OTTAWA: Canada has added Pakistan to its Students Direct Stream (SDS) Programme under which Pakistanis will now be able to get a Canadian student visa within 20 days.
High Commissioner of Pakistan to Canada Raza Bashir Tarar welcomed the Canadian government’s decision of including Pakistani international students in the programme.
Under the programme, Pakistanis after fulfilling necessary requirements will be able to get a student visa to Canada in 20 days. It will facilitate Pakistani students who desire to study in Canada.
Last year, the Canadian government started this programme for students from India, China, Philippines, and Vietnam.
Pakistan has been included in the list of the countries under the SDS programme by the Canadian Immigration Department.
Mr Tarar appreciated the goodwill gesture of the Canadian government and expressed gratitude to the special efforts of Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and members of the Canadian Parliament for fulfilling their commitment.
It may be mentioned that the High Commissioner in his meetings with Canadian officials had urged them to include Pakistani students in the SDS programme as academically Pakistani students are second to none.
 Programme under which Pakistanis will now be able to get a Canadian student visa within 20 days.){kind=link}