Tutorial: How to apply for an initial study permit

Even if your Letter of Acceptance, or offer letter, has admission conditions that you still have left to complete, you may use your conditional Letter of Acceptance for your study permit application. We do not recommend that you wait to meet the conditions before applying; "full acceptance" letters are not automatically issued.

If you are applying for your study permit with a conditional Letter of Acceptance, add a section to your letter of explanation to explain how the conditions have been or will be met and provide proof if you can.

Undergraduate students: You will receive your Letter of Acceptance or Offer of Admissions by email.

Graduate students: You can download your Letter of Acceptance, which will be the first page of your admission offer, from e:Vision, the graduate studies application system. 

It is very important to show strong proof of financial support from yourself and/or your sponsors, such as family members or organizations supporting you. 

Most Canadian immigration officers interpret "evidence of sufficient funds" to mean 4 months of bank statements, savings account passbook, bank drafts, or other proof that indicates you have sufficient funds to cover the cost of 1 year in Canada including:

• Your first year of tuition fees as indicated on your letter of acceptance
• Travel expenses to get to and from Canada, and
• Minimum cost-of-living
  • As of January 1, 2024, the minimum for one year of cost-of-living expenses is $20,635 for 2024, in addition to tuition fees for the first year and travel costs. The cost-of-living amount will be adjusted each year based on Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-off. The amount required for additional family members depends on how many dependents you have. 

You are only required to show the minimum proof of funds for tuition, cost-of-living expenses and return travel expenses to cover your first year of studies, even if your program is more than 1 year. For example, if you are an undergraduate student, you do not need to provide proof of funds for all 4 years. However, the officer who reviews your application must be satisfied that the probability of funding for future years does exist, such as if you are being supported by your parents that you provide proof of their employment, or if you have a scholarship that it is for more than 1 year.

For more details, please see the Dec 7, 2023 newsletter and the Proof of Financial Support section on IRCC’s website.

Below are examples of what you can submit as proof of financial support. Provide as many of them as apply to your situation.

• Your bank statements from Canadian or overseas bank with a stamp
• A letter from UBC that proves you are receiving financial aid/scholarship/award/teaching assistantship/research assistantship
• Bank statements of your parents/sponsor from a Canadian or overseas bank with a stamp
• Proof of employment for yourself/your parents/sponsor
• Proof of business ownership/income for yourself/your parents/sponsor
• A Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) from a participating Canadian financial institution
• Approval for an educational loan
• Proof of ownership of properties for yourself/your parents/sponsor 
• Proof of any other type of income, stock, dividend etc. for yourself/your parents/sponsor
• If you have registered in courses and paid tuition, provide your proof of tuition payment from Workday. Learn how to access your financial account activity. It may take 1 to 5 days for tuition payment to appear on your account.

If the balance(s) in any of the documentation above is in foreign currency, provide a screenshot of the Bank of Canada currency converter result (if your currency is not listed, use xe.com).

If the proof of funds is from another person’s bank account, such as a parent or family member who is sponsoring you, they must provide proof of where their funding is coming from. Additionally, they must write a letter (preferably notarized) stating that they will support you during your studies in Canada. Providing proof of relationship and their passport is recommended. To write a letter of financial support, they can download our template (docx).

Include a summary or an index page of all the documents you are submitting for this section. This will also allow you to clarify or explain the connection between documents, if applicable. You can download a template for the summary (docx).

Provide a copy of the bio-data page (the page with your name, date of birth, passport number, expiration date, etc.) and a copy of every page of your passport that has stamps, visas, or markings from any country. Most visa offices require copies of your current passport and all expired passports that you have held; be sure to check your visa office instruction guide for the requirements you must meet.

• If you do not have a passport, apply immediately.

• If your passport will expire soon, extend it before you apply for your study permit.

  • If this is not an option or passport processing time is too long, apply for a study permit with your current passport. After you arrive in Canada, extend your passport and study permit from within Canada before your study permit expires. If you get a new passport before your application is processed, you can request to add your new passport to your application through the IRCC’s webform.

Make sure your photo meets the specifications for the application method you're using.

• Applying online: find digital photo specifications on theYour document checklist page by clicking on the question mark, in the "Instructions" column, for "Digital photo".
• At a Visa Application Centre or applying on paper: you need 2 photos which meet the IRCC’s photo specifications.

Remember to check for any additional documents required by your country's visa office.

To get the full list of documents required by your country's visa office:

1. Go to the IRCC website and select your country/territory from the drop-down menu (located in the "Apply on paper" section).
2. Click "Get documents", and then select "Visa office instructions" (the second link). This will launch a PDF specifying requirements for your visa office.

If you're applying online:

• To avoid delays or rejection, submit the required documents listed on the Your document checklist page in your IRCC secure account plus any visa office-specific documents.
• Merge all visa office-specific documents into one file (such as a PDF) and upload the file in the "Client Information" section under Optional Documents in your online checklist. The file must be within 4MB in size.

If you apply for a study permit from outside Canada, you will be required to submit your biometrics (fingerprints and a photo) in-person at a biometrics collection point outside of Canada. 

The time it takes to submit your biometrics is not included in the processing time for your study permit and your application will not be processed until biometrics are received by the visa office. You only need to give biometrics once every 10 years.

American citizens, those who have provided biometrics in the past 10 years, as well as certain individuals are exempt from providing biometrics. 

1. Pay the biometrics fee at the same time you submit your study permit application for faster processing.
2. Receive your biometrics instruction letter online. You will receive an electronic biometrics instruction letter within 24 hours. If you pay the biometrics fee, and do not receive the biometrics instruction letter within 5 business days of submitting your application, you should submit a webform on technical difficulties.
3. Submit your biometrics within 30 days after receiving your biometrics instruction letter.

Find out where to submit biometrics

Note: If there is no biometrics collection service point in your home country, you may need to travel to another country to give biometrics.