Study Permit

A study permit is a written authorization issued to foreign nationals authorizing them to engage in studies in Canada. Students have the same obligations as other temporary residents.

Education is a provincial/territorial jurisdiction and provinces/territories are responsible for regulating education in Canada. It is the responsibility of students to enquire about the quality of the schools in which they intend to enroll.

Application process for the Canadian Study Permit

As soon as you got the acceptance letter from the institution of your choice, it is time to proceed to the next step: applying for a study permit.

The first steps to obtaining your student visa:

• Apply online for your Canadian student visa, on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website before you arrive in Canada.
• Send the visa application documents by post if you have a limited internet connection or cannot submit the documents online.
• Provide an acceptance letter from a designated learning institution (a university recognized by the Canadian government).
• Deliver proof of sufficient financial resources to support your studies in Canada (tuition fees and living expenses).
• Present proof confirming you have no criminal record.
• Submit clinical records that state you are in good health; submit complete medical examinations if required.

Basic regulatory requirements for the issuance of a study permit, are listed in R216:

216(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), an officer shall issue a study permit to a foreign national if, following an examination, it is established that the foreign national

(a) Applied for it in accordance with this Part

(b) Will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay under Division 2 of Part 9

(c) Meets the requirements of this Part

(d) Meets the requirements of subsections 30(2) and (3), if they must submit to a medical examination under paragraph 16(2)(b) of the Act

(e) Has been accepted to undertake a program of study at a designated learning institution.

Don’t just submit documents required by the Document Checklist. Apart from other documents you must have a detailed study plan. The study plan should be as detailed as possible, and must justify why the proposed study program, among other things:

• Is a reasonable study program (in light of past experience and education)
• Represents a reasonable progression in education/career prospects
• That this degree will provide job opportunities in the home country

While assessing study permit applications IRCC also looks at

• Whether the applicant has family that is staying behind in home country (which would motivate him to return)
• Whether the applicant has assets and/or a job waiting for him in home country (which would motivate him to return)
• The degree of the applicant's ties (family and otherwise) to Canada (which might motivate him to remain)

Off Campus work

International students can work off campus without a permit provided

• They hold a valid study permit
• They are full-time students enrolled at a designated learning institution (DLI)
• The program in which they are enrolled is a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional training program, or a vocational training program at the secondary level offered in Quebec
• The program of study is at least 6 months in duration and leads to a degree, diploma or certificate

Full time status determination is done as per the requirements of the intuition of the applicant. IRCC will defer to DLIs on the determination of a student’s status. Students must stop working off campus as soon as their full-time status becomes part-time during a regular academic e.g. as they drop courses. Co-op students are eligible to work off campus pursuant to  paragraph R186(v), on top of their co-op work hours.

Maximum working hours permitted

Students eligible to work under paragraph R186(v) can do the following:

• Work up to 20 hours per week during academic sessions once they have commenced their program of study
• Work full time during regularly scheduled breaks between academic sessions regardless of their course load

Students may not work until they have commenced their program of study. They must actually commence studies in Canada at a DLI before being eligible to work off campus.

However, on campus work while the foreign national is a full-time university or college student and the study permit is valid. The hours of work per week are unrestricted.

Intensive programs without scheduled breaks only entitle for a maximum of 20 hours per week during the entire program of study.

Full-time students with a part-time course load in their final academic session are allowed to work off campus up to 20 hours per week during their final academic session.

Working on campus in addition to working off campus

There are no restrictions on the number of hours students can work on campus [as per R186(f)] in addition to working off campus, provided the foreign national is a full-time university or college student and the study permit is valid. The hours of work per week are unrestricted.

Maximum duration of a regularly scheduled break can not be more than 150 days.

Taking into account all regularly scheduled breaks, students may only work off campus on a full-time basis for a total of 180 days during each calendar year.

Students who are enrolled full time during the academic sessions before and after a regularly scheduled break and who decide to undertake a full-time or part-time course load during that regularly scheduled break are eligible to work off campus on a full-time basis.

Regardless of the duration of the study permit, a person ceases to be a student once they complete their program requirements. This means that the day that they receive the letter confirming that they have met the requirements for graduation (the important letter they need to apply for the PGWP) they cease to be student. It does not matter when the actual convocation or graduation ceremony is, once they complete the program requirements they are no longer a student. The only way they can continue to work is if they apply for the PGWP (per R186(w)), as long as they do it before the expiry of the study permit.

The general consensus we have observed amongst IRCC officers and spokespeople is that you cannot work past the day of completing your program until you apply for your work permit

If a student has not commenced studies they are not considered a full-time student, a requirement under R186 (f) and (v). Unlike the vacation months between one term and the next, the period prior to commencing school is not considered a "scheduled break".

As a result prior to commencing studies at an eligible academic institution, full-time or part-time work is not permissible, even if the study permit has already been issued