Immigration impacts of part-time studies and withdrawing from courses

Your grades do not directly impact your enrolment or immigration status for that term. For example, if you fail your courses, but remain enrolled in at least 9 credits, you are still considered full-time for immigration purposes.

However, if you have many failed courses over several terms, an officer may question if you are making reasonable progress towards completing your program. They could request additional information to ensure your intention in Canada is to study.

Contact an Academic Advisor from your faculty to understand possible academic impacts if you fail courses.

If you remain enrolled but in fewer than 9 credits in a winter term, you will be considered part-time for immigration purposes.

If you are enrolled part-time, you are considered to be maintaining your student status. Therefore you can remain in Canada, so long as your study permit is valid.

There are a few exceptions. You can be enrolled in fewer than 9 credits but still be considered full-time for immigration purposes if you meet one of the following:

• You are in your final academic term and require fewer than 9 credits to complete program requirements.
• You meet your approved reduced course load requirement with the Center for Accessibility.
• You are enrolled in co-op or in an outbound exchange.

However, there are other impacts of part-time studies:

• You are not eligible to work on or off campus for the remainder of the term and must stop working immediately. You will not be able to resume working until you are enrolled full time.
• You are not eligible to work during scheduled breaks immediately before and after your part-time term. You can only work in the summer scheduled break if: 
  • You enroll in at least 9 credits in the summer session, in which case you could work on campus for unlimited hours and/or off-campus up to 20 hours a week, if eligible (or more if you are eligible during the temporary policy).
  • You will be enrolled in co-op in the summer and already have a valid co-op work permit (or you are eligible to be exempt from the co-op work permit during the temporary policy). Contact International Student Advising if you don't have a co-op work permit and are not eligible for the temporary policy.
• Your eligibility for the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) after graduation will be impacted since you are required to study full time continuously without unauthorized breaks in each Winter Term to be eligible for PGWP.

Gather additional documents supporting your circumstances, and keep a timeline of important dates so that you could provide this in your PGWP application in the future. 

There may be other impacts of studying part-time, such as eligibility to stay in residence or eligibility for loans or awards. Visit taking time away from studies for more information on other impacts to consider if you are not enrolled full-time.

If you have dependents in Canada and their documents are expiring soon, contact International Student Advising for support.

As a graduate student, your immigration status is not impacted by the number of credits or courses you are enrolled in. So long as you have “registered” or “continuing” enrolment status, you are full-time for immigration purposes. If you are not sure about your enrollment status, contact your graduate program staff.

Regular academic terms for graduate students, during which time you must be enrolled full-time to avoid immigration impacts, are the Winter Session and the Summer Session. The Summer Session is not considered a scheduled break for graduate students and you must be enrolled throughout the year. To avoid impacts, you must have:

• “Registered” or “continuing” status in Winter Term 1 (September to December)
• “Registered” or “continuing” status in Winter Term 2 (January to April)
• “Registered” or “continuing” status in the Summer Session (May to August)

Check the impacts of taking time away from your studies if you might withdraw from a term.

• UBC definitions for immigration purposes
• Course change dates
• Tuition refunds
• Course load guide for non-immigration purposes
• Working in Canada

Find answers to your questions on studying and working in Canada, health insurance, as well as step-by-step tutorials to prepare your immigration application and more.

View the guide