Frequently asked questions
What led to the decision to limit exchange students to one term?
In January 2024, the Government of Canada announced a cap on new study permits for incoming international students. Students studying in Canada for six months or longer now require a provincial attestation letter (PAL) when applying for a new study permit. Available PALs will be limited. As a result, the University of Waterloo has made the difficult decision to reserve our designated PALs for degree-seeking students only.
I have nominated a student for a one term fall 2024 exchange. Is there an impact?
No. There have been no changes to our one term fall 2024 exchange program.
Students who have been nominated for a one term fall 2024 exchange are encouraged to continue with their application. Once students receive their official offer letter, they should start the process of obtaining their required immigration documents. One term exchange students can only come to Canada with a valid Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) depending on their country of citizenship. One-term students will be ineligible to work while in Canada.
Please see our Come to Waterloo page for more information.
What documents do my students need to study in Canada?
One term students do not require a study permit and must apply to come to Canada on a TRV or ETA, depending on their citizenship. Please see our Come to Waterloo page for more information.
I have already nominated a student for a fall 2024 and winter 2025 exchange
For students whose fall 2024 and winter 2025 nominations have already been accepted, we will keep the student's fall 2024 nomination active. However, we will withdraw students from their winter 2025 exchange.
Action: If your student is unable to come to Waterloo for a one term fall 2024 exchange and would like to withdraw please email studyabroad@uwaterloo.ca.
Can Waterloo make an exception for my students?
No. We understand that many of our partners have a two-term requirement for exchange and we apologize for the impact of this policy change.
Can I nominate a student for a fall 2024 and winter 2025 exchange by the March 15 nomination deadline?
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept two term fall 2024 and winter 2025 exchange students. Only fall 2024 one term exchanges are currently open for nominations.
I have nominated a student for a fall 2024 and winter 2025 exchange. With the recent update I would like to nominate my student for a winter 2025 only exchange.
Please email studyabroad@uwaterloo.ca and we will withdraw your student(s) from the exchange program. We kindly ask that you renominate your student(s) when winter 2025 nominations open on June 15, 2024.
How did you inform students of these changes?
We emailed impacted students directly.
We also rescheduled two information sessions for nominated students.
Fall 2024 - Grad exchange application information session
March 11, 2024 09:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID 985 3714 6665
Passcode 000
Meeting link
Fall 2024 - Undergrad exchange application information session
March 12, 2024 09:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID 933 5028 5750
Passcode 000
Meeting link