Study permits

A study permit lets you study at a designated learning institution in Canada. The rules around study permits have changed repeatedly in recent years, including provincial attestation requirements and caps on the number issued, so the position at the time you apply matters more than what was true last year.

What is covered

• Initial study permit applications, including the supporting documents each province currently requires
• Extensions and changes to conditions
• Changing institution or program, and the notification obligations that come with it
• Applications for accompanying family members
• The move from study permit to post graduation work permit

The part that is most often done badly

Study permit refusals are frequently about two things: whether the officer accepts that you will leave Canada at the end of your authorised stay, and whether your funds are genuinely available to you. Both are argued, not merely asserted. A bank balance without an explanation of where it came from is a weak answer, and a study plan that does not connect to your previous education or work is a weaker one.

This practice does not recruit students for schools and receives no commission from any institution. Under sections 17 and 18 of the Code, combining recruitment with immigration advice creates a conflict of interest, and it is avoided here.