Supporting documents
General supporting documents: All students
- Letter of Acceptance: This letter will be provided by the UBC VIRS program
- Proof of Means of Financial Support: Get general advice from the IRCC website on proving financial support and instructions specific to your visa office
- Copy of your passport (include the bio-data page plus all pages with stamps, visas, or markings).
- Passport-style photo: If applying online, you need a high quality digital photo. The digital photo specifications are located in the online ‘help’ function in your MyCIC document checklist. If applying on paper or at the VAC, two photos are required and must meet the IRCC specifications.
- Letter of Explanation: If you are studying less than six months, we recommend submitting a short letter stating: “I would like to apply for a study permit even though my program length is less than six months.” This can be submitted in the ‘optional documents’ section if applying online.
Additional supporting documents: Individual situations
Visa office-specific requirements
Each visa office has specific requirements for study permit applicants in that country/region. Find the specific to your visa office, select your country of residence, click “get country-specific documents”, and select “visa office instructions”.
We suggest you submit the documents requested by the online system and all the additional documents as required by your individual office, based on your individual situation to avoid delays or rejection
If applying online, you can merge all the additional visa office-specific documents into one file and upload the file in the “Client Information” section.
Biometrics
Some students need to provide biometrics (fingerprints and photos). Check if you need to provide biometrics. If you need to give biometrics, you will need to visit a Visa Application Centre (VAC) in person.
Medical exam
Some students need to take a medical exam with a Panel Physician approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). To see if you need to take a medical exam, check the requirements and the list of “designated countries“.
If you do require a medical exam, you have two options:
- Apply for your study permit first and wait for a visa officer to send you a medical exam request, or
- Take a medical exam with an approved IRCC panel physician before submitting your study permit application and then include the results in your initial study permit application. If you choose this option it may save you time, especially when you need time to gather all the required documents before submitting your study permit application.
Family Information [IMM 5645]
Some students need to submit this form. Submit only if requested.
“Schedule 1” [IMM 5257]
Submit only if you answer “yes” to one of questions three to six on page four of the “Application for a Study Permit Made Outside of Canada” [IMM 1294].
Additional information
- Review the IRCC user guide and IRCC’s advice about getting the right documents and avoiding delays.
- Fill out all application forms electronically on a computer. If you have trouble opening the PDFs, try saving the document onto your desktop and opening it with Adobe software. You can find more trouble-shooting tips here. When you finish, press the “validate” button to ensure your application form is filled out completely. You can still make changes after the application is successfully validated, but remember to validate again. You may edit and validate as many times as needed.
- Some students also require a temporary resident visa (TRV) or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to enter Canada. Find out if you need a TRV to enter Canada.
- For students who require a TRV, you do not apply for a TRV when you apply for an initial study permit from outside of Canada. If you are approved for a study permit and you require a TRV, you will automatically be issued a TRV. Usually, once your study permit application is approved. IRCC will ask for your passport; you will send your passport to your visa office so they can place a sticker (TRV) on a page of your passport. You can then enter Canada.
- For students who require an eTA, you also do not need to apply for this separately. An eTA will be issued if you are approved for a study permit.
- If your study permit application is approved, IRCC will issue you a Letter of Introduction. You must print this out and present it to the border officer when you enter Canada. At the Canadian border or airport, the officer will then issue your actual study permit (a piece of paper).