Exceptional academic standards, globally renowned qualification, affordable cost of living, safe environment, and an international student’s paradise- Canada covers all the parameters that a student thinks of while selecting an international study destination. Now that you have secured admission with a Canadian institute you must be on cloud nine. But wait it’s half the battle won. You need to emerge victorious in the other half as well i.e. getting a student visa. An important part of the student visa process is the preparation of visa sop. Most of the pointers for visa sop remain the same as that of an admission sop. The additional information it includes is family and sponsor details, description of course modules, concise future plans, details of the fees, and GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) paid.
Explained below are some of the important pointers of visa sop.
Course contents and experiential learning:
While describing the course subjects, you need to explain some important subjects and how learning these subjects will take you closure to the attainment of your professional aspirations. You must highlight those subjects that made you consider this course for studies. You should also mention the experiential learning opportunities that will come while pursuing the selected course through case studies, research work, projects, field trips, or simulations. Moreover, co-op learning is an important and distinctive feature of the Canadian education system which provides you the platform for on the job training and facilitates your transition to the industry.
Learning outcomes of the course and future plans:
In visa sop, you will have to be very specific about what benefit you will get by pursuing this course and how it will facilitate the attainment of your career aspirations. Your future plans have to be very specific. A generalized statement wouldn’t help. Whether you plan to work at a definite post or start your own venture. The more explicit your vision, the better will be the impact of your SOP. Your goal should commensurate your earlier education and the course you are planning to pursue.
Why this university and country?
While expressing the merits of studying at a particular university and country, you need to highlight the attributes of their academic system. You cannot start by saying the university has a spacious campus or a lot of recreational events. Similarly, while writing for Canada, you shouldn’t begin by stating that it is a beautiful country to explore. You are going there for study purpose so your statement must reflect the mindset of a student to enhance chances of securing a visa. What you mention in the statement indicates to the admission committee about what comes to your mind when you think of an institute or a country where you will be pursuing your further education. These are implied indications of your readiness to study abroad.
Details of family and sponsors:
In visa sop, you need to brief about your parents like what do your father and mother do? If your father is an entrepreneur, mention the name of the company and nature of the business, if he is working mention the organization and his position. Similarly, provide the details of your mother. If she is a housewife, mention that she is a homemaker. Also, you need to mention who will be sponsoring your education and how much of the fees and GIC have been already paid. Normally these expenses are paid for one year. However, in case of a Non-SDS (Student Direct Stream) profile, it is possible that you may have paid only one semester fees though it is not mandatory. It is just one of the criteria for a Non-SDS student.
Returning back to home country:
While mentioning future plans, always insist on coming back to your home country in a very genuine and credible way. Maybe you will support your family business, work towards rural upliftment, or contribute towards making your country self-reliant and digital. If the embassy is not convinced of your rationale of coming back to your home country or if it believes that you have mentioned it only for the sake of mentioning you may not be granted a student visa. Several student visas have been rejected on this ground in the past. So you have to draft your response very thoroughly in a way that convinces the embassy.
You may close the statement by stating that how you really look forward to studying in Canada and make the most out of it. Also, mention that along with the sop, you have attached all the other required documents as per the visa checklist and request them to inform you if any other documents are needed. In salutation mention your name, contact number, and email id.
It goes without saying that even in visa sop you have to ensure that your content is not plagiarised as well as free from spelling and grammatical mistakes.
I hope the above-mentioned points will assist you in preparing a more effective and impressive visa sop. Here’s wishing you all the best for your visa process.
