Was planning her career in Canada, but lockdown stalled her visa process

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 25

Shivani Saharia, who has done graduation in business management and wishes to study abroad, is one of the many youngsters who have been affected due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Shivani had initiated the process of study visa in December 2019 after getting the IELTS certificate. She also received an offer letter from a college in Montreal, Canada. Thereafter, she applied for the study permit, which is known as Certificate of Acceptance of Quebec (CAQ). She has spent Rs15 lakh, including the college fee. As she was about to initiate the process of applying for student visa of Canada, the nationwide lockdown was announced in India.

Admission advisers and agents are also clueless about the upcoming days. She said colleges in Canada have initiated online classes.

“I had submitted an application with the college that I will join the September batch and it was accepted. Now, I don’t know that what will happen in the next four months. Hopefully, international flights will resume. But there is uncertainty about the future. After spending a huge amount, it is hard to stay at home with uncertainty,” she said.

As her siblings Abhishek and Deepika are studying in Canada, it was tough for the family to arrange funds, she said.

“I feel helpless as there is nothing to do at home. There is no other option at home as huge money has been paid. The only option is to wait for the situation to get back on track. Hopefully, I will get the visa for the September intake. Till then, there will be uncertainty,” said Shivani.