Study permits are issued by IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) that allow students to study at designated colleges and universities.
Requirements include letter of acceptance from Canadian college or university, proof of sufficient financial support for 1st year tuition, clean record, good health.
Study permit applicant can include family members as part of their application so that they can also accompany the student to Canada. Accompanying spouses can obtain an open work permit and children of the applicant can enroll in Canadian elementary or secondary schools. We at Ravi Gulati Law Office offer support in obtaining Study Permits.
Note: Due to the COVID pandemic, IRCC has stated that they will NOT reject incomplete applications for study permit. IRCC understands that due to the pandemic, applicants may not be able to obtain all necessary documents
Student Direct Stream (SDS) / Fast track - Citizens of India, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Vietnam, Morocco and Senegal can have their study permit applications processed within 20 days from when they are submitted online.
For SDS, students must meet the following requirements
Applicant must be residing in the country of origin (India, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Vietnam, Morocco and Senegal) during application
Acceptance letter form Canadian college or university
Proof of paid first year tuition
Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) with a Canadian bank
Medical exam (if required), Police certificate (if required)
Secondary and post-secondary school transcripts
More than 6.0 on each of the IELTS categories
Legal Status possibilities after graduation – All study permits expire within 90 days of graduation and thus the student must notify the IRCC of their updated status during this time-frame.
Students may apply for Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), which allows the student to work for three years after graduation with ANY employer in Canada
PGWP experience will help with PR application under Canadian Experience Class and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
If a student does not apply for PGWP, they must do one of the following:
Change status to Visitor
Obtain another type of work permit (employer specific)
Fill out an application for another study permit
Depart from Canada
Ravi Gulati Law Office can assist in all parts of this process.
In most cases, temporary work permits are only given if a Canadian employer given the foreign worker approval from ESDC (Employment and Social Development Canada) or Offer of Employment number issued by the IRCC.
The steps for a temporary work permit are as follows:
Canadian employer files for a LIMA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) with ESDC (this is where ESDC determines whether there are any Canadians that can do this job)
With a positive or neutral LIMA, the Canadian employer extends the temporary job offer (also known as CAQ in Quebec)
Foreign worker applies for temporary Work Permit with IRCC.
IRCC issue a work permit that could be valid for a few days to a few years. Most permits are closed work permits (tied to that specific employer) and thus cannot change employers without a new work permit
Note: Work permits are meant to be temporary and do not constitute working in Canada permanently. To work indefinitely in Canada, a foreigner on temporary work permit can initiate the process for permanent residency in Canada (through CEC, or PNP or Skilled worker category)
