How to Extend Your Study Permit in Canada
An insight and guide to Canadian education by an experienced International Student.
You have spent a year in Canada as an International student and you realize that you still have a few years left until you graduate but your Study Permit is expiring soon.
Fear not! For this is a Step-by-Step guide to how you can apply for a Study Permit extension.
Disclaimer: I am NOT an IRCC certified or regulated consultant. By no means, do I intend to take any legal or specific advice to anyone. I am just an International Student in Canada who is sharing her experience to provide a roadmap to other students for their application processes. If you want proper guidance, please consult a regulated IRCC consultant.
According to IRCC, you need to apply at least 30 days before your current Study Permit expires to retain your Student status in Canada.
Here is everything you need to do…
1. GATHER ALL YOUR DOCUMENTS
Other than a scanner or a camera for your documents and a valid debit or credit card, you will need the following documents:
i. Digital Photo
You can get this digital photo taken from anywhere. Just ask the photographer to email you a soft copy instead of getting a hard copy. It shouldn’t cost you more than 15 bucks.
After you have received the photo, you can reduce its size to 4 MB, as that is the limit of the file size that you can attach per upload.
ii. Scanned Copy Of Your Entire Current Passport
As I have mentioned before that the maximum file size that you can upload is 4 MB, what I like to do is scan important pages on the passport (i.e. First page, Signature page, Visa page, and the Last page) in higher resolution than the rest of the pages.
iii. Letter of Acceptance or Letter of Enrolment from Uni/College
You can usually find the Acceptance letter or Enrolment letter in your school’s student portal, but if you cannot locate it, you can always email your school for help.
iv. Proof Of Means Of Financial Support
You can go to your bank and ask a teller for your Account Summary. They give you an official document that summarizes your entire portfolio which you can then attach as one of the documents with your other financial information.
With the aid of online banking, you can also get e-statements of four months to attach to your financial information PDF file. Other than these obvious documents, I attach my tuition fee receipt for the semester or the year in the PDF file.
You can also attach your GIC portfolio if you still have your GIC.
In case you are not employed here, like me, you can attach an affidavit from your parents confirming that they will continue supporting your stay in Canada along with funding your academic journey. You will need to attach their bank statements for at least 3 months too, showing a stable income.
v. Other Documents For Client Information
You can attach your secondary form of identification documents here for proof of identity or you can add an explanation letter to an Immigrations Officer here.
I usually attach my Pakistani ID, Driver’s license, IELTS scores, any previous Study Permits, or Visas on my previous passports (to support the IMM5257 form). I have attached my most recent college transcript here.
This time, I was accompanied by my brother to Canada, who also has student status in Canada. I had to attach his Study Permit and our Family Registration Certificate.
The more you support the information that you have provided in the application forms with documents, the better your case is built.
vi. IMM5709 Form: Application To Change Conditions or Extend My Stay Or Remain In Canada As A Student
Primarily, you do not have to worry about finding these forms..
For Background Information Section 2, where it asks whether you have been refused a Visa or Permit, or denied entry to any other country, answer honestly and provide your application number (if any) in the space below.
vii. IMM5257 Form: Application For A Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside Of Canada
Even though, you will be filling out this form, it doesn’t mean that you will receive a TRV with this Extension application. So, if you need to travel outside of Canada soon, please make sure to file another separate application for TRV. This form is just for extra information that IRRC requires.
viii. E-Medical Exam
If your initial e-medical is still valid, then you can simply attach that. However, if your e-medical is expired, then you will have to get a new one before applying. It costs around 200 to 300 CAD depending on your province.
You can find out a panel physician to perform the exam by clicking here.
2. CREATE AN ACCOUNT OR YOUR EXISTING ACCOUNT
Finally, you have gathered all the documents that you need to apply, so you will now head to IRCC Website and create a new account, or if you already have an existing account then log into it.
Once you are in, find the option that says ‘Apply to Come to Canada’ on the screen.
3. CHECK FOR ELIGIBILITY AND GET AN APPLICATION PACKAGE
You will now be met with an extensive range of questions which you will have to answer to the best of your knowledge. After which, you will receive a customized application package according to your answers.
4. DOWNLOAD AND FILL OUT THE FORMS
Once you have received the application package, you will receive the two forms that I have mentioned above. To view and fill the forms, you will have to save the forms on your computer and open them in a PDF reader application on your computer.
After you have filled the forms, please make sure to double-check check the information that you added in the forms to your legal documents i.e. date of birth, place of birth, etc. (A friend of mine recently applied to Canada carelessly and messed up one of these up, which resulted in a refusal even after raising a webform.). Also, make sure to validate the forms before saving them and, finally uploading them on the website.
5. UPLOAD ALL THE FILES
Once again, the maximum file size that you can upload per section is 4 MB. So make sure that your final PDF file size including all your valid documents (i.e. Proof of Means of Financial Support: Bank Summary, e-statements, Tuition Receipt, Affidavit, etc.) make a total of no more than 4 MB.
Side note: It is good practice to rename all the files properly that provide clear instructions on the type of file that it is.
6. GET READY TO PAY FOR THE APPLICATION
Finally, now that you have uploaded all the files and rechecked them, it is time to pay and submit the application to be reviewed.
It costs 150 CAD to apply. You can either use a debit or a credit card to process the transaction.
And then you are done! Make sure to take a screenshot of the receipt.
If you are looking for a STEP-BY-STEP video guide then you can click the link below to follow along with the process in Urdu/Hindi…
BEST OF LUCK!
If you are new to the idea of pursuing higher education in Canada and want to know more about what SDS is, here is a blog I have written that will give you an idea…
