Extended Study Permit

All foreign students, with some exceptions, must apply for and receive a Canadian Study Permit before attending school in Canada.

Before Applying

Once you receive your admission letter from your school in Canada you can then apply for a Canadian Study Permit. Depending on the country you are from, you may also need to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa.

Eligible Institution

Before applying for a Study Permit, you must first apply for and be admitted to an eligible school in Canada either at the primary, secondary or post-secondary level or an English or French language school.

An “eligible institution” in the case of a public learning institution in Canada is defined as follows:

A public post-secondary institution, such as a college or university or CÉGEP in Quebec; or

A private post-secondary institution that operates under the same rules and regulations as public institutions and that receive at least 50 percent of their financing for overall operations from government grants (currently only private college-level educational institutions in Quebec qualify); and

One that is located in a province or territory that has signed an MOU with CIC and that has signed an off-campus work agreement with their provincial or territorial government.

An “eligible institution” in the case of a private learning institution in Canada is defined as follows:

Is located in a province or territory that has signed a memorandum of understanding with CIC and that has signed an off-campus work agreement with their provincial or territorial government; and

Has approval from the provincial or territorial government to grant specific degrees by a public or private act of the provincial/territorial legislation or through a government mandated quality assurance mechanism

Please note that not all programs offered by private post-secondary educational institutions qualify. Qualifying programs at eligible privately funded post-secondary institutions must lead to a specific degree upon completion.

Assessing the Application

If you are currently outside Canada you must apply for a Study Permit at the Canadian visa office responsible for your country or region.

The visa officer who will process your Study Permit application will, among other things, consider the following:

Whether you are a bona fide student. You must persuade the visa office who will process your Study Permit application that you are really coming to Canada for the principal purpose of attending school and will leave Canada at the end of your authorized stay here;

Whether you are inadmissible to Canada. That is, have you committed any crimes, do you have a medical condition, or have you not complied with Canada’s immigration laws in the past?

Whether you require a medical examination.

Whether you require a Temporary Resident Visa.

If the visa officer is satisfied that your application meet the requirements of Canada immigration laws, then you will be issued a Study Permit authorizing you to study in Canada.

As an authorized foreign student you will be eligible to work in Canada on a part-time basis during your studies.

As your legal representative, our office will prepare your Canadian Study Permit application from start to finish ensuring that it is thoroughly prepared and well supported with an abundance of documentary evidence establishing that you have met all of the requirements set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its regulations. We work with you to make certain that your application has the best possibility of being approved by a visa officer.

Once your application is submitted to the visa office all future correspondence and communications pertaining to your application will be sent directly to our office. Our office will continue to be your legal representative until a final determination is made on your Study Permit application by a visa officer. Should any issue arise in the processing of your Study Permit application, our office will address it immediately.