Coming to Waterloo on exchange

Want to be a Waterloo exchange student? Here are the basics you need to know.

Please note that you will require a valid passport or travel document issued by your country of citizenship in order to travel.

After you have been admitted to the University of Waterloo, you will be provided with an official Offer of Admission and Letter of Acceptance form that can be downloaded from Quest.  Students can use these documents as needed when applying for a TRV or eTA.

ONE-TERM EXCHANGE STUDENT

If you are an exchange student studying in Canada for less than six months, you may come to Canada and study with either:

A valid Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) depending on your country of citizenship. Note, citizens and permanent residents of the United States do not require a TRV or eTA.  One term students should not apply for a study permit.  It will not be granted.

For instructions on how to apply for a TRV or a study permit, please visit the Immigration Consulting page.

Please note: since obtaining a study permit is not possible, you will not be eligible to work during your exchange term. 

TWO-TERM EXCHANGE STUDENT

Two term exchange is not being offered for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Differences between a study permit vs TRV/ETA

A TRV/eTA is an entry document which allows you to visit Canada for six months at a time, unless a Border Services Officer decides otherwise. As a visitor in Canada, you are not authorized to work.

The majority of countries can apply for a TRV.  However, only certain countries may apply for an eTA.  The benefit of an eTA is that it is a low-cost application ($7 CAD) which usually takes less than 24 hours to be approved.  An eTA can be applied for here.

A list of eTA eligible countries can be found here.

An additional list of eligible countries added under the eTA expansion program can be found here.  Applicants applying from one of these countries would still need to have a visitor visa if traveling to Canada by car, bus, train or boat and would have to:

  • have held a Canadian visitor visa (TRV) in the past 10 years, or
  • currently hold a valid United States nonimmigrant visa. 

A study permit is a status document which is required for studies longer than 6 months.

Please check out the immigration applications webpage for additional resources.

Contact one of University of Waterloo's immigration consultants for free if you have questions.