Prepare for Exchange at Waterloo

Congratulations on your admission to the University of Waterloo's international exchange program!

To help you prepare, here are some important steps you need to complete before you arrive in Waterloo for exchange. Click on the topics below to jump to their relevant sections:

• Apply for your immigration documents
• Review living costs
• Arrange housing
• Set up your waterloo email
• View your course schedule and make changes if needed
• Pay your incidental fees and Health insurance
• Accessibility
• Attend Orientation
• Review important dates
• Helpful resources
• Contact us

Apply for your immigration documents 

You 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.  

Two-term exchange student

Two term exchange is not an option from September 2024 to August 2025.  

The Government of Canada recently imposed a significant limit on the number of available international study permits for incoming students.  As a result, Waterloo has made the difficult decision to only accept exchange nominations for one term exchange students for the 2024-2025 academic year. We are unable to make any exceptions. 

Two-term exchange will be an option for the 2025 – 2026 academic year (Sep 2025 – Dec 2026).
The Government of Canada has announced that incoming exchange students who require a study permit will be exempted from the study permit cap and will not require a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL). IRCC will provide more details in the coming weeks.
 

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, or
• from January 2025 onward, a valid study permit (a TRV or eTA is automatically issued with a study permit approval).

Differences between a study permit vs a TRV/eTA

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.  Apply for an eTA here. 

Review the list of eTA eligible countries. 

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 non-immigrant visa. 

Study permit

If you are applying for a study permit, the entry document (TRV or eTA) would be issued to you with a study permit approval. A study permit is a status document which is required for studies longer than six months.

As an exchange student with a valid study permit that includes both on and off-campus work authorizations, you are able to work on-campus without limitations on hours and work off-campus for up to 20 hours per week. In order to work, you would also be required to be registered in a full-time course load. If you're studying at Waterloo for only one term, you still need to apply for a study permit if you would like to work while studying. In your study permit application, it's important that you include a letter of explanation to clarify why you are applying for a study permit for one term of study. If you receive approval for a study permit, and wish to work on and/or off campus during your studies, you need to verify that the study permit has the R186(f) or (v) work condition for on and off campus work stated on it when it is issued to you at the airport.

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.
 

Review living costs

Arrange Housing

The University of Waterloo does not guarantee exchange students on campus housing and many live off-campus each year. Campus Housing reserves a limited number of rooms for exchange students, but most exchange students will have to seek accommodations in Waterloo Region’s competitive student housing market. We encourage incoming exchange students to start researching their housing options early and to secure housing before arriving to campus. Please review the following about off and on-campus housing to start your research:

Off Campus: 

Since most exchange students live off-campus, students are strongly encouraged to actively search for off-campus housing after you accept your admission to the University

There are options available through the Off-Campus Housing listing service and through the Waterloo Co-operative Residence Inc. (WCRI), a co-operative residence  that is built, owned, and run by students. We strongly recommend that students wait until they receive an official exchange offer letter before paying for off-campus housing.

Please note that while finding off-campus housing in the fall can be competitive, the winter and spring terms usually have more off-campus options available.

On Campus: 

There are a limited number of rooms reserved for exchange students each term. If you are interested in on-campus housing, we highly recommend that you only apply to housing after you accept your admission to the University despite the application being available earlier. Applications for residence will only be considered for an offer if a student has committed to the University.

To apply to on campus housing you will need a UW student number and can apply with a personal email.

If you choose to apply before accepting your admission to the University, Campus Housing will not be able to consider your application until you have accepted your offer of admission.

Applications for each term tend to open around the following terms:

1. Fall Only: On-campus housing application will open in mid-February
2. Winter Only: On-campus housing application will open in late September.
3. Spring Only: On Campus housing application will open in mid-December.

Offers
Residence offers are not created on a first come first serve basis and are not guaranteed. They are made on a rolling basis, taking into consideration several factors which include and are not limited to acceptance of academic admission, accessible housing supports and roommate requests.

If you receive a residence offer before your UWaterloo email address is active, it will be sent to the email you have on file with the University. A $500 non-refundable housing deposit must be paid to secure the assignment with the remainder of residence fees paid termly before the fee arrangement date through Quest.

Cancelling a Campus Housing Residence Contract
Please note that when you accept an offer with Campus Housing, if you decide to cancel your housing for reasons other than revoked admission or academic withdrawal, you will be financially responsible for your residence fees. For more information, please visit the Room Changes & Cancellations section of our website to learn more about out Withdrawal and Cancellation, Contract Appeals, and Contract Replacement processes.

Accessible Housing Supports
If you have a documented disability/medical concern and require accessible housing supports, please visit the Accessible Housing website to understand the steps successfully submitting your Accessible Housing Form.

Assignments are based on space availability and an approved accessible housing support request does not guarantee an assignment. The Campus Housing Office will have to access space availability and the recommendations and will be in touch with more information.

Architecture Students
The School of Architecture is located in the city of Cambridge, about 1.5 -2 hours away from the Waterloo main campus using public transit. Exchange students studying there are advised to search for accommodation in Cambridge using the Off-Campus Housing listing service. The commute by public transportation would not be feasible to/from the Waterloo campus.

Once your application status is set to "Matriculated" on Quest, you're required to set up and regularly check your @uwaterloo.ca email. All official communication including news, updates, course selection, fee deadline reminders and messages will be sent to your @waterloo.ca email.

You will need to register for Two-factor authentication (2FA), powered by Duo Security as this adds an extra layer of security to your University accounts. 

Review your courses and course change requests

The following information explains Waterloo's course registration process for undergraduate and graduate students and how you can request changes to your class schedule.

Pay your incidental fees and health insurance

While tuition fees for the majority of exchange programs are paid to your home university, every term you study at Waterloo, you will be assessed incidental fees (approximately $600 Canadian). Fees cover mandatory health insurance, access to resources that help support and maintain your academic, physical and mental well-being, and unlimited access to the regional transit system. Some of the fees are compulsory, some are voluntary, and others are optional. Applicable fees will be posted on Quest approximately one month prior to the beginning of your term. All fees are approximate in Canadian funds and are subject to change. You can choose to opt out of the optional fees charged to your student account until the due date for the term. If you do not pay your fees by the deadline, late fees will be applied. We encourage you to pay your fees as soon as possible as it can take a few days for international payments to be transferred.

You will be enrolled in two health insurance plans while on exchange in Canada.

• The University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) covers basic health care services, such as medical doctor appointments, hospital visits, and most diagnostic tests.
  • As an exchange student traveling to Waterloo you must pay for UHIP. Applications for UHIP exemption are only considered if you meet the criteria outlined under "opt out/exemptions" on the UHIP website after you have paid.
• The Studentcare extended Health and Dental Plan covers extra costs like prescription drugs, paramedical practitioners, vision, and dental care.
  • You must first pay for Studentcare extended Health and Dental Plan and can opt out at a later date through Studentcare if you meet the criteria and can prove that you have equivalent coverage. 

If you have any questions about fees or opting out of UHIP please contact The Centre or submit a request on SFS Jira Portal for assistance.  

Accessibility

• The University of Waterloo is committed to ensuring all students can access and meaningfully participate in their education by removing barriers and building capacity for personal success.
• AccessAbility Services offers academic accommodations for students with disabilities and disabling conditions (e.g., injuries, medical conditions, or impacts of trauma such as from violence, discrimination, or oppression). If you believe you may require academic accommodations during your studies at Waterloo, learn about the accommodation services and supports available and how to apply for them. If you have some questions, please call 519-888-4567, ext. 35082 or email AccessAbility Services.

Plan your travel and attend Orientation

You should plan to arrive in time for Orientation at the beginning of your exchange. Please review the important dates below to help you plan out your exchange term. 

You should not make any travel arrangements during the exam period until you have your exam schedule, which will be available approximately one month after the start of term. Note: travel plans are not considered an acceptable reason to have an exam rescheduled.

If you will be in Waterloo outside the window of your move in/out dates, you can look into booking short term accommodations. The Arranging travel to Waterloo guide will be helpful as you prepare to travel.  

Its highly recommended that you attend Exchange Orientation as its a great opportunity for you to experience a balanced introduction to the academic, social and community aspects of life at Waterloo. Program details and dates will be sent to you closer to the start of the term.  

Review important dates

For the full list of important dates, please see Undergrad Important Dates and Graduate Important Dates. 

Helpful resources

As a new student at Waterloo, you will have many questions about getting here and settling in. Here are some article from the International Student Guide that can give you the information you need:

• Adapting to a new culture 
• Average temperatures during the year 
• Understanding Canadian classroom culture 
• Set up a Canadian bank account, 
• Know more about Canadian society 

Contact us

Contact your Global Learning Coordinator, Hope Salese, with any questions you have leading up to your exchange term. 

Hope Salese (she/her)

Global Learning Coordinator

Inbound Exchange