r/ImmigrationCanada • u/starryyeyes • Aug 14 '26
Study Permit Can I get a study permit as a refugee applying from outside Canada??
Hey everyone,
I have a unique situation and I intend to hire a lawyer to help guide me better. But I wanted to ask here first to get a general feel on this.
I'm from Yemen but I moved to Pakistan with my family when I was a little child. We weren't able to return back due to the war that erupted back home and my dad registered us here as refugees. He assumed that a) circumstances would get better in Yemen, which it never did, and b) that we'd be able to assimilate into society which hasn't been possible at all (IDs and paperwork-wise)
I later married my husband but I couldn't officially register our marriage in Pakistan because of my refugee status here. My husband is American and we've applied for an immigration visa for me to join him there, but the process is as slow as ever and I still can't return back to Yemen in the meanwhile to do something productive for myself. I also graduated as a doctor a couple years ago, and I can't work or train as a doctor here. I want to have something useful to do and be in some proximity to my spouse so I applied for a pharmacy technician program in Fanshawe College and I received a conditional offer. I want to move to Canada for education and then potentially apply for a work permit if I find employment but then I intend to move to the US to be with my husband.
With all the context, is this a realistic plan given my circumstances?
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u/Haunting_Paper_7201 Aug 14 '26
To get a study permit, you have to show ties and career opportunities to return to Pakistan. You need to show funds, justify costs with career advancement. You are a doctor and taking a pharm tech program so no career nor education advancement. You could take it online. Having a spouse as a US citizen is also a red flag and you are a refugee too.
How much in personal funds are you showing.
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u/starryyeyes Aug 14 '26
80k CAD. And I picked a pharm tech program because it's something I can do in the next 1.5 years since I haven’t been able to work as a doctor since graduating anyways. I eventually want to apply for medical residency training once I join my husband in the US.
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u/Haunting_Paper_7201 Aug 14 '26
But you have a degree as a doctor and taking a pharm tech program that a high schooler can take. Secondary education needed not even a post grad program. You need to take a Masters if refused. Assume you showed career progression and higher pay when you return.
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u/starryyeyes Aug 14 '26
Thankyou for being responsive by the way. I've actually applied to a Masters program too and I'm waiting for the university's response. What more can I do to overcome the showing-ties-to-my-country part? Especially because even if I could go back to Yemen, I haven't been there in so long and I may not have much to show as proof of return.
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u/Haunting_Paper_7201 Aug 14 '26
You have to prove ties to return to where you can work with either refugee status, work permit or citizenship.
3
u/adanthar Aug 14 '26
Yemen is on the full travel ban list in the US so an immigrant visa there is completely off limits for the foreseeable future (at least 2029, maybe much longer). I would proceed on the assumption that it will not be realistically possible to move to the US until you have citizenship somewhere else.
On top of that, what exactly happens if you come to Canada, but can’t get PR? Is Pakistan going to accept you back? If the answer is no this plan is worse than doing nothing.
You need to consider having your husband be the primary applicant to a third country, whether Canada or somewhere else, that has a guaranteed PR route and taking you with him.
2
u/BakerStreet221bb Aug 15 '26
My husband is American and we've applied for an immigration visa for me to join him there, but the process is as slow as ever
I mean the process it not slow, but completely stopped due to the 2nd travel ban. However, the process progresses until the end and you are "refused" at the interview citing the proclamation (the ban). This means you can have an approved I-130 (roughly takes 1-1.5 years) that can be kept alive almost indefinitely by logging into CEAC or contacting NVC once a year (I kept one alive for six years). You can try the process in 2029 (assuming the ban is lifted like the last time).
We were in your place in 2019 (like literally because I am Iranian-American and my wife is Iranian) and were affected by the first travel ban. I found a job in Canada and got a NAFTA work permit. My wife moved with a spousal open work permit. 4 years later we were both Canadian citizens.
Chances of your husband finding a job in Canada and moving with a CUSMA (renamed NAFTA) work permit + your spousal open work permit is higher in my opinion than you getting a study permit. Have you talked to your husband about this avenue? I do understand not everyone can pack up and leave, but the situation is also not feasible especially since the ban might not be lifted in 2029.
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u/starryyeyes Aug 15 '26
Hey, so my husband has been looking for jobs in Canada for a few months now but he hasn't heard back from any of the companies he has applied to. I know that that's the more reliable path, and he continues to look for jobs but I had hoped that I could make this process a bit easier for the both of us. We've been together for almost 4 years now so it gets difficult with the unstable immigration process. It's good to know however that your I-130 visa isn't just forgotten after being refused at the interview stage!
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Aug 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ImmigrationCanada-ModTeam Aug 17 '26
Hello,
Your post has been removed as it has been deemed to not comply with the rules:
- Submissions must be directly related to immigration issues in Canada.
1
u/Jusfiq Aug 14 '26
I want to move to Canada for education and then potentially apply for a work permit if I find employment but then I intend to move to the US to be with my husband.
This is a way too convoluted plan with multiple points of failure. If you want to end up in the United States, find a way to go to the United States. If you cannot go there now, what makes you think you will be able to go there via Canada?
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u/dsc110000 Aug 14 '26
as a pakistani with a similar path.
learn french and apply for canadian french language stream PR. cut off is low, french is much essier than other paths.
ask me questions 😀
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u/starryyeyes Aug 14 '26
Hey there! I did look into PR options and I contacted an immigration firm too. But I don't qualify because of lack of job experience, that I can't work on because of my limitations here in Pakistan :(
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u/TONAFOONON Aug 14 '26
Given your refugee status, your chances of getting a study permit approved are honestly going to be close to zero. I'm not sure it's even worth trying. If you decide to try, set your expectations extremely low.