U of R international students struggle with delayed study permits, loneliness, money

University isin session, but many international students are facingissues getting their studies started right now.

Many new international students are unable to register for classes. Due to the pandemic, Canadian Immigration Services has been delayed in approving study permits and visas.

Bisi Oladeleis regional editor at The Nation newspaper in Nigeria, and was accepted into the University of Regina's Master of Journalism program.He applied for a student permitin mid-June. On average, Oladele says applications from Nigeria only take four tosix weeks to be processed and approved.

Oladele still has not heard back about the status of his application.

"We all understood that the coronavirus pandemic is likely responsible for the delay we are experiencing in the processing of our visas," Oladele said.

"But by and large we really do not know what's going to happen. We were supposed have fully joined the student community at the U of R as of now."

Oladele says there is no option to follow up with Canadian Immigration Services.

"We are encouraged not to call or email, but to wait for communication from Canadian Immigration ... If not for the show of understanding and good communication from the U of R, we would have been fully frustrated."

Master of Journalism program has majority international students

There are 13 students in the 2020 Master of Journalism program, eight of whomareinternational students.

Mark Taylor, the department head at the School of Journalism, saidenrolment in the programin 2020 is the highest it's been in seven years. The Master of Journalism program's newest cohort is the biggest the school has ever had.

"But that's if they can get here. Even virtually get here," Taylor said.

Taylor saidthis problem is not unique to the journalism school. It's a problem facing many international students wanting to study in Canada.

Oladele saidthe permit delay is causing him a lot of concern and stress.

"For me to leave my job and pursue the program I need to give one month notice ... but already the program has started. You can see the difficulty that I have," Oladele said.

Drop-out deadline looms

Ngozi Attah, a TV and radio presenter also from Nigeria, was accepted into the Master program in 2019,but was denied a study visa at the time. Attah saidshe was not given a reason for the denial, but wasasked to reapply. So she had to defer her admission for a year.

When the pandemic hit and embassies closed, Attah saidshe delayed reapplying because she was concerned about spending the moneywhen things were so uncertain. She is now waiting to see what happens with other international students' applications.

"We want to improve ourselves. We need to be known. The international students need to express themselves and let the embassy know that this is what we're facing," Attah said.

Taylor saidthe school has come up with a work-around plan to help international students while they wait.

"The one thing we can do is let them participate in these classes, even though they're not officially registered, in hopes that if and when everything is processed, they can just keep on rolling and they're not behind a month."

If students want to begin studying, they must register for classes online and pay tuition fees.

Taylor saidSept.16is the drop deadline for students to get 100 per cent of their tuition refunded. Sept.30is the deadline to get a 50 per cent refund.

If the international students have to dropthe program, that will take away 75 per cent of the school's graduate class.

"I feel for the students most because they're the ones in limbo. But it is frustrating for us," Taylor said.

Financial pressure, mental health concerns

Md Abul Hossain isa second-year economics international student from Bangladesh and international students' director at the U of R students' union.

He saidinternational students both in and outside of Canada are facing more than visa delays.

"They are struggling with their work, their families, their mental health," Hossain said.

"A few students told me that theirparents and relatives are directly effected because of COVID-19. Some have economic issues because they'renot earning. The parents are not able to send them the whole amount of the tuition."

International students are only allowed to work 20 hours per week, andtheir tuition is approximately three times more than domestic students, saidHossain. This has caused significant financial strain for many during the pandemic.

When COVID-19 arrived in Canada, many students returned home and are now doing their classes from there. But theyare struggling with difficult time differences doing very early morning classes and late night classes.

Hossain saidmany are facing mental health issues as well.

"Because they're staying home most of the time, those students who came last winter or this fall ... because they don't know anybody ... they are [alone]."

Hossain saidthat many international students do notfeel comfortable with doing so much online. While the students' union is holding virtual events, many international students are not participating.

"Even in person, people don't feel comfortable talking to new people. But nowit's online. They're not even thinking about talking with someone about their problems," Hossain said.

"Being alone gives them another mental pressure. I don't know how long they can handle it."

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