Study permits for international students, study permit extensions, and the Post-Graduation Work Permit that follows a completed program.
Coming to Canada to study, staying enrolled, and the work options that follow a completed program.
Study permits for international students, study permit extensions, and the Post-Graduation Work Permit that follows a completed program.
A study permit is the document that allows you to study in Canada at a designated learning institution. It is not a visa — most people also need a visitor visa or an eTA to actually travel here, and those are usually issued alongside the permit rather than applied for separately.
Before you can apply you generally need a letter of acceptance from a designated learning institution, and in most cases a provincial or territorial attestation letter. Not every school in Canada is designated, and studying at one that is not can affect both the permit and the work rights that follow, so this is worth confirming before paying any deposit.
The part people care most about usually comes afterwards. The Post-Graduation Work Permit is an open work permit for graduates of eligible programs, and it is the most common bridge from studying in Canada to working here and, later, to permanent residence. Eligibility depends on the institution and the specific program, and those rules change.
This is what an application on this route usually involves. It is not a checklist that guarantees anything, and IRCC sets the actual requirements, which change.
Whether it fits you specifically is exactly what a consultation is for. This page cannot answer that, and does not try to.
Each route below is run by the Government of Canada, and its official page is the authoritative source for current requirements. Links go directly there.
The core document for studying at a designated learning institution in Canada.
For students continuing or changing programs, where the existing permit will expire before studies end.
On- and off-campus work, and co-op or internship permits where a work placement is part of the program.
An open work permit for graduates of eligible Canadian programs. Eligibility depends on the institution and the program, both defined by IRCC.
Patterns that cause avoidable problems. None of this is advice about your own case, and avoiding all of it still does not decide an application.
This is the single most consequential mistake on this pathway, because the consequence only appears at graduation, when nothing can be done about it. Confirm the institution is designated and the specific program qualifies before paying a deposit.
Funds have to cover tuition and living costs, and the money has to be demonstrably available to you rather than simply existing in someone's account. Large recent deposits with no explanation attract questions.
Officers assess whether the program makes sense for you given your background and stated goals. A course chosen only because it appeared to be the easiest route in is visible in an application, and it is assessed.
Extensions should be filed before expiry. Continuing to study after a permit lapses is a status problem, not a paperwork delay.
Short programs below a defined length may not require one, but the threshold is set by IRCC and the exemption is narrower than people assume. Enrolling on the assumption you are exempt is risky.
A study permit can carry work conditions, on and off campus, within limits IRCC sets. Those limits have changed more than once in recent years, so check the current rule rather than relying on what a friend did two years ago.
PGWP eligibility depends on the institution and the specific program, both defined by IRCC, and not every program at every designated institution qualifies. This is worth confirming before you enrol, because it cannot be fixed afterwards.
Accompanying family members apply in their own right, and whether a spouse can obtain an open work permit depends on defined categories that have narrowed. It is not automatic.
Official Government of Canada sources for everything described above. These are the authoritative statements of the requirements; this page is a plain-language summary of how the route works.
A few minutes of general questions, reviewed before you speak with the RCIC-IRB directly.
Start Your AssessmentThe assessment form is general information only. It does not give you an eligibility conclusion.
This page is general information. It is not an assessment of your eligibility, and nothing on it is immigration advice for consideration. Study-Related Services matters at ZIMMR are advised on directly by Irshad Osman, RCIC-IRB.
Verify on the CICC public register