A couple who had lived and worked in the UAE for six years wanted the wife to apply for a Canadian study permit under SDS from India, while their consultant insisted on applying from the UAE with a sabbatical letter. Their worries: proving five years of travel history, and showing home-country ties to India while living abroad.
What the thread advised:
- Applying from India as an Indian citizen is not misrepresentation. The most direct answer: 'It's not a lie if you apply from India — you are a citizen of India,' and the ties you need to show are to India, where you would return after studies. UAE residence is temporary by nature; you are not a permanent resident there.
- Travel history is documentation, not a liability. Multiple Dubai–India trips over six years raised the poster's anxiety, but members were clear: 'Anyone can do a job abroad — travel history is not a problem.' It simply shows a normal expat work pattern and is recorded in the passport regardless of where you file.
- Whichever route you choose, don't hide anything. The consistent refrain: be truthful about UAE employment and residence in the forms; the choice of filing location doesn't change what you declare.
- The UAE-filing alternative remains valid. The consultant's plan — apply from the UAE with a sabbatical letter showing the employer will rehire after studies — is a legitimate way to evidence a return plan; the thread treated both routes as workable so long as the file is honest.
(Note: SDS as a stream was discontinued by IRCC in late 2024 — the ties-and-honesty guidance still applies to regular study permit applications.)