International Students
Tips on communicating with IRCC
Extending your study permit
IMMIGRATION UPDATES
As of Jan 22, 2024, study permit applications outside Canada require a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) from the province of British Columbia. Some students are exempt from the PAL.
On January 22, 2025, the requirement for Master’s and Doctoral students to include a Provincial Attestation Letter in their application(s) took effect. All graduate degree students need to include a PAL in their applications (including current UBC undergraduate students moving to the next level of study).
Find out how to get a PAL, if you need one, and a Letter of Admission for your study permit application.
Plan ahead if your documents expire soon and you have travel plans. You will need to get a PAL if you apply for a study permit from outside Canada.
As of Jan 1, 2024, the minimum cost-of-living financial requirement has increased from $10,000 to $20,635 for 2024. The cost-of-living amount will be adjusted each year based on Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-off.
As of Nov 8, 2024, you must be enrolled at the Designated Learning Institution (DLI) named on your study permit. If you change institutions, you must apply for a study permit extension for your new institution and most students need to receive the new study permit before beginning studies at your new institution. If you are coming to UBC from a Canadian high school or from another post-secondary institution, be sure to apply for a study permit extension with your UBC letter of acceptance as soon as you receive it. If you previously applied for your study permit with a UBC letter of acceptance then you change programs at UBC, you do not need to update your study permit. On Dec 11, 2024, IRCC announced a temporary policy allowing students to begin studies in Winter Term 2 (Jan-Apr, 2025) while your study permit extension is being processed if you meet the requirements.
Get timely updates on immigration, work eligibility, and health insurance for international students.
If you’re planning to study in Canada past your study permit’s expiry date, you must extend it before it expires.
When should I apply?
Current students inside Canada
You can only extend your study permit if you are physically inside Canada.
It’s recommended that you apply 5 to 6 months before your current study permit expires, ideally at least 5 to 6 months before your current study permit expires. Check processing times.
If you need to apply more than 6 months in advance for personal reasons, such as upcoming travel plans, contact International Student Advising for support.
Important
To maintain status in Canada, you must submit your application before 11:59 pm Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), not local time, on the day your study permit expires, or change or extend your status within 90 days after your letter of completion becomes available if you’ve finished your program—whichever comes first.
If you are changing institutions
As of Nov 8, 2024, if you change institutions, you must apply for a study permit extension for your new institution and most students need to receive the new study permit before beginning studies at your new institution. If you are coming to UBC from a Canadian high school or from another post-secondary institution, be sure to apply for a study permit extension with your UBC Letter of Admission and Provincial Attestation Letter as soon as you receive them.
If you changed institutions before Nov 8, 2024
If you transferred to UBC from a Canadian high school or another post-secondary institution in Canada before Nov 8, 2024, send an email to geo.ubco@ubc.ca to contact International Student Advising with details about your situation before applying to extend your study permit. An assessment must be made to determine if a PAL will be required as part of your application.
New students inside Canada
Some students might be able to apply for their first study permit through the inside Canada process. Select “inside Canada” under “Get specific instructions on how to apply” to see the list of who is eligible to apply through the inside Canada process.
If you are eligible to apply for your first study permit through the inside Canada process, review our tutorial and Canvas application review course for study permit extensions below to prepare your application, and apply as soon as you receive your Letter of Admission and Provincial Attestation Letter, if needed.
How to extend your study permit?
Visit our tutorial for step-by-step instructions, a list of required documents, and other important info that will help you complete your application.
Tutorial: Extend your study permit from within Canada
Documents all students need
All students extending their study permit will need all of the following documents.
When possible, documents should be issued within 30 days of submitting your application to be considered recent. If you must provide several documents in a section, combine them into one file (such as a PDF) before uploading. The size limit is 4MB per file; you may need to reduce the file size.
If your documents are not in English or French, they must be accompanied by both of the following:
- English or French official translation
- An affidavit from the person who completed the translation
Below are Certified Translators in British Columbia:
Visit our guidance to find the list of required documents for Study Permit Extension Application.
Tutorial: Gather required documents
Before submitting your application
If you will travel after applying or are outside of Canada
If your permit expires after IRCC receives your application
If you and your family members applied for your immigration documents (e.g. study permit, or work permit, visitor record, etc.) before they became invalid, then they expire after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has received your application to extend your status. You will still be considered a temporary resident of Canada until a decision about your application is made. This is known as “maintained status” (formerly known as ‘implied status’).
With maintained status, you may continue studying (and working, if eligible) under the same conditions as long as you remain in Canada. You must take action on your health insurance and request a temporary extension of your Medical Services Plan.
You cannot resume studies or work until you have received your new study permit.
See travelling outside Canada for more information and contact International Student Advising for support.
If your study permit expires and you haven’t applied for an extension
If your permit expires before Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) receives your extension application, you will be “out of status”.
What to do if you are out of status
You must stop studying and working immediately. You are not authorized to attend classes or work while you are out of status.
You must apply for restoration within 90 days of having lost your status. Contact International Student Advising for support and to discuss your options. An International Student Advisor should review your application before you submit it. See an International Student Advisor in Global Engagement Office (UNC 227).
If you still have questions
International Student Advisors are available to help.
The information on this page may change
The immigration information on this page has been reviewed and endorsed by Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) or Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors (RISIAs) in compliance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations. However, this is not a legal document and information may change without notice. Always refer to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for the most up-to-date information.
