An applicant planning an MBA in Vancouver, applying from Pakistan and hoping to bring their spouse and 3 children, asked about dependent visa options, GIC banking, how much tuition to pay upfront, and whether to apply SDS or non-SDS.
What the thread covered (note: the group gave conflicting answers on one point, so confirm current rules before relying on this):- Pay tuition as prescribed by your university, not necessarily a full year. One member stated there's no university-wide requirement to pay a full year's tuition for admission — paying one semester can be enough for the school itself.
- However, a full year's tuition payment may be required specifically for SDS (Student Direct Stream) eligibility. A different member directly contradicted the first point, stating SDS requires paying the full first year's tuition to qualify — this is a separate requirement from what the university itself demands for admission, and the thread didn't fully reconcile the two views.
- Because of that contradiction, verify the current SDS financial requirement directly against IRCC's published SDS criteria before deciding how much to pay upfront — don't rely on either answer alone.
On dependents, GIC bank choice, and SDS-vs-non-SDS from Pakistan specifically, the thread didn't provide clear answers — those questions remain open and should be researched separately (e.g. via IRCC's SDS eligibility list, which determines whether Pakistan applicants can even use SDS).