Application

The VIRS admission process is ongoing and there are no deadlines.

Eligible students are strongly encouraged to submit the completed VIRS application at least 3 months before the planned start date for their research. It may take up to one month for VIRS applications to be reviewed and for you to receive your Letter of Acceptance, a letter you will need in order to apply for relevant immigration documents (Canadian visa and/or study permit). Take into account that the study permit and/or entry visa application processing times may vary and your VIRS application should be received well in advance for you to receive your required documentation.

Any changes to the start or end dates of your research must be reported to Go Global in order to ensure your Letter of Acceptance is accurate and that you have proper insurance coverage.

Before you apply

1. Make sure VIRS is the appropriate program for you
2. Ensure you meet the eligibility requirements
3. Check that your research start date is realistic, especially if you need to obtain immigration documents for travel

1. Check your e-mail for your new UBC Student Number.
2. Pay your VIRS Program Fee online.
   • Select “VIRS Program Fee” > select “Add to cart” > provide your name, email (the same one you used to submit your VIRS application), and your UBC student number > select “Check out” > enter your email address again > provide your payment details.
3. You should receive your UBC Letter of Acceptance within 2 – 3 weeks after paying your VIRS Program Fee. The time will depend on the overall number of applications Go Global is receiving and we are not able to rush or expedite letters of acceptance based on your individual situation.

After receiving your letter of acceptance (LOA)

1. Verify your personal information (for example, legal name, date of birth, permanent address, etc.) is correct on your student application in the Go Global Student Application Portal and on the VIRS Letter of Acceptance (LoA). If the information needs to be updated, you MUST notify Go Global within five business days of the email notification about your admission and prior to accepting your offer of admission.
2. Accept your UBC admission offer in the Applicant Service Centre (ASC) online. Your acceptance to UBC is only confirmed when you accept your admission offer. You will have three weeks to accept your offer from the issuance date of your Letter of Acceptance.
3. Create your Campus Wide Login (CWL) account using the student number you will receive after submitting the online application.
4. Apply for the appropriate immigration document using your Letter of Acceptance.
   • Six (6) months or less  = students can complete their research under visitor status with a Temporary Resident Visa or Electronic Travel Authorization, depending on citizenship.
   • Longer than six (6) months = students will require a study permit in which you will need to upload your LoA and a PAL, the latter you will have to request from UBC.
     • See how to apply for an initial study permit, and see processing times for various immigration document applications on the Government of Canada website.
5. Pay your iMED fees in Workday. Log into your account using your CWL (see step 3 above).  For more information about iMED, see below.

Students admitted through VIRS will be registered as full-time students at UBC for the duration of their research period. Admitted students will have permission to engage in research, but may not register in academic courses.

If you need to change the start or end dates of your research, complete this Delayed Arrival Online Form to ensure your acceptance letter is accurate and that you have appropriate insurance coverage. If you are not sure when your new research start and end dates will be, please select: “I am not sure when my new arrival date will be” in the form above.

Every year, some students—particularly those from France and Tunisia—are required by their home university to have an “Internship Agreement” or “Training Contract” signed by UBC in order to participate in VIRS. As a part of the Internship Agreement/Training Contract document review and signing process, UBC requires an “Addendum” signed by all the parties: the VIRS student, home institution and UBC. Go Global will email you a pre-populated Addendum with information drawn from your signed Internship Agreement/Training Contract. The Addendum supersedes some of the clauses in the Internship Agreement/Training Contract and cannot be changed as the content is drafted by UBC Legal.

Note: Start this process early! This is a specialized procedure and is external to standard VIRS admissions process or Go Global’s influence. Due to the legal liabilities involved, the Internship Agreement/Training Contract is considered a legal contract and requires a thorough review by UBC’s Legal Team. Based on the volume of requests, the full review procedure can take more than three months after Go Global receives the complete addendum from the VIRS student. For example, if you plan to arrive in the first week of March, please submit your request well in advance, no later than the first week of January.

By submitting this request, you understand and acknowledge that neither Go Global nor UBC can guarantee the documents will be fully signed before your arrival. To ensure impartiality, the University Counsel will review documents in the chronological order of requests and cannot expedite the review process based upon individual situations. Students with the appropriate immigration documentation admitted to VIRS may travel to UBC. However, if you are travelling to Canada before your agreement has been approved by UBC, you assume the risk of the agreement not being approved.

Instructions:

Go Global can only start processing the Internship Agreement/Training Contract after you are admitted to the VIRS program. Please determine your eligibility and submit a VIRS application first. Once you have received a Letter of Acceptance, please submit your request.

The Internship Agreement/Training Contract Request must be submitted by the VIRS student referenced in the Internship Document/Training Contract. It cannot be submitted by a friend, colleague, Home University staff, or UBC staff. Due to the legal nature of the document, Go Global cannot share details or review progress of other students’ Internship Agreements/Training Contracts.

Although each Internship Agreement/Training Contract will vary by institution and program, there are four commonly used signatory fields (often with different names but similar meanings):

1. Home University Representative: A faculty member or staff representing your Home University. A proxy signatory is acceptable (i.e., an authorized faculty or staff member signing on behalf of a University Head or Director), but the same person must sign the Addendum document that will be shared with you after Go Global’s initial review. If a different person must sign the Addendum (e.g. staff changes), please provide an explanation along with the signatory’s full name, position title, and a weblink to their online profile if available.
2. Home University Supervisor: Your Home University supervisor as indicated on your VIRS Approval Form.
3. Host University Representative: Leave this section blank. This field will be signed by the UBC University Counsel after the final review, once all other signatures are obtained.
4. Host University Supervisor: Your UBC VIRS supervisor as indicated on your VIRS Approval Form and Letter of Acceptance. This field cannot be signed by lab supervisors or research mentors.

We require that you collect all signatures EXCEPT the Host University Representative’s before we are able to proceed to the next step. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the relevant signatories to complete these fields.

The Internship Agreement/Training Contract must be in English or include an official English translation, accurately reflecting the content of the original document.

Submission

Please submit your internship agreement request by email to virs.okanagan@ubc.ca.

Once Go Global conducts an initial review of your document, you will be emailed a pre-populated addendum with information drawn from your signed Internship Agreement/Training Contract.

Sign the addendum and collect signatures from your home institution EXCEPT for
NOTE: ensure that the Addendum is signed by the same parties who signed the Internship Agreement/Training Contract. If a different person must sign the Addendum (e.g. staff changes), please provide an explanation along with the signatory’s full name, position title, and a weblink to their online profile if available.

Send: 1) the complete Addendum 2) a copy of your internship agreement or training contract to VIRS team at virs.okanagan@ubc.ca for review and signature.

Go Global will send the signed addendum and your internship agreement or training contract to the University Counsel for review. Based on the volume of requests, it can take more than three months for review.

Go Global will return the reviewed and signed addendum and internship contract back to you.

Note: As a VIRS student, you have “full-time” student status at UBC for immigration purposes. While an internship agreement or training contract can be signed on request by your home university, you will not have an employment relationship with UBC.