
I applied on the 31st of May. Since then my application just changed to "we are reviewing if you are eligible" today... but I Have an issue... my school don't defer my course. I was told to withdraw my application and reapply for September next year...and the withdrawal is on process already.
Please will my withdrawal affect the decision the embassy make..

Email your school and explain your situation to them clearly and concisely. Tell them how long it takes for CIC to adjudicate Nigerian applicants and explain how their withdrawal of your application could lead to a TRV refusal even though you've already waited this long. Actually I don't know what CIC does if they ask for an updated admission letter and you don't provide it; but you don't want to find out, do you?

Be a bit sentimental in the email to your school. If you can, follow up with a phone call and speak to someone in their international office. Schools in the west are usually not that rigid.

Zlatimi:
Plss help me i finished with a 3rd class in quabtity surveying and i want to apply for a pgd course civil engineering technician, fanshaw college... plss hope am in track ans also scared of of my grade... will i hv issues with my application plss gurus in the house plss help me

jnyuwa02:
I see trouble waiting to happen. Please switch and apply for a masters degree. You never know where you can get into, yes even with your third class. Research and Research your plans, make google your best friend in locating where to apply.

While it's true that @Zlatimi is likely to have a better chance as a masters TRV applicant, it's highly unlikely for him/her to get masters admission with a 3rd class. It's not impossible but it is very very unlikely, unless s/he has a ton of distinguished experience and/or research publications, and/or some very interesting civil engineering projects, and/or has extremely high GRE scores, etc. I say this in order to not give any false hope.

Further, applying for TRV with a masters admission is not a silver bullet to getting a TRV. At this point, Zlatimi might as well just apply for the TRV, but s/he will need to put together a spectacular application to the VO. @Zlatini, you can get the TRV even with your PGD but your application has to be spectacular.

Smile4mee01:
...I applied for admission to University of Windsor since June 2017. i am still waiting on them for admission. i got a mail September is over and the next available class would be in January 2018. with the news i read about how long it takes to get your study permit granted. i fear. I had chosen the school because they offered a course that did not need GMAT.

While Canada remains my choice because of the sane conditions of settling there, I am closely considering Australia and USA. I have a USA Visit VISA, and i hear of a few schools who can covert your visit VISA to Study permit as long as some conditions are met. but we all know settling in USA after study is complicated. Is Australia a viable option? Can i go to Australia/USA and if my admission clicks then, can i apply for canada study permit from there?

1. Applying to one school is risky. Always apply to more than one school unless you are an all-or-nothing person.
2. It isn't accurate that an American school can convert your visit visa to a student visa. No American school can do that, it's US immigration (USCIS) that decides on that and it is unlikely that they'd approve it (it used to be routine in the past but not anymore).

Philadelphia:
Good evening everyone,
I am on an application to grad school and I'm asked to submit a personal statement.
Please could anyone here assist me with a personal statement format?
Thanks

Do a google search of "How to write a statement of purpose for graduate school" and there's a ton of resources that are very helpful.

Alantobie:
Hi guys, I have a question. I have paid a year tuition for Concordia University, Montreal and want to request for tuition receipt. Which should I get...the receipt from the international student office in form of a letter to the embassy or the official tuition receipt from the student account office?

Tuition receipt from student account office. The embassy doesn't care if it's addressed to them or not.

Arebo:
@theSoj.....Well understood, God bless you for taking your time to answer me step by step, God will perfect all that concerns you too.

You are welcome. I'm happy to help.

Alantobie:
Thank you for replying

You are welcome. Happy to help.

long post alert

Format of "Letter of Clarification" after insufficient funds denial.
Please do not copy this exactly because other readers will too, and the VO may stop taking letters with this format seriously after he/she has seen it too many times.

Dear visa officer:
The purpose of this letter is to demonstrate how I have addressed your concerns about my previous study visa application. My previous application (UCI # xyxxyxyxyxyx, application date: dd/mm/yy) was refused for the following reasons:
x insufficient funds to pay for travel
x insufficient funds to pay tuition
x insufficient funds to pay living expenses

Here are the steps I have taken to address your concerns:
x paid $xy,xyx for one year tuition (see attached bank transfer receipt and university receipt)
x sponsor transferred one year living expenses of $yx,yxy to my GTB domicilliary account (see attached)
x sponsor added proof of property, worth $... (see attached )
x I have included proof of my savings account, showing NGNx,yxx,yyx balance (~$y,yxy CAD equivalent)
x ...

My total annual expenses for my program cost $yx,yyx, the total amount paid for my tuition and transferred to domicilliary account is $yy,yyyx which exceeds my program's annual cost of $yy,xyy.

My sponsor's up-front payment of my tuition as well as his transfer of $yx,yxy to my dom account for living expenses demonstrate both my availability of funds and his commitment to sponsoring my Canada education. The total funds available for my stay, including paid tuition, living expenses funds in my dom account, my savings account, ... is $.... which is more than sufficient to cover...

I look forward to the opportunity to studying blah at University of blah, so that blah (i.e one final sentence to remind the VO about why you wanna study whatever you are going to study... only include this sentence if you have something concise and compelling to say.)

Thank you,
Mr. Kolade Chukwu

cc: Alantobie, Arebo

Arebo:
Hello everyone, I got my passport today & was refused based on just finances, the three boxes ticked, even though I paid 1st semester tuition, my question now is, I am confused, if I get to tackle finances, hope there is no possibility of getting denied again based on another reason or I should just end canadian dream on this note because the emotional trauma isn't here.NB: I am a nurse, applied for Pgc in a nursing related course,

long post alert
Arebo, sorry about your denial.

In my view, an "insufficient funds" denial is one of the easiest to get out of, so long as you are able to verifiably show funds in your name beforehand. Pay one year tuition and show $10k in dom account in your name, but I suggest your sponsor transfer more than $10k to your dom account... more like $13k-15k if possible... this psychologically tells the VO that your sponsor is able and willing to let go of funds. Stay with $10k if that's all that's possible tho.

It is also indeed possible to get denied for other reasons even if the first denial was just for "insufficient funds" (this happened to two monikers in 2015 actually...). I know it sounds contradictory to the previous paragraph but let me explain how I think you can avoid this (as long as your next application is of same or better quality as the previous). Edited: Disclaimer: this is not a guarantee o, as I am obviously not a VO.

Ok here's what to do: Write a separate "Letter of Clarification" stating the reasons why you were denied last time (list it as bullet points so it is easy for the VO to read in case s/he isn't paying attention) and what you have done to fix it (write this in another set of bullet points showing each step of what you've done).

See the next post for an example format (modify it to your needs but I don't suggest you copy it exactly)

In doing the above, the VO is likely to not treat your application as a fresh application, but as an application that has already passed CIC rigour and only wasn't approved because of finances. Keep the letter in a very visible place in your application, if you submit on paper put it on the page right after your CIC forms, or right before your SOP. If online, put as the first page in the LOE section, and maybe even another copy as first page in Finances section. You want the VO to see it before over-analyzing your app all over again lol.

cc: Alantobie

Alantobie:
Pls gurus I am confused and need your help. My uncle in Abu Dhabi has my funds with him but he is not my sponsor. My mom is my sponsor and she gave him the funds to keep for her. He is meant to pay a year tuition fee and transfer the remaining money to my dorm account. We just spoke and he said that it might raise red flags if they find out that funds were transferred from the UAE to my dorm account. My question is will it raise red flags if they see funds transferred from another country to my dorm account. Is there a way to fix this. Please help me

long post alert
Hi Alantobie, it isn't a red flag if the funds are transferred from another country to a dorm account. We did this for two of my siblings and it worked fine. In both cases, the sponsor transferred the money from his foreign account to the applicant's dorm account. Same sponsor also paid tuition from his foreign account.

The sponsor clearly mentioned this in his sponsorship letter. E.g. the sponsorship letter would have a sentence like "as a demonstration of my commitment to sponsor Miss. Ngozi Adetola, I have fully paid tuition for her first year (see attached transfer receipt from my bank & her university account receipt) in the amount of $xy,xyx CAD. For her first year living expenses, I also transferred $yx,yxy CAD (or USD or GBP, etc) to her domicilliary account at GTB; the transfer receipt from my bank is attached as well."

I would strongly suggest you either spend one paragraph in your SOP discussing these finances, or just write a short but separate "letter of clarification of finances" to describe all your finances in about one and half paragraphs. Make it straight to the point. Be as clear as possible, cos you don't want the VO having to spend too much time trying to comprehend your finances. In my view, the more frustration the VO experiences while going through your app the higher your probability of denial.

About the fact that your mom is your sponsor even though the money is in your uncle's account. Hmm... legally the money is your uncle's (at least in the eyes of the VO) so why not make him your sponsor and maybe your mom as co-sponsor?

I obviously don't know if withdrawing the money from your uncle's account would empty it, in which case it probably wouldn't fly with the VO for him to be your sole sponsor.

Do you have a clear paper trail that proves that your mom gave him the money to keep? If so, I guess you can include such evidence (and still have your mom as your main sponsor). But if you can't explain this to the VO as concisely as possible, it would start to get frustrating to comprehend such a circuitous explanation. Do also keep in mind that the VO will be wondering why your mom gave your uncle money to "keep"... I hope your mom has a concise non-fishy explanation ready (assuming she'll be your main sponsor).

If you've PMed me I'll accept it. Please bear with me because I'm likely to be super slow in responding (I'll respond faster on here than by email). I strongly suggest you continue to ask your most general questions publicly though so others can benefit. Thanks.

cc: @arebo

bbclue:
Austinpee4

Thank God you know @thesoj despite his busy schedule he still find time to solve if not little questions.....well just for you to help review ordinary SOP you refuse......well the God of hallelujah can never say know..........

All thanks to cashhips....derel....igbowanile....Canadian nurse.....etc.....

I don't think it's right to publicly express this type of sentiment because someone on this thread didn't review your SOP . After all, it is purely a volunteer activity. We know that Austinpee4 has been so helpful to people on here, so the fact that you express your displeasure in this way is very sad. Austinpee4 is a human being too and he doesn't live his life for you or anyone else, even though he has continuously been selfless to many on this thread.

And by the way, reviewing an SOP is often not ordinary. It can be very time-consuming if it is done well. From the quality of his posts, Austinpee4 is the kind of person that would do it well so I can imagine he is already swamped with helping others.

I'd gently encourage you to re-evaluate your own level of empathy for others. Put yourself in Austinpee's shoes, knowing his inbox is probably already bombarded with requests similar to yours.

It's not fair to advise people that they can generally extend their PGWP based on hearsay that you probably aren't sure about. Basically you are suggesting that people can put together a PGWP extension application when their PGWP is about to expire (and if they've truly run out of eligible PGWP time); outside of this scenario, what would be the premise of this application?

About PWGP length: As far as we know, CIC mostly sticks to their policies on PGWP length, anything outside of that is an exception and shouldn't be considered a norm.

Immigrants in Canada shouldn't base their plans on unrealistic hope. Plans should be based on what's most likely to happen. It is because of unrealistically optimistic hope that some immigrant students run out of PGWP and have to leave Canada.

Hope (while mentally soothing) is not a strategy.

marcuskens:
The letters of the CIC policy is subject to the VO interpretation. How do you also explain a 3 year PGWP when one only did 1 year masters. People i know have had this too. This clearly negates the CIC policy yet a VO issued a 3 year PGWP. CIC will not issue policy for different scenarios or cases. Every case is considered in its own merit guided by the policy. Like I said, the person is already working and extended his permit to the 3 year cap. The policy does not describe this scenario. I am not here to convince anyone, I only stated what I know and it's cases specific

Well good point. I am not implying that there is any such requirement. I don't mean to cause confusion, I don't think a VO would automatically deny in that scenario. I meant that one shouldn't raise a VO's suspicions, especially if the VO is already likely to be skeptical about the sponsor.

Arebo:
What if the sponsor has other means of income?? So it must show that the money was transfered from the sponsor's account for VOs to approve?? I need to get this straight.....

vikmeek:
...My Uncle that is to act as d sponsor said he can act as my sponsor, but he cannot afford to spend raw cash now for the payment of tuition fees and transfer of fund to my acct, though his account statement is healthy based on inflow and outflow including balance as all are in Pounds.

Pls how do I go about this. Should I still use him as sponsor? Owing to the fact that his acct statement is healthy but he cannot spare d raw cash of tuition payment at the moment. But he has landed properties in U.K

If you & your uncle can convince the VO about his claims to be your sponsor then it can fly that he doesn't pay beforehand, but based on trends on this thread one sure way to defuse the VO's skepticism about a non-parent sponsor is for said sponsor to pay the fees ahead of time.

vikmeek:
Also I planned sourcing fund externally from friends to pay the fees, but my uncle will cite it that he did the payment.

You can source for funds to pay your fees, but don't even try to inaccurately tell the VO that your uncle was the source of funds. You'll be going down a path that you can't defend if there's any little scrutiny. VOs aren't stupid... you will submit your uncle's bank statements and it will be glaringly obvious that the money he supposedly used to pay your fees never left his bank account. This can lead you to a "insufficient funds" denial, even if you've paid the fees already. You've already seen applicants on this thread denied for "insufficient funds" even though they already paid fees. This happens when the VO sees something fishy with your finances and/or isn't convinced about your financial viability.

My advice: only tell the VO what you know you can reliably defend. If you are found to have misrepresented information, you may receive a ban or at best be denied.

Yes you can change DLI online (people in previous threads did it and CIC doesn't say you can't do it before arrival), or (if you are really confident) tell the POE immigration officer about your change in plans to go to a different school. If you do the latter, then make sure you've paid the school fees.

By the way, uWaterloo is a really good school so consider going there. If they don't accept second deferrals, just explain your situation to them. They're likely to listen especially because your deferral is due to visa delays.

legendayo:
Hello House i have being a silent follower of this thread since i put in my application that was recently approved and will like to appreciate every member for their contributions.

My intention was to go Fall 2017 entry but still yet to receive my passport that was approved on 30/08/2017 and making travel arrangements and settling in won't be easy at this time. Hence, i am considering going for winter entry but the challenge i'm having is i used Uwaterloo for VISA application but no longer want to go their after considering several factors and will prefer U of Regina where i have admission offer valid till winter 2018 but waterloo informed me i can no longer defer admission since i have deferred once (May 2017 when application was still being processed).

Please how does changing DLI works for a postgraduate student like me. Can i change DLI from waterloo to Regina before entering Canada or what do you advice i do because i want to resuming studies for Winter 2018 at Regina but used waterloo to apply for VISA but waterloo does not accept a second deferal.

Your suggestions and advice will be greatly appreciated.

So you are telling us that someone who did a one-year MSc can extend their PGWP beyond one year once it is about to expire? This is not accurate. Share the link from CIC's website. CIC policies are all public, so this hearsay is not sufficient.

it's plausible to get an extension if the initial PWGP issued was short because of the applicant's passport expiration date meant the applicant got a shorter PGWP than s/he was eligible for. But this is technically not an extension.

Anything outside that is completely opposite of CIC rules & regulations that are published everywhere. Drop a link from CIC's website and you'll convince us instantly.

marcuskens:
thesoj...yes you can only apply for a PGWP once. However it is also an open work permit so can be extended once you are working already. And yes I have a friend who already extended theirs...so I wrote from experience

lovesavvi:
pls I was delayed on purpose of visit ,travel history and family tie in Canada nd country of residence. I include my marriage cert nd my son birth cert. so I don't know what cox family tie, pls help me look into it

jnyuwa02:
These people have seen our predecessors abandon their families and refused to come back, so I am not entirely surprised they deny someone with a child and wife for lacking home ties. It's at their discretion. I will advice you add landed property and business ties to Nigeria if you have any. But something tells me even if you do in your circumstance, it will not do given the denial even with wife and a child. I think you should try and appeal to their discretion without sounding desperate. Cos they even allow people without wife and children to go. It's all about discretion. You appeal to their discretion by painting yourself as a good guy. Get a letter from your pastor or any respectable leader in society attesting to your good deeds and sacrifice for your family. Anecdotal references by pastor on particular circumstances when your character was called to the test, will go a long way. That might do the trick in your circumstance. And to overcome purpose of visit and travel history, you might want to pay fees. Don't go for PGD if that is what you are going for, change. Get masters if possible. Write detailed letter of explanation why Canada, why your course cannot be taken in Nigeria. Detail your plans upon return back to Nigeria and how your education in Canada will be an investment in the future development of Nigeria.

@lovesavvi the parts in bold should be the most critical parts of your next application. How will your education be an investment in the future development of Nigeria? VOs need to see that you have a clearly defined plan on what you would do if you aren't allowed to stay in Canada after your studies (e.g. you run out of PGWP and don't get PR). All they need to be convinced about is that you are the kind of person who won't stay back in Canada illegally. Also, include all other business and professional ties that you have to Nigeria (tie it all together in a compelling story of how you'd use your Canada education in Nigeria). Your wife & kids alone aren't a compelling enough reason, though they are a good reason.

vikmeek:
...I'v now Secured an Admisson Offer from U of O, M.Eng for Winter, 2018. I want to start gathering my docs.

...I was thinking if my Uncle will transfer enough fund to My mum's account so that my mum will act as my sponsor, he can as well transfer some to my account for me to become co-sponsor. This move is to avoid ambiguity when presenting my sponsor...my uncle of cos don't bear same surname with me.

Then, for Home tie, I intend begging my present employer for a study leave letter, then I can use my house rent agreement and receipt which expires Sept 2018 all as home tie...

1. Keep your uncle as sponsor (different last name doesn't matter, you will show proof using birth certificates showing he and your mom share the same parents). He pays one year of tuition to your school, and then transfers one year living expenses funds to your dom account. Attach all this proof and present to VO. In addition, your uncle would explain all this in his sponsorship letter as evidence of his willingness to sponsor you.

2. A transfer from your uncle to your mom's account will show up as a lump sum. How will you/she explain this to the VO? Also it's best to transfer to a dom account (GBP, since your uncle's funds are in this currency) so you don't lose money due to the continuous devaluation of the Naira (and something called "buy-sell spread": basically you lose money if you go from GBP to NGN and back to GBP even if on same day).

3. For home ties, in my view a study leave letter is not in itself a very credible home tie. Think about it, why would an employer hold a job for you unless you have an extraordinarily special skill that isn't present in the Nigerian labor force? I'm not saying you shouldn't include a study leave letter, I'm saying that you need to also present other home ties (e.g. credible plans on what you plan to use your Canada educational skills to build/develop when you come back to Nigeria... be as specific and clear as possible.)

Louis329:
Hello guys am new to this thread , I applied through an agent for my Canadian study permit couple of months ago through an agent and in was told yesterday by my agent that the embassy requested a new bank statement and to redo my bio metrics pls help I sense something Amis but he refused to disclose to me what the problem might be
Has this happened to anyone on here

Louis329:
No he did not I already paid him 1500 pounds for his services

Wow! 1500 pounds!!!

marcuskens:
Hi Cupsy
If you are already employed within the original 1year PGWP, then you can extend it to the 3yrs cap before it expires. You can't just convert your work permit to PR. The PR process is administered through the express entry depending on the route you choose to pursue your PR.

This is not accurate.

You are eligible for a PGWP only once, and the length of PGWP is determined by your length of study. If you do a one-year MSc, then you get a one-year PGWP after which you can't reapply for PGWP again (including under the guise of extension).

Note to readers: don't only rely on this thread to feed you critical information. Go on CIC's website to confirm information such as this before you base your study decisions on others' advice about CIC policies.

dapoddon:
Guys, touchdown Toronto ! Very clean and beautiful country from the little have seen.
For the guys who haven't paid fees or have funding and going via Egypt Air, pls hold like 1k dollars, although non of their business the guys at MMIA might ask for it.
POE, was super chilled,just be bold, confident and honest. Might also be good to keep track of ur luggage in transit points to avoid stories upon arrival at final destination.
Apparently baba @thesoj is on a mission to relocate his entire family to Canada, met another of his brothers on the plane.
TRV fall on all hopefuls and refused applications.

Hahahahaha @ 'mission to relocate his entire family to Canada".

Yeah my bro told me that yesterday an employee of Egypt Air at the airline counter asked him that he must show that he has $1000 cash on him because he has a one-way ticket. The Nigerian employee of the airline said that Egypt Air doesn't want to foot the bill in case he is sent back at the Port of Entry; the employee said that this is because the airline has had to foot a lot of such bills for student visa holders lately lately (don't know if they are lying or not).

Regardless, it sounds extremely illegal for an airline to behave this way. They didn't allow my bro to check-in until he asked them if he could instead sign a letter of undertaking saying he'd foot the bill should he be sent back home at the POE. This is completely ridiculous. It even sounds like an attempted extortion where if you show the cash the employee takes a portion of it to enrich his pocket.

Anyone who experiences this should not let them deny you check-in. If it's possible, take a video on the incident, make a post of this illegal activity on Twitter or Instagram and mention the International Aviation body on Twitter (@IATA), Guardian Nigeria (@guardiannigeria), and Transport Canada (@Transport_gc), etc. Mention that your flight was booked from Lagos to Toronto or wherever.

Better yet, assert yourself and don't let the airline bully you.

@dapoddon: how did you convince them to let you check in? Did you have to find the $1000 cash?

Cscd1234:
I was just going to ignore this until I saw that you don't want to read up from beginning of the thread.

Do you realise that we all read up??!
Do you also know there is something called google?!
You want information but you don't want to work hard to get it?!

I don't understand most of you guys on here especially the newbies.
You come and post questions that have already been answered in previous threads and expect us to sound like a broken record, repeating answers....

I agree that it's important for new members of this thread to read its contents, but you didn't need to chastise the person asking the question in the way that you did. I also don't think it's reasonable to tell the person to read all of Parts 1 to 13; that's like 6500 pages and would take several months to finish.

It is more reasonable to ask someone already with admission to read several parts of the thread (e.g. parts 9-12), or to read all the posts by people like @austinpee4 @yemdogg @thesoj, @osemigho etc. For someone without an admission, it's better they go off using Google to find schools than spend months reading an endless thousands of pages.

Start off by reading the content of the links in this post.

To answer your specific questions:
1. Make Google your close friend: type "mba tuition international students canada" and the first link gives you answers to your question (this shows how easy it is to use Google to answer your questions).
2. If you have a 2:1 CGPA and above and are willing to put together a strong application (convincing statement of purpose, etc) to the admissions officer, then you have a chance of being admitted. Each school has its own admission requirement, apply to 3-4 schools if you really want at least one admission offer.

Reading from Part 1 to Part 13 will take you several months because it's a total of about 6500 pages.
Instead of doing that, what I suggest is you pick one part of the thread to read, e.g. part 8 or 9 or 10 or 11..., and then you can read further threads incrementally. I personally don't suggest reading from Part 1 unless you have like one year before you plan to start applying to schools.

I'd suggest you primarily use Google to find information about schools and admissions, then come back on here to read one or more parts of the thread once you are awaiting admission. You'd need this thread for the visa process much more than you would for admission. You are also welcome to come back and ask admission questions, but only after it is obvious that you have done your own research.

blueblood1:
Hi guys, good job Ure doing here.

Please I want to go for an MBA in Canada, I need suggestions on 2 areas:
1. Affordability
2. Ease of entry for international students.

I take God beg, don't ask me to read up from beginning of thread oooo
Gracia

jnyuwa02:
After living in the United States 20 years, returning home is sweet and I don't want to go back. Why you don't want to return? It's not heaven oo where everyone that has gone refused to come back to earth. To the contrary, the west is a lot of stress. You buy just one house over a span of thirty years when your mates are buying it money down in Nigeria. Why you want to exchange genetically modified food that can give you cancer over organic home grown food in Nigeria ? Please go experience it for yourself. You will find that there is no place like home. And most people don't want to die in Canada, they want to come home and enjoy the latter years of their life in peace and tranquility where racism doesn't exist.

Abeg forgive my long post

Interesting opinion & experience. For me, the west (at least the US) is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy less stressful than home. I agree that some Nigerians have it better in Naija than if they went abroad, but this is a minuscule minority (usually the well-connected, the corrupt, or the even rarer few who can make it big without being corrupt).

I also agree with you that many people want to move back to Naija in their latter years; but then the thing is that there other fantastic places like parts of the Caribbean and other parts of Africa (e.g. Mauritius, Cape Verde, even part of calm Senegal sef) that one could move to in those latter years.

I love the Nigerian never-say-die spirit, but as a student of history I keep reminding myself that while I'm Nigerian, I shouldn't forget that Nigeria is an artificial invention by Europeans. The distance between my hometown and Accra is shorter than the distance between my hometown and Maiduguri; I say this to illustrate the fact that home can be what we want to define it to be.

There are many good things about Naija that I miss, but for me those are considerably outweighed by living in a place where I am able to live up to close to my potential as a human, and still aspire for much more.

I would encourage people to imagine & construct how they would make a good living if they had to come back to Naija after studying in Canada (don't forget to communicate this to the VO, this blueprint may come in handy if you don't get PR!). I also feel that the world is now a small village and the concept of home is beginning to be more expansive.

I would finally like to add that those of us Nigerians who go abroad should not forget to help others back home to reach their potential, by constructively investing in individuals or profitable ideas at home.

CanadianNurse:
I know @thesoj NA baba for this type of matter.... Try and reach him but make sure you have your dictionary by ur side

Hahahaha.

Oben209:
No luck on the hyperlink yet .. need help

Do you have Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Pro? You can create hyperlinks if you use this software.

@justwise, this is the most recent version of the summarized links you posted on the previous page. It has more updated links and the format is easier to read. Please edit your post on the first page to be this version. Thanks.

jnyuwa02:
I have gone ahead and read all the posts I missed while on hiatus. Nothing new, only a debate to the minutiae details on why someone with full scholarship was denied TRV. Many jumped to the conclusion including some gurus, that it was because of how he filled out his tuition and room and board available to him on the CIC application form. I have to disagree. Doesn't matter what you fill out, the VO can see how much money is available to you on the IRCC form filled by school, including funding letter. Plus it's always good to buttress school funding with personal funding, perhaps by happenstance you don't keep scholarship condition and it's God forbid taken away from you. VOs like to see that someone who is receiving funding can also personally foot the bill should the unexpected happen. All applicants must demonstrate ties to home country. I think that first class mathematics student who got a full ride did a shabby job showing home ties. That is why purpose of visit formed part of his denial. To the best of my knowledge, I didn't see any land deeds or employment prospect or birth certificates of his family remaining in Nigeria that he submitted. My five cents.

I agree with this. I would add that if the VO didn't see the funding amount, they'd have denied her for insufficient funds (but they didn't).
Having said that, I think it's also important for every applicant to be glaringly clear about his/her funding cos VOs sometimes miss information that's not provided clearly.

maziude:
Hello boss,

I aint @Thesoj, but if the school gave you an option of writing an English test (IELTS), why not re-write it and save yourself the troubles of worrying how to convince the VO. I believe if you do this and get the unconditional offer, you will have less issues to worry about and less permutations to do.

Just my thought though...

@Frankrobbn1, please take @maziude's advice. I don't think the circuitous route of switching from a visiting visa to a student visa is advisable. Given that you don't yet have the visiting visa, your current approach requires you to convince Canadian VOs twice; this two-step process appears to be a more difficult task than the one-step version (i.e. improve your IELTS and apply for study TRV).

I also in general would not recommend that anyone apply for a visiting visa with the intent of switching to a student visa. If denied, it gets exponentially harder to be approved when you come back home to apply from Lagos (cos you've basically shown the VO that once you got to Canada you didn't plan to respect the terms of your visiting visa -- exceptions are if for an extenuating reason you absolutely had to stay in Canada, but this is rare and you'd need convincing evidence)

In order to benefit others (and for other gurus to fact-check my answers), please ask your question(s) on here.
Also, due to time constraints I am unable to respond to most PMs at this time.

Do you have travel history to any OECD country (basically any country in western Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, etc)?
If so, then why not just get an unconditional admission and then apply directly for a student visa?
Why do you want to go the route of applying for a visit visa to see your brother as a path to getting a study permit?
Are you certain that it'd be easier to obtain for a visit visa to see your brother?
What is your current activity and when did you finish your last level of education?

Answering these questions may make it easier to help. If you've already answered these questions in the past, please paste the link here and I'll provide any additional thoughts. Thanks!

Frankrobbn1:
Thank you so much Thesoj, you have indeed spoken well. Please i have some few more questions to ask you. Can I pm you?

Frankrobbn1:
Thank you for your response Thesoj.
well i was given a conditional acceptance letter that's stated that after completion of ESL program, i can now gain a direct admission into my undergraduate degree program.

Do you mean if I should apply for a Visitor visa based on that I'm going for a family visit since my brother is a permanent residence of Canada and he sends me an invitation letter. When i get to Canada i can now enroll into my 12weeks Esl program after completion of the program then gain a direct admission. I can now apply for study permit within Canada.
Do you mean it's not possible, i won't be given study permit if i should do that?

please reply as soon as possible. thank you

Oh I think I better understand your question. You are not applying for a visa as an ESL (English as a Second Language) student. You are applying for a visitor visa to visit your brother, and then you intend to enroll in an ESL after which you'd apply for a study permit.

If you do receive the visitor visa, you can indeed enroll in an ESL program (or any other educational program less than 6 months).

I know that while on a visit visa to Canada you technically can apply for a Canada study permit (to a Canada Consulate somewhere in the US); I'm not sure if I'd recommend this option. It is up to you if you wanna go this path. Given that you would be applying while in Canada with your PR brother, you would need to make a very strong case to the VO for why they should issue you this visa. If I were the VO, I'd assume that it was your plan all along to not go back to Naija even before you applied for a visit visa.

Now as someone mentioned a few pages ago, it is indeed true that Nigerian citizen visa applicants are usually treated better when they are applying for a visa from a third country (assuming they are legal residents in said third country, e.g. on student visa, work visa, etc edited: not sure about applying while on a visiting visa though). Just keep in mind that your application may raise some red flags to the VO, given that you left Nigeria to visit your PR brother and upon reaching Canada decided to not go back home. This may create the impression that your intent was always to go to Canada and not return home.

It's a toss up. Your call. If you were my brother and your visit visa got approved, I'd advise you to use the visit visa to Canada, and then come back to Lagos to apply for a student visa. This act would show the VO that you respect the terms of your visa even though you have family ties to Canada.

My two cents. Once again, I am not a VO and every applicant is viewed differently by the VO, depending on the applicant's context.

Frankrobbn1:
...I was told that i have to apply for Visitor visa inorder to enroll into my ESl program. Which after completion of the program, I'm eligible to apply for a study permit within Canada without possibly going back to my country. This rule strictly apply to visitors going for ESL or short term program which is a pre-requisite to their undergraduate degree program.

I was told that i can't be given study permit for...

While I am not a VO, it is extremely unlikely for a Nigerian to be given a visa for an ESL program. You are likely to be refused for "purpose of visit", particularly since you can study ESL in Nigeria or any other African country. It is almost unjustifiable to apply for a TRV or study permit with the premise of going for an ESL program. Not sure what convincing argument you can make to the VO for this purpose.