By Victoria Surla

On November 17, George Brown College (GBC) officially received approval for its COVID-19 readiness plan from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Now that the college has been added to the approved designated learning institutions (DLI) list, a list of schools approved by a provincial or territorial government to host international students, students who meet the necessary requirements will be able to travel to Canada in the upcoming months.

“Students should expect communication about the fact that we are now on the approved list and some of the next steps for international students intending on travelling to Canada,” says Tenzing Kunga, manager of International Student Services and Support at GBC.

The communication will state the following conditions that need to be met in order for international students to be able to travel to Canada. First, students will have to be in an institute that has been on the approved list. Students must also possess a valid study permit or approval letter, along with their required visas to travel.

It is no secret that many international students have been eagerly anticipating this announcement for months. Several questions have been directed at the GBC’s social media, asking when the school would appear on the approved DLI list and why it was taking so long.

According to John Porter, GBC’s director of admissions & international student services, the college was not on the first DLI list released, due to “technical considerations”. Porter says that the school’s approved COVID-19 readiness plan was actually approved the week before October 20 but didn’t appear on the list as it is only updated by the IRCC every two weeks.

“Everybody’s doing everything as fast as they can through this whole new situation. There were communication issues back and forth and things, but finally today, all the remaining Ontario colleges were put up on the list.”

International students wishing to enter Canada are required to ensure that they self-quarantine for 14 days after arriving.

Kunga says that GBC is also asking all international students to ensure that they have valid medical insurance, as well as to inform the school that they are coming into Canada prior to their arrival.

“We are hoping that students do take into consideration the programs they are registered in and that students who obviously are in hybrid programs in the winter term will come to Canada because they need to be here for the in-person component,” said Kunga.

For international students whose programs are online, however, Kunga says the college is asking students not to travel if they don’t need to.

Porter says the number of international GBC students returning to Canada for the winter semester remains undetermined.

“We can’t sort of say that quite yet. But we have two different ways we’re going to try to make sure we know the numbers better as we go along.”

The first of these methods includes registration for January 2021, which opened earlier this week. The registration process includes a questionnaire to determine if students are planning on staying home to study or attempting to travel to Canada for the semester. It will also determine whether or not they have valid study permits, says Porter.

“We have an obligation to monitor students. When they arrive in Canada and go into their 14-day quarantine, we have to check in with them on a regular basis through that 14 days just to make sure they are feeling okay, they have enough food, et cetera.”

“If [international students] do need our support for various things, obviously the college is here for them too.”

For further questions about the COVID-19 readiness plan, international students can reach out to GBC’s International Centre.