The travel restrictions imposed by the Canadian Government on non-citizens in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak have dashed the foreign dream of many foreign students, including the mad rush from Punjab and may kill those Canadian dreams forever for some.

SURREY– For all those fellow Punjabi-Canadians and mainstream Canadians who had enough of the ruckus, crime and trouble created by some Indian-Punjabi students in Canada and those who wanted to stop the large flow of students to Canada, the Coronavirus has single handedly killed the flow of Punjabi and all foreign students to Canada for the time being and the travel ban on non-Canadians could last for months if not full year.

The travel restrictions imposed by the Canadian Government on non-citizens in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak have dashed the foreign dream of many foreign students, including the mad rush from Punjab and may kill those Canadian dreams forever for some.

Having deposited several hundreds of thousands of rupees as fees in Canadian colleges and universities, parents are now unsure of their wards’ future.

Most of them said they had no idea as to when the Canadian Government would allow entry to their wards or whether the universities would extend the session or accommodate students in the next batch.

Ludhiana-based Neeraj Gautam said: “My son had taken admission in BBA in a Canadian university, where his session is due to start on April 6. We have already spent Rs25 lakh on his first-year fee and GIC funds. After flight cancellation, yesterday, we got a mail from the university, asking us whether he would be able to attend a counselling session on April 1. We sought extension of the session, but the university is yet to respond. We don’t know if he will be able to go there anytime soon. Also, a direct flight to Canada will cost us almost double the price.”

Jalandhar-based Umesh Dada, whose one son is in Vancouver on a student visa and another is set to leave, said the situation was dicey at the moment.

“My elder son has been asked to work from home. When we asked him if he planned to return, he said going back to Canada would be a problem in that case.”

About the younger one, he said, “We really do not know if we will be able to send him to SFU in Vancouver, where we have applied for the September session.”

Alok Makkar, whose daughter is doing BBA in a college at Toronto since 2017, too is worried.

 “My daughter is in a piquant situation. Though she is to appear for her final examination online in August, her student visa is set to expire on March 31. She has already applied for renewal, which she has not got so far. So, we are in a dilemma and unsure of her future.”