The study permit, issued by Immigration Canada, is a mandatory immigration document for all international students at McGill enrolled in programs that are longer than 6 months in total.
International students who fail to obtain a study permit before the start of their studies or do not apply to renew their study permit before their current one expires may be deregistered from McGill.
- A study permit authorizes you to study in Canada and grants you your immigration status of a student in Canada.
- In order to study in Quebec, you must:
- Hold a valid study permit for the entire duration of your studies (if your study permit will expire before the end of your program, you must apply to renew it)
- Meet the conditions of your study permit for the duration of your studies
- Students who are studying in a program that is 6 months or less in total (e.g. one-term exchange students) do not need a study permit.
See Immigration Canada’s website for a full list of individuals who are exempt from the study permit requirement.
Study Permit Conditions:
You must respect the conditions of your study permit during your studies. These conditions include:
- Being enrolled at a designated learning institute (DLI)
- Actively pursuing your studies
- Applying to extend your study permit to change post-secondary schools
- Applying to extend your study permit, change your status, or leave Canada before your study permit expires.
- Respecting any limits you may have on your ability to work in Canada
Study Permit Validity:
Your study permit will become invalid on the first date to occur of the following days:
- your study permit expiry date,
- the date that is 90 days after the day you receive proof of program completion from McGill or
- the date that you are no longer enrolled at the university (besides due to the completion of your studies) – e.g., no longer enrolled due to being withdrawn or deregistered from McGill
Contact ISS right away if you are worried that you may be deregistered or withdrawn from McGill, or if you are thinking of taking time off from your studies.
Student Work Placement (formerly Co-op Work Permit):
- Student work placements are mandatory work experiences that you must do in order to complete your program. They include: mandatory co-ops, internships, practicums, clinicals, stages, and mentorship programs in Canada.
- IRCC will no longer be issuing co-op work permits to students whose program includes a student work placement. Instead, students whose program includes a mandatory work component can do so as per the on-campus work regulations using just their study permit.
- See the How to Apply, Required Documents, the Study Work Placement webpage for more information.
When to Apply
Incoming PhD students (and their accompanying family members) applying for a study permit from outside of Canada may be eligible for 14 day processing of their application(s). Review the IRCC webpage for more information.
- You can apply for a study permit after your CAQ application has been approved.
- Processing times vary depending on where you are applying from.
- A study permit is normally issued with an expiration date that matches the expiration date on your CAQ or the expiration date on your passport – whichever date comes first.
- Since your study permit cannot be issued beyond the expiration of your passport, try to apply for your study permit with a passport that will be valid for the entire duration of your program.
- Some students may not have time to renew their passport before their first study permit application.
- If you obtain a study permit that will expire before the end of your studies, you will need to renew your passport at a later date and then apply to renew your study permit from inside Canada before it expires.