When preparing a Canada study permit application as a Nigerian student, establishing strong home ties is crucial to the success of your application. You show home ties to prove to the visa officer that you will return to Nigeria after completing your studies.
There are several ways to prove that you will return to your home country. You can show that through your letter of explanation, employment, property ownership, investment, and Family Ties. In this article, I will be discussing that in full detail.
However, it’s important to note that home ties are not the sole determining factor for the approval or denial of your study permit application.
To obtain a Canada study permit, you must get an acceptance letter from an accredited Canadian educational institution, show that you have enough funds to cover your tuition and living expenses, have a strong statement of purpose, and so on. For further information, please see this other post on the requirements for studying in Canada from Nigeria.
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What Does Strong Ties to Your Home Country Mean?
Strong ties to your home country simply means you have a connection or bond to your homeland, family, property, job, and financial prospects that you invest, inherit, or own. In other words, strong home ties means the relationships connecting you to your current place of residence. It could be your children, investment properties, spouse, businesses, job, etc.
Canadian immigration officers are often very critical of this aspect of requirements when filing for a study permit. They can ask specific questions about your future employment, educational objectives, long-range plans, family, career prospects, etc.
If you fail to provide sufficient home ties, you can be denied a visa because you are perceived as a potential flight risk. It shows that you don’t have a reputation of likely coming home before your visa expiration.
How do I show Home Ties to Canada Study Permit from Nigeria?
Preparing a home tie for a Canada study permit typically involves demonstrating strong connections to your home country. Here are five ways that you can use to show home ties.
i. Letter of Explanation
To show home ties for your Canada study permit application, the first critical step is to include a Letter of Explanation. In this letter, it’s essential to clearly state your plans after returning to Nigeria. This serves as an indicator of your intentions to the visa officers. Let’s say you want to study for an MSc in International Relations at a Canadian university. You can explain that upon completing studies in Canada, you want to work with the government or take a Ph.D. program here in Nigeria. This shows you have a clear plan to return to your home country. Make sure to place this information at the end of your letter of explanation.
ii. Employment
The second way that you can use to show home tie is employment. So, if you’re employed in Nigeria, you can maybe get a study leave or a reference letter from the company to state that when you graduate from your studies in Canada, you will continue working in your home country for that particular company. It is essential to add a pay stub to prove this.
iii. Financial Stability & Investment
You can also present evidence of financial stability, such as bank statements, investments, or other assets. This indicates that you have reasons to return home. In addition, if you have investments like stocks and shares (especially the ones that will require you to attend some meetings) in Nigeria, it also shows that you are really tied to your country.
iv. Family Ties
If you are married, and you have your wife and your children back in Nigeria, that is a fantastic home ties. Or if you have parents and siblings in her in Nigeria, you can also talk about that in your application. And remember that documentation like marriage certificates or birth certificates may be relevant.
v. Property ownership
Property ownership is also an amazing way of showing home ties. Let’s say you have a house, a car or properties in real estate, you can say in your application, “well I have some of these properties back in Nigeria and I would really love to manage some of these properties upon return from Canada.”
So these are the ways you can really justify that you have home ties to your country. And always remember to present supporting documents to support your claim.
How to prove intent to return home after studying in Canada?
Merely submitting bank statements with sufficient money in it or presenting a round-trip flight ticket does not show your ability to return to your home country. Although these two documents are required, but they do not demonstrate intent to return home.
You must be able to prove without a shadow of a doubt that you are returning to your country following visa approval.
The following are the ways to prove your intent to return home.
Proof of property ownership – If you have a property under your name, you can add a house deed, land title deed, car registration documents, and stock certificate as evidence.
Marriage certificate – Merely telling the visa officer that you are married is not enough. You must present a marriage certificate duly stamped by a government registry. That way, it becomes easier to prove you have ties to your home.
Prove of employment – You have to prove that you are employed and earning enough money. You can submit documents such as your Certificate of Employment (COE), payslips, employment contract, and No Objection (NOC) Letter from the Employer.
Prove of Family ties/Birth certificates – The birth certificates of your spouse and dependents and a marriage certificate will serve. You can also present photos showing a sincere connection to family and friends. In addition, you can submit your kid’s birth certificates to prove your deep-rootedness in your home country.
So, this is all the information you need to show home ties for Canada study permit. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment section below. Good luck!