VFS Acceptance and VISA
Hello guys, how are you? For now, this is definitely g0ing to be one of my biggest blog posts so far but also one of the most important and explanatory for people who also have the dream to study at VFS or Canada. So, sit in your chair, grab your notebook – or computer notepad – and follow me!
At the end of last week the documents sent by VFS via FedEx arrived. I was impressed with the speed by which everything arrived at my house and the organization of the documents, with the beauty of the school folder and the vast amount of information provided. Everything came to me in two days. I can’t thank enough the great help and patience that Dave Goldie and Kelly Sawatsky – both from VFS – had with me during these days. Thank you!
Among the documents was my acceptance letter in the school; the contracts previously signed by me and now signed by the school; a checklist saying what I’ll need to get my Canadian Visa and my Study Permit; a large map with the location of the VFS Campus spread over Vancouver; a document explaining more about accommodation in Vancouver and personal expenses; payments and receipts; and, finally, a list of recommendations for what to study for the course before classes begin, which included books, websites and games that I need to read/visit/play. I was impressed and excited about the vast majority of the recommendations that were made to me; I’m already “tuned” with the course and always following. I even had one of the recommended books and already read. Hahaha! 
The DVD that can be seen in the photo of the post is also of VFS, but I got this one at a meeting that I had with Barbara Martinez here in São Paulo, to talk about the school. In the DVD there was information about each individual course and a long video explaining a lot about the school. It is amazing!
As the title of this post suggests, the idea is to present and explain a little more about the necessary documents that are asked of me to get the Canadian Visa and the Study Permit – which was unknown to me until then. Before reaching this point, I would like to talk about my steps so far that have been approved by the school.
To try to be accepted in the program and become a student of Game Design, they requested from me what they call a Game Design Portfolio. This is a collection of texts and documents that include a synopsis of no more than one page, presenting the concept, idea and vision of a game I would love to create. Including the Game Genre and References that I would use to create it. A story for the game, possible stages and characters, in a maximum of one page as well. And 1-2 pages presenting diagrams explaining any game features, mechanics and an illustration of the simplified World Game MAP, based on the synopsis presented above.
For my Pre-Project, I presented the concept of a Mobile Puzzle Game – named webRain – based on the events that occured in Pakistan, in the city of Sindh in 2010, in which spiders had to create new nests atop trees, to escape the giant flood that happened at that time. Along with this Pre-Project, I sent a copy of documents that confirmed my last school / college, as well as the grades I had in each semester; a Personal identification with photo; two letters of reference saying how it is to study and/or work with me; and my Resume with my Portfolio Pieces. Finally, with all these documents sent to school, they accepted me. They really liked the whole idea of the Pre-Project that I’ve presented. We then started all the paperwork, payment and receipt of documents. Now I move onto the next step which is to acquire the visa and the student permit.
VISA AND STUDY PERMIT
For Brazilians who want to study in Canada, it isn’t enough to have just the Canadian Visa. It is necessary to get what they call a Study Permit. These documents are both required at the same time to be able to study in Canada. After completing many forms and providing proof of funds, you must send it away and wait for your visa.
To get a Student Visa we need to supply the following documents:
- A valid Passport covering the duration of your study permit.;
- A document/letter proving a financial support from somewhere – whether it be provided by an organisation or their own parents – which proves that you will maintain at least $15,000 CAN annually. And in it, you must include copies of income tax and delivery receipts, copies of the last three hollerits, copy of last months bank statements (saving and investment funds), among other documents which are sometimes required to prove this;
- Acceptance letter from school that you will study, along with your signed contract and payment receipts for parts of the course you’ve done so far.
The documents cited above are what are necessary for the Canadian Student Visa. But as I said before, in addition to the Visa, we require a Study Permit. To get such permission, the Canadian government requires several other documents and forms to be complete. Below is a list of those documents for a permit and Visa for students who will take a course that is more than 6 months in Canada:
- Study Permit Form IMM 1294;
- Family Information Form – IMM 5645;
- Document Checklist;
- Two photos (3,5 x 4,5) following the specifications of the Study Permit.
All these documents can be purchased and explained by this official website:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/student.asp
To not get as lost as I did, I particularly recommend a few things. Firstly, if you have a chance to ask for help from a forwarding agent, to accompany you and help throughout this process, this would be greatly advised. Another way to help and serve, almost as a forwarding agent, is the new system that has been adapted in Brazil known as the VAC. This system works almost like a virtual agent, in which you pay them to monitor the process. Sending your documents to the VAC, they will let you know if any documents are missing, and how to proceed. Below is the VAC official websiteand all explanations, including in Portuguese:
http://csc-cvac.com/pt-BR/selfservice/cvac_welcome
After all the documents are submitted, along with the amount paid to the Canadian Student Visa process and the VAC services, you should expect a response. If approved, you will be asked to take a mandatory medical examination – I can’t provide too much information regarding this as I’m currently at this stage – and, after the medical examination, if all goes well, you will receive your Visa and Student Permit in hand. 
It is good to remember that you will need to complete this procedure about 2 months before the start of your classes, since the process may take longer than expected in some cases, especially in the stage of medical examinations results.
I hope that I actually may have helped in some way for anyone who was wondering how to obtain and complete the required documents. Any additional questions, If I can help, please contact me via e-mail, ok?
Stay tuned to my website, I’ll update it with more news and how my whole Visa process is going soon. Good week to all!
Cara muito bom parabens pelo seu blog, estou buscando informações sobre como entrar nesta escola ja a algum tempo, e agora finalmente encontrei muito obrigado, espero ansiosamente seus proximos posts.
Tenho uma dúvida, estou no 4º semestre do curso de Jogos Digitais (são 6 semestres), porém minhas notas do 1º semestre em 2 matérias (matematica e modelagem), são fracas (entre 5,5 e 6) as outras 4 matérias são relativamente boas (entre 7 e 9), você acha que isso pode acarretar algum problema?
Vlw.
Eaí Wesley, tudo bem?
Primeiramente obrigado pela visita no site e fico muito feliz em saber que posso estar ajudando de alguma maneira. Quanto a sua dúvida, eu realmente acredito que isso não será um problema na aceitação do curso.
A VFS vai solicitar de você, como parte dos documentos necessários, o que eles chamam de School Transcripts. São documentos que provam os seus últimos cursos e estudos dos últimos 5 anos, se não me engano. Se você tiver Diploma de Faculdade até lá, a idéia é mandar o seu diploma scaneado e uma cópia do “Currículo Estudantil” que você receberá junto ao Diploma assim que graduar. Nesse currículo estará a relação de todas as matérias que você cursou e suas notas. No meu caso a minha menor nota foi 6.7, em Marketing de Games. Como na PUC a média era 5, eu estava acima da média. Acho que tudo isso vai basear na média do seu curso. Mas com as notas que você me disse acima, eu não creio que terá problema algum não. Até porque são algumas excessões apenas e, você tendo seu Diploma prova que você se formou corretamente no curso. Ok?
Não se preocupa com isso não! Aliás, estuda e se forma! Hahahaha. Tenta manter as suas notas como já vem mantendo, ok?
Qualquer outra dúvida diz aí.
VALEU!