How to change a Canadian tourist visa into a student visa
If you are in Canada on a visitor visa and want to enter a college or university, you can apply to change your visa type to a student visa.
In some cases, after coming to Canada as, for example, a tourist, a person decides to stay, having enrolled in a Canadian college. In this case, it is necessary to change the visitor's visa to a student visa. Legally, this procedure is called changing immigration status to student.
To change your immigration status to that of a student, you must obtain a study permit to study in Canada.
Note that there are some activities for which a study permit is not required. As a rule, it is not required for:
- studies in pre-schools;
- completion of a distance learning program;
- auditing courses, where the student is allowed to take an academic course without academic credits;
- attending courses included in travel packages as an additional class for tourists;
- completion of a course that is not academic or vocational, that is of general interest, and that can be completed within the period of authorized stay in Canada;
- attending a course or study program of up to 6 months duration that may be completed during the authorized period of stay in Canada.
Not everyone is eligible to change their immigration status to student. While in Canada, only people are eligible to apply for a study permit:
- holders of work or study permit in Canada and their family members;
- Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) holders and their family members. This is not a visitor's visa;
- persons attending preschool, elementary school, or secondary school in Canada;
- exchange students studying at a Designated Canadian Institution;
- individuals who have completed a short-term study program, which is a prerequisite for their enrollment in a designated institution;
- refugee applicants and persons subject to forced deportation from Canada;
- applicants for permanent residency in Canada and their family members eligible for permanent resident (PR) status in one of the following classes: guardian, spouse or partner, protected persons, and humanitarian and compassionate applicants;
- persons whose study permits have been approved by a visa center outside Canada, but the permit was not issued at the point of entry;
- family members of athletes from Canadian sports teams, media personnel, clergy members, or armed forces members assigned to Canada.
But what if you can't identify yourself with any of the items on the list? We advise you to pay attention to point 5! We will tell you about it at the end of the article.
You have seen 19% of the text. This article is available only to users with Premium Access. Want to get access to this and other Premium articles? Subscribe to Premium Access!
