Transfer students

If you've transferred post-secondary schools or used another post-secondary school's Letter of Acceptance for your study permit application, you must take steps to notify Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) via your IRCC account. This will depend on whether you are inside or outside of Canada. 

You don't have to complete a DLI transfer or obtain a new Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) or study permit when switching programs/moving between post-secondary levels within the University of Waterloo, unless your current study permit contains a condition which specifies a specific level of study.

If you are outside Canada

If your study permit application is in progress with a different university’s offer letter, please update IRCC as soon as possible. You can do this by submitting your new offer letter  and a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL), if needed, from the University of Waterloo using the IRCC web form.

If your study permit application has been approved, please submit a new study permit application with your new letter of acceptance from the University of Waterloo and pay all the fees. Your new application must be processed and approved before you come to Canada. More resources for submitting a new study permit application from outside of Canada can be found here.

If you are inside Canada

If you are already inside Canada and change your DLI, then you will need to apply for a new study permit as soon as possible.  It isn’t possible to update your DLI via the IRCC webform. Instead, you must submit a new study permit application. In most circumstances, you will also be required to obtain a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) from Waterloo to be included with your study permit application. In addition to all of the mandatory documents, you should include a letter explaining why you are changing schools. 

Please note: under the newly introduced rules effective November 8, 2024, you would only be able to start studying at your new DLI once your new study permit has been approved. 

More resources for submitting a study permit application from inside of Canada can be found here.