Study Permits

You may apply for a study permit when you enter Canada if you are a:

• U.S. citizen
• U.S. permanent resident
• Person who has lawfully been admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence
• Resident of Greenland
• Resident of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

Find out which documents you will need to apply. Make sure to include them with your application at the POE.

Note: In order to apply for a study permit at an air POE, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. travelling to Canada must apply and obtain an eTA before boarding their flight to Canada.

It is possible to study in Canada for less than six months without a Study Permit. The program must be completed within the original period authorized for your stay when you entered Canada (usually six months). If you are from a visa-exempt country, you must apply for an eTA . If you are from a visa required country you must apply for a visitor visa (Temporary Resident Visa - TRV).

If you originally attended UAlberta for one term without a study permit (e.g., exchange and visiting students) but now want to extend your studies for another term, you will be able to apply for a study permit from within Canada (refer to the Study Permit Extension information to learn more).

Once your application is approved, you can expect to receive an eTA or visa (as applicable) in addition to your Letter of Introduction confirming that your study permit application has been approved. 

You will need to present this letter to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer at the Port of Entry when you first enter. Your study permit will then be issued to you.

We recommend you carefully review the information on your issued study permit. Make sure there are no errors in your personal information. Let the CBSA officer know if you find any errors.

If you have been admitted to a degree-seeking program, you should also verify that your study permit has been issued with the work authorization remarks: “may work” or “may accept employment.” If it doesn’t, you should let the officer know that you will need these remarks printed on the study permit to be eligible to apply for a SIN and work part-time during your full-time studies. This is especially important if you are a graduate student and will be getting paid by your department. Without a SIN, your stipend may be delayed.

We recommend you review IRCC’s Prepare for arrival page and our Travel to Canada page to better prepare for your entry to Canada.  

NOTE: If you are already in Canada with a valid study permit that will expire in 4-5 months, you should submit a Study Permit Extension application.

Your study permit is an IRCC-issued document to prove your status when applying for services and other benefits such as the SIN. 

As such this document must not be altered in any way. 

IRCC states that status-issued documents (such as your study permit) cannot be:

• used for travel on its own (eTA or visa is also needed)
• used as an identity document
• laminated or altered in any way (altered or laminated documents are no longer valid)

To learn more click here.

We recommend that you take a picture of the ID pages in your passport, and a picture of your study permit should you need to retrieve information from them.