As of July 13, 2016, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will issue two different kinds of study permits for students. In the past, a student who enters into a pre-requisite program (i.e. English as a second language course) obtains one study permit to cover both such pre-requisite program AND a regular academic program (i.e. a business certificate with one year to complete).
From now on, initial study permits will be only issued for a pre-requisite program to ensure that the student does complete such pre-requisite program first, then apply for a new study permit for the regular academic program.
Therefore, all study permit holders moving forward should plan their study permit renewal process more carefully, with shorter study permit authorization period.
– Jennifer Roggemann
IRCC Change Study Permits For Students
