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The GIC or Guaranteed Investment Certificate is scheme which is recommended for international students who wish to study in Canada in courses which come under the Student Direct Stream (SDS) policy.
Under this policy student is required to deposit his one year’s living expenses into a Bank located in Canada in order to qualify for a student visa to study in Canada. This is a compulsory requirement which all students need to fulfil if they plan on pursuing a course under the Student Direct Stream. The Canadian embassy has recommended a minimum of $10,000 CAD as the GIC amount for Canada student visa. The GIC accounts are basically savings accounts which offer fixed returns to all the eligible candidates over a period of time
· Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
Registration Process
1. Register for a GIC account with any of the above banks which are located in Canada. This procedure can be done online.
2. Upon successful creation of their GIC account login, respective banks send the investment account number and wire transfer details to students via their individual secure email services.
3. Once they receive their GIC account number and wire transfer details from their respective lenders, candidates may send the Canada GIC amount via wire transfer from their home country to the bank with which they had registered for a GIC account. This process may roughly take about 10 - 12 days.
4. All the three banks charge a separate service fee for their GIC services. The final amount which is prescribed to candidates is including this fee. Out of the $10,000 CAD, $2000 CAD is provided to students as the initial set-up fee. The remaining $ 8000 CAD is deposited into the investment account. Students will be able to receive a monthly sum of$667 CAD, plus any applicable interest to support their expenses for the remaining period of their stay in Canada.
5. Once the payment of the GIC amount has been successfully completed, banks send a letterconfirming the receipt of the GIC amount payment via email to the concerned students. Candidates may submit this letter at the time of applying for their Canada student visa.
Actions to be taken by students on arriving in Canada:
1. When students arrive in Canada, they will be required to personally visit the respective banks in which they have opened their Canada GIC account, along with certain documents for a final verification procedure and to activate their GIC student account
2. Post the verification of relevant documents by the bank authorities, a personal deposit account will be created in the student’s name and the initial set-up fees of $2000 CAD will be deposited into this account. The balance amount of $8,000 CAD will be deposited into a non-redeemable GIC account. Once the students have completely utilized the initial set up cost, they will be able to withdraw their monthly allowance from this non-redeemable GIC account.
Canada GIC Amount Refund Process
It is possible for students to get their GIC account amount refunded from their respective banks in the following circumstances:
1. Their study permit has been declined
2. Application of admission has been declined
3. If the student has withdrawn from enrolment into the respective university before/after arrival in Canada
The Canada GIC refund policy implemented by all the banks is mostly similar. Students will need to follow the below steps in order to get their GIC amount reimbursed.
1. Students will be required to provide relevant documents supporting their reason for applying for the refund.
2. The list of documents to be provided by candidates differs from lender to lender.
3. Once all the documents have been verified successfully, banks will initiate the refund process. As soon as the refund process has been completed successfully, the respective banks send a confirmation email regarding the same.
4. The entire Canada GIC refund process may take up to 4 to 5 weeks.
5. Banks may levy extra charges for the same. Hence, students need to cater to the same while applying for their refund.
As mentioned in the previous paragraphs, the basic process for opening a GIC account remains the same for all the three banks. So what sets them apart? Let’s take a look at the Canada GIC account process of different banks with respect to the document requirements, refund policies and processing fees.
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