The document that allows you to study at a designated institution in Canada.
A study permit is authorisation to study in Canada. It is not a visa: most people also need a visitor visa or an electronic travel authorisation to actually travel here, and those are normally issued alongside the permit rather than applied for separately.
Before applying 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 the designation matters twice over — it affects the permit itself, and it affects whether the program later qualifies for a Post-Graduation Work Permit.
That second point is why the choice of school deserves more scrutiny than it usually gets. A study permit decision made carelessly can quietly remove the most common bridge from studying in Canada to working and then settling here, and that consequence only becomes visible at graduation, when it is too late to change.
| What it is | Authorisation to study — not a visa |
|---|---|
| Institution | Must be a designated learning institution |
| Usually also required | Provincial or territorial attestation letter |
| Travel document | Visitor visa or eTA, normally issued alongside |
| Affects later work rights | Yes — institution and program determine PGWP eligibility |
What an application on this route usually involves. Not a checklist that guarantees anything — IRCC sets the requirements, and they change.
Whether it fits you is what a consultation is for. This page cannot answer that and does not try to.
The most consequential mistake on this pathway, because the consequence only appears at graduation when nothing can be done about it.
Money in a relative's account, or a large deposit landing days before filing, is weaker evidence than a steady balance with a traceable history.
Officers assess whether the program makes sense given your background and goals. A course chosen because it looked like the easiest route in reads exactly that way.
Biometrics, medicals and document collection all take time that cannot be compressed.
No. It authorises study once you are in Canada. Travel to Canada requires a visitor visa or an eTA, which are normally issued at the same time.
Only designated learning institutions, and even among those, not every program leads to the same later work rights. Confirm both before paying a deposit.
Funds must cover tuition plus living costs, at levels IRCC publishes and updates. What matters as much as the amount is that the money is demonstrably available to you — large unexplained recent deposits attract questions.
Accompanying family members apply in their own right. Whether a spouse can get an open work permit depends on defined categories that have narrowed in recent years, so it should be checked rather than assumed.
That is the one question this page cannot answer. Start with the free assessment, then bring your situation to a consultation with the RCIC-IRB.
Start Your AssessmentBook a paid consultationThis page is general information. It is not an assessment of your eligibility, and nothing on it is immigration advice for consideration. Study Permit matters at ZIMMR are advised on directly by Irshad Osman, RCIC-IRB.
Verify on the CICC public register