If you plan to study in Canada for more than 6 months, then we advise you to immediately apply for a study permit.
If your application has been approved, then the embassy will issue you a visa. This visa will indicate a validity period. However, you get the study permit itself at the airport upon arrival.
The immigration officer will ask you to show your passport with visa, letter of admission to your educational institution, proof of residence and finances, and a letter stating that the Canadian Embassy has approved the issuance of your study permit.
After that, he checks all documents and issues a study permit.
Be sure to make sure that you have been issued a study permit before leaving the airport, check all the data (correct spelling of the name, date of birth, nationality, and passport number, etc.) and if there is an error, politely ask for changes.
This can be done later, but the process itself can take up to 6 weeks and will require extra effort on your part.
Typically, a study permit is issued for 3 months longer than your program lasts.
You can study and stay in Canada with a study permit until the date specified therein. At the same time, you cannot interrupt your program for more than 90 days.
It is also forbidden to change the educational institution without the notice of the immigration office. You can do this online.
Can Study Permits be renewed in Canada?
Study Permits can be renewed in Canada. But it is important to apply for the renewal before its expiration date.
In this case, you can continue to study and work while you are waiting for a new study permit, even if the old one has already expired. This is called implied status.
NOTE: With an application for an extension of a study permit, you must submit a fresh letter of acceptance from a college or university, and you are not advised to leave Canada while you are waiting for a new study permit, otherwise you will lose your implied status and you will need to interrupt your studies while you do not get a new study permit.
If your study permit has expired, you can restore it within the next 90 days (this is called restoration), but it is important to understand that while you are waiting for a new permit, you cannot study and work.
If you are a college or university student, you are allowed to work.
If you study in language courses and study only English or French, even with a study permit, you are prohibited from working.
Other Important Thing You Need To Know About the Study or Work Permit
- You may work 20 hours per week off-campus or full time during regular breaks if meeting the criteria outlined in paragraph 186 (v) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
- You may also accept employment on or off-campus if meeting eligibility criteria, per paragraph R186 (f), (v) and must cease working if no longer meeting these criteria.
This means you can work up to 20 hours a week during training or full-time (40 hours a week) during vacations.
If this mark is not on your study permit, and you are a college or university student, your program is more than 6 months long and leads to a diploma or certificate, then you should ask the immigration officer to add this information before leaving the airport.
Although this can be done later, it will cause you much more inconvenience.
When to Obtain a Work Permit
If your study program includes an internship or co-op, you must also obtain a work permit to be able to work full time during the internship.
If your letter of acceptance states that a co-op or internship is a mandatory part of your program and is 50% or less of the total length of study, then you only need to apply for a study permit and the work permit will be processed as part of your application.
However, if you plan to leave Canada during your studies, please note that at the bottom of your study permit is the phrase “This does not authorize re-entry”.
This means that if you leave Canada, you must make sure that you also have a visa to enter the country.
The purpose of the study permit is to give the right to stay in Canada, the purpose of the visa in the passport is to give the right to enter Canada.
These are different documents! And if you renew your study permit in Canada, you only get a new study permit, you need to apply for a visa to enter separately, and it is not automatically issued!
Can You Work In Canada After Graduating From College Or University?
After graduating from college or university, you have the opportunity to receive a Post- Graduation Work Permit or PGWP.
This option is available to those who have studied full-time on a program of more than 8 months and have completed a public college or university (except a few private colleges in the province of Quebec).
You can start work from the day you apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit. You do not need to have a job offer to apply.
- If the duration of your program was from 8 months to a year, then you can get a work permit for 1 year.
- If the duration of your program was 2 years or more, then you can get a work permit for 3 years.
Conclusion
I believe you now understand when to apply for a study or work permit. Ensure that you share this with your colleagues who might be searching for this information. Thanks.
