International and exchange students arriving on campus for the fall semester may experience delays as the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) labour dispute drags on.
PAFSO has been fighting a contract negotiation battle with the federal government since June 2013. Union members have been walking out of office in Canada and overseas without advance notice, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s website.
Due to these circumstances, Carleton students needing study permits or temporary resident visas—who are already registered in courses and are directly affected by the labour action—are allowed to arrive on campus up until Sept. 18.
According to the International Student Services Office (ISSO) website, international and exchange students unable to arrive then will be offered alternatives, including deferral of admission to the winter term, or later terms if necessary.
Amol Kamath, a first-year student from India, is among the applicants facing visa processing delays.
“I applied online on June 7, and was told that the expected processing time would be 40 days,” he said.
Because of the processing delays, Kamath still hasn’t received his visa and was forced to change his flight to a later date.
The Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) is currently looking to hold an orientation in the winter term for students coming in late, according to GSA president Grant MacNeil.
“International students are already a marginalized group—they already have a lot of trouble getting here,” he said.
On Sept. 21 the ISSO will also offer an orientation for late international students.
According to data from the Council of Ontario Universities, on Nov. 1, 2012 Carleton had 1,776 undergraduates with student visas, plus 379 master’s and doctoral students.
Nancy Caron, a media relations liaison at Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), said via email that all visa offices remain open and continue to provide services.
She said that every visa office maintains a core number of staff that have been deemed “essential.”
As well, she said CIC has hired additional staff on a temporary basis and has asked staff to work overtime where possible to help process visas both overseas and in Canada.
She advised students to submit their applications as early as possible.
“Students may also submit a letter from an educational institution indicating that the institution would accept a late arrival, specifying until when, and/or that the acceptance letter is also valid for the same course starting the next semester,” she said.
