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If you're not a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada, you must have a valid study permit to study in Canada at the University of Waterloo unless you meet one of the exemptions.
One exemption is when the duration of your program of study is six months or less. As of September 7, 2021, fully vaccinated foreign nationals with a full series of COVID-19 vaccinations accepted by the Government of Canada can now travel to Canada for non-essential reasons, like for an exchange program of six months or less, as long as all other requirements are met. Otherwise, to enter Canada all international students, regardless of length of study, need to have either a valid study permit or a letter of introduction (study permit approval letter issued outside of Canada). In all scenarios, unless you are a United States citizen, a valid entry document is also required. Please read about the requirements to enter Canada as an international student on our "How should I prepare?" COVID-19 FAQ.
If you attended high school in Canada, we recommend that you apply for your post-secondary study permit as soon as possible after you are accepted to the University of Waterloo, so that you have the ability to work part-time during your full-time studies. If your high school study permit has any conditions or remarks only allowing study at the high school level or at a specific high school, you need to receive your post-secondary study permit before your first day of classes at the University.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all study permit applications must be submitted online through an IRCC secure account. Applications submitted outside of Canada are processed by the Canadian visa office that serves the country where you are residing. If you are already in Canada, you may be able to apply for a study permit from within Canada if you meet the specific requirements. If you are a United States citizen or Green Card holder, or a resident of Greenland or Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, you may also apply at a Canadian port of entry. Determine where you can apply for your study permit.
The time it will take to process your application will vary, but you can check estimated processing times on the Government of Canada website. We recommend applying for your study permit as soon as you receive your Offer of Admission and Letter of Acceptance, and have collected all of the required documents.
If you were accepted to Waterloo as an exchange student, please visit the exchange page for more information about your immigration documents.
Please note: Due to variation among Canadian visa offices and the complexity of study permit applications abroad, the immigration consultants are unable to review applications being submitted outside of Canada or fully advise on application refusals outside of Canada.
The following are required to apply for a study permit:
Other supporting documents may include:
Verify your country-specific study permit application requirements by:
You may be eligible to apply for your study permit through the Student Direct Stream if you are living in Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, or Vietnam. This stream has additional application requirements to what is stated above, but generally applications through this stream are processed faster. Additional application requirements include:
You may also need to provide additional documents depending on where you are applying from. If you don't meet the eligibility requirements for SDS, you can still apply through the regular study permit application process.
For the proof of tuition payment requirement, you can use Waterloo's tuition fee estimator to estimate your tuition fees. Once you've created your estimate, the estimator will email you a PDF letter with the approximate amount of your total costs and instructions on how to pay your tuition in advance. After you have accepted your Offer of Admission and your payment has arrived, usually within 7-14 days after paying, you can log into your Quest account and email yourself an official tuition receipt to include in your study permit application.
If you are accepted into a co-op program at the University of Waterloo, you can apply for your co-op work permit together with your study permit. Make sure to indicate in your study permit application that you are also applying for a co-op work permit. Use your Letter of Acceptance in the application twice; once for proof of university acceptance, and again for proof of a co-op letter, with the Internship section highlighted. Application approval is determined by the Canadian visa office, and is not guaranteed.
If you are not issued co-op work permit approval or a co-op work permit at the port-of-entry into Canada, you can still apply for a co-op work permit once in Canada. We recommend applying right away after arriving at Waterloo.
You need your co-op work permit for all co-op placements. Make sure you have it before starting your first one.
Distance learning is study through online courses or correspondence. A study permit cannot be issued for an online program. This does not include courses that were offered online solely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some online programs could require an in-Canada portion. If the overall program, including the online components, is more than 6 months long, then a study permit is required for any length of in-Canada study.
If you plan to study in a program that has online courses or components completed from outside of Canada, and you are interested in applying for the post-graduation work permit (PGWP) to work in Canada after completing your degree, eligibility for the PGWP includes a requirement that less than 50% of the program’s total courses be completed through distance learning (i.e. online courses) and only time spent studying in Canada counts towards the length of the PGWP. Please see our post-graduation work permit page for more information.
If your study permit application is approved, you will be given a Letter of Introduction (study permit approval letter) and, if applicable, a TRV in your passport or eTA number. If you require a TRV to enter Canada, the visa office will need your physical passport during the study permit application process in order to put the TRV in your passport.
To receive your study permit at the port of entry into Canada, you need to present the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer with your passport, Letter of Introduction, and official Letter of Acceptance from the University of Waterloo. The CSBA officer must also be satisfied that you are a bona fide student.
Please read the International Student Guide for more information about travelling during the pandemic, documents you should have in your carry-on luggage and detailed steps about the process of entering Canada.
If your study permit is expiring and you have not finished your studies at the University of Waterloo, you have to apply for an extension. We recommend you apply to extend your study permit 6 months prior to the expiration date.
A co-op work permit is required for all work terms that are a requirement of a degree program. You can apply for your first co-op work permit, or an extension, with your study permit extension. Make sure you indicate you are also applying for a co-op work permit in the online eligibility questionnaire and in the application form.
Watch our videos to have one of our immigration consultants walk you through the application process and required documents.
If you are a student in a co-op program and you’re applying for both a study permit and co-op work permit together in one application, you can have your study permit and co-op work permit mailed to Co-operative Education on campus. Under “current mailing address”, you would provide the following information:
Apt/Unit: TC 1103
Street no.: 200
Street name: University Avenue West, c/o International Employment Specialist, Co-operative Education
City/Town: Waterloo
Country or Territory: Canada
Province: ON
Postal code: N2L 3G1
Under Residential address, click ‘No’ beside 'Same as mailing address', and fill out where you are currently living in Canada.
We recommend including an alternative secure mailing address to students who are going to be moving from their current residential address within the six months following their application submission or for students who have issues receiving mail at their current address.
Include the biographical page and all pages that include content from Canada or another country: e.g. stamps, visas, or markings.
Include your current study permit and co-op work permit (if applicable).
If you have renewed a passport since beginning your studies in Canada, include the past passport(s) with the newest passport first in the file.
All images will need to be merged into 1 file which must be less than 4MB.
IRCC can ask for any other documents throughout the application process.
Alternatively, if you are outside of Canada, you would apply for a new study permit. This will be similar to when you applied for the first study permit and will be processed by the Canadian visa office outside of Canada serving the country where you are residing. You also need to include proof, and an explanation, of the studies you have already done in Canada. If you are a United States citizen or Green Card holder, or a resident of Greenland or Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, you could also apply for a new study permit at a Canadian port of entry.
You can check estimated application processing times on the IRCC website. The IRCC Client Support Centre is available from within Canada to answer questions by phone or web form.
University of Waterloo's Designated Learning Institution # (DLI number) is O19305471522. You will need Waterloo's DLI number for your application.
If you've transferred post-secondary schools or used another post-secondary school's Letter of Acceptance for your study permit application, you must notify Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) via your IRCC account.
You don't have to complete a DLI transfer when switching programs within the University of Waterloo.
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University of Waterloo
519-888-4567 ext. 84410
Book a same-day appointment on Portal or submit an online inquiry to receive immigration support.
Request an authorized leave from studies for immigration purposes.
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Office of Indigenous Relations.
