The “International Student” Visa program that some Junior teams had hopped to use as a loophole to get American players into Canada is now closed.
In the latest update of its program guidelines, the Canadian federal immigration department said Tuesday that international students will not be allowed to enter Canada if they have received a student visa after the country’s border lockdown on March 18.
Even those who have a valid study permit from that date or earlier will be denied entry unless they can prove their travel is “non-discretionary or non-optional.”
Some Canadian Junior Teams had been trying to register American players as students at universities to have them drop out after getting the visa. They did not warn players though that to do so would have started their NCAA clock.
This new restriction now clearly closes that loophole.
