Study permit extensions (in Canada)
Due to school closures, some international students may be unable to obtain a letter of acceptance or proof of enrolment from their DLI. As a temporary facilitation measure, students applying to extend their status will be allowed to submit an application without a letter of acceptance or proof of enrolment. In lieu of the letter of acceptance, the applicant should submit a letter of explanation indicating that they are unable to submit the requested document due to their school’s closure. Once these documents become available, applicants should submit the documents using the IRCC Web form. If no documents are submitted by the time CPC-E is ready to process the application, the documents will be requested by the processing officer as per the instructions above.
Students required to restore their status will also be able to submit an application without a letter of acceptance or proof of enrolment and should submit the documents once they become available using the IRCC Web form. If no documents are submitted by the time CPC-Edmonton is ready to process the application, the documents will be requested by the processing officer as per the instructions above.
Students destined to Quebec
As a temporary measure, the MIFI is automatically extending the validity of CAQs until December 31, 2020 for all certificates expiring between April 30, 2020 and December 31, 2020. This measure does not apply to CAQs that expired prior to April 30, 2020.
Students who apply to extend their study permit with a CAQ expiring between April 30 and December 31 should be issued a study permit valid until December 31, 2020, unless the applicant’s passport expires prior to this date.
For applicants whose program of study will continue after December 31, 2020, if they receive a new CAQ before IRCC is ready to process their application, they should submit their new CAQ using the IRCC Web form.
Applications submitted without a CAQ or with a CAQ that expired prior to April 30, 2020, should not be refused on that basis. Officers should request a new CAQ as per the instructions above.
New study permit applications submitted outside Canada without a CAQ or with an expired CAQ should not be refused on that basis. Processing officers should request a new CAQ as per the instructions above. However, new study permits should not be issued with a CAQ that was renewed automatically.
Compliance with study permit conditions
As a consequence of COVID-19, students who were studying in Canada prior to March 18, 2020 or whose programs of study began in May or June 2020 and whose programs of study are temporarily shifted to an online format will still be considered compliant with their study permit conditions if they remain enrolled at their DLI and continue to actively pursue their studies online.
If a DLI closes permanently as a consequence of COVID-19, students in Canada should either enrol in a new program of study, change their status or leave Canada. For the purpose of assessing if a student is enrolled and actively pursuing their studies, any time taken to transition to a new DLI and program, change status or leave Canada should not exceed 150 days from the date the school closed. If the student does not intend to enrol in a new program of study and is unable to leave the country, they must apply for a visitor record or a work permit.