Study Permit inside Canada

Study Permit Inside Canada

All persons coming to Canada, who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents, get temporary resident status for a limited period of time. A special stamp is placed in their passport to authorize the stay in the country. Sometimes, instead of a stamp a handwritten date or document in the passport is given, then the temporary resident status will expire six months from the day they arrived in Canada. People who are given a visitor record, study, or work permit, have the expiry date marked on their documents.If you are a temporary resident in Canada and you want to extend your stay as a student, or you want to request an initial Study Permit inside Canada or restore your status as a student without leaving the country, you can apply for a Study Permit inside Canada. When you decide to apply and change conditions or extend your stay in Canada, you have to submit photocopies of passport pages clearly and show the stamp made by Canadian authorities on your last entry to Canada. If you plan to travel outside Canada while your application is in process, you can leave and come back. 

If you are a foreign national and you want to study in Canada, then you must obtain a Study Permit. A Study Permit is a written document, issued by an authorized officer that allows you to stay and study in Canada. It becomes invalid 90 days after your study program finishes and you get notification of its completion from your school.

Remember, some study courses do not require a study permit. You do not need it for attending preschool, completing distance learning programs, following audit courses (without obtaining credits). Also, taking courses that are included in tour packages, courses that are not academic, professional, or vocational in nature, courses or programs of study which are six months or less and can be completed within the period authorized upon entry into Canada do not demand a Study Permit.

To be allowed to apply for a Study Permit inside Canada you must:

• have a valid Work or Study Permit (it also allows your family members to apply);
• study at pre-school, primary, or secondary level;
• be a visiting or exchange student studying at a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) in Canada; 
• have completed a short-term course or program of study that is a prerequisite to your enrolling at the Canadian educational institution;
• have a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) valid for a minimum of six months (same as your family members);
• be a refugee claimant and a person subject to an unenforceable removal order;
• be an in-Canada permanent resident applicant (or their family member) who is determined eligible for a Permanent Resident (PR) status in the following classes: protected persons, live-in caregiver, spouse or common-law partner, and humanitarian and compassionate considerations;
• have a Study Permit authorized by a visa office abroad, where the permit was not issued at a port of entry;
• be a family member of an athlete on a Canadian-based team, media representative, member of the clergy, or military personnel assigned to Canada.

Those students, who are applying for their first Study Permit to attend a post-secondary institution, must obtain a letter of acceptance from a Designated Learning Institution in Canada. Only after they have the acceptance letter, they can submit an application to get a study permit from inside Canada. International students in the province of Quebec must obtain a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ) issued by the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) when they are renewing or applying for their initial Study Permit.

Remember, that the validity period of your Study Permit cannot exceed the validity period of your passport, so please check that before you apply. Persons 17 years of age or less, who plan to study in Canada without an accompanying parent or a legal guardian must be in the care of a custodian. If your Study Permit inside Canada has expired and you have not applied for an extension, you may be able to restore it within 90 days of losing. Other conditions that allow you to restore your status as a visitor, student, or worker within 90 days of losing it, include change of employers, location of employment, or type of work before obtaining a new work permit and change of the type of studies, educational institution, location of studies, or times and periods of studies. It is important that you continue to meet the requirements of the program.

Your Study Permit Application process inside Canada starts with gathering all the necessary documents. When you apply online, you will receive a personalized document checklist. You must provide:

1. Proof of acceptance at a Designated Learning Institution in Canada (the type of the documents vary depending on the chosen institution and its location in Canada);
2. Proof of financial support while you study in Canada (Proof of financial support is not needed for persons and their family members whose refugee claim has been sent to the Refugee Division; family members of foreign students and temporary workers who need a study permit to attend primary or secondary school).

After all the documents are gathered, you must complete all the sections of the application. It is worth mentioning, that when some sections of the application are incomplete, it may be rejected. Remember, you can appoint a representative by completing the IMM 5476 form. Your representative can give you advice and consultations. They can also conduct business on your behalf with Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency.

If you choose to apply online, you will be asked to pay a Processing Fee for each service. The fees must be submitted with your application. The Study Permit Fee is 150 CAD per person, Fee for the restoration of your status as a student is 350 CAD, Biometrics Fees vary from 85 CAD to 75 CAD. 

For the application online you need access to a scanner or camera to create electronic copies of your documents and a valid credit card to pay with.  You can check your application status online. If you have completed your application properly, the Case Processing Centre will send you a new work permit or a new study permit; or a letter refusing your application. Sometimes your application can be referred to a local Canada Immigration Centre for further assessment. In this case, you can also be invited to an interview.

 

Regards,

International Experience Club

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