Extend Canada study permit online: Step by step process
Here is the complete guide for international students to Extend Canada study permit online.
To renew your Canadian study permit you must extend your stay by completing the application to change conditions or extend your stay in Canada.
- You should apply for a renewal at least 30 days before your current study permit expires.
- Minors who are younger than 17 and are studying in Canada without a parent or legal guardian must complete and include the custodianship declaration IMM5646 along with their study permit application.
- To apply for an extension online you need to have access to a scanner and a camera in order to create electronic copies of your documents and a valid credit card to process payment.
- To apply on paper you need to download and complete the form from the extension application package.
- You must leave Canada if you have not applied for an extension of an expired student permit.
Table of Content
Can you work while you are waiting for the study permit extension decision?
No, you cannot start working while you are waiting for a study permit extension decision.
Apply for your PGWP as soon as you graduate, but you will not be able to work until you receive PGWP (even if you received your study permit extension soon after you apply for a PGWP.
Wait for the study permit extension and then only apply for PGWP. You can work the moment the PGWP application is submitted.
My Canadian study permit has expired. How can I reapply?
You may apply to reinstate or restore your status within 90 days of the expiration of your study permit.
Please remember to pay your restoration fee and also your study permit application fee both of them must be paid otherwise you will be refused.
How can you change from a study permit to a work permit?
Yes, you can change from a study permit to a work permit. But it really depends on your current situation in Canada.
Work with a study permit
Your study permit allows you to work off-campus up to 20 hours per week while you’re still a student studying full-time. During scheduled breaks, you are allowed to increase this work requirement.
Co-op work permit
If you are on a co-op work permit you actually are allowed to work full-time. Some co-ops are actually paid. I’ll also note that the 20-hour requirement only applies to people working off-campus.
If you’re working on campus then that restriction does not apply which many students do find helpful. If they’re trying to work to support their studies.
Postgraduate work permit
If you’re looking to convert your study permit to a work permit there is the postgraduate work program.
In order to qualify for this program, you do need to have actually graduated from your program at a DLI and show that you have completed all the requirements of your program, and show that your transcripts to show that you are actively engaged in studies.
As soon as you have these two items then you can apply for a postgraduate work permit. You are actually allowed to start working as soon as you have applied for this postgraduate work permit and you can work.
It’s an open work permit which means you can work for any employer in Canada.
I often recommend that it be a skilled work job because it does help you towards permanent residency. But that is one way for you to transfer your status from a study permit to a work permit.
Openwork permit
Lastly, if you don’t qualify for a postgraduate work permit for whatever reason – for example,
- if your study permit was not a DLI so you don’t qualify for the program or
- if you’re wanting to stop your studies or leave
so you don’t qualify for the program then you will have to pursue the regular work permit process.
It is the general rule is that you first have to find a job offer in Canada and have your employer submit a labor market impact assessment.
Once you had the positive LMIA issued for your job offer then you would apply to change your conditions to a worker from within Canada.
So those are the ways that you can transfer your status from a student to a worker within Canada.
What documents are needed to extend a study permit in Canada?
- Application to change conditions, Extend my Stay or Remain in Canada as a student(IMM 5709)
- A letter of acceptance (LOA)
- Clear and legible scanned copy of your passport pages with your study permit
- A valid credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, China Union Pay) or debit card (Visa Debit, Debit MasterCard, or Interac) to pay the $150 application fee online.
- Digital photo
- Proof of medical (may be required) – If your program is related to healthcare or childcare, you should upload proof of medical that was completed by an approved doctor within the last 12 months.
- Proof of means of financial support
- Your current study permit
- A co-op letter (if a student is in a program that includes a field placement or a coop term)
How to prepare your documents?
Letter of enrolment, placement letters, and co-op letters
Acquire Letter of enrolment, placement letters, and co-op letters from your college or university. Make sure you check the letter for accuracy prior to submitting them with your application.
If you are in a program that requires a field placement or a co-op work term, you will also need a placement letter or a coop letter.
Required passport pages
Clear and legible scanned copy of passport pages including:
- Page with the passport number, photo, dates of issues and expiry, name, and date of birth.
- Page with a stamp made by the Canadian authorities on the most recent entry into Canada.
- All pages with stamps, visas or markings, and
- A scan of your valid study permit.
All these pages of the passport must be merged into a single PDF document. That’s because once we go through the process we have only a single slot to submit this Passport related information. If you can scan every single visa and stamp on your passport, it will be multiple pages. So it’s recommended to combine all those PDFs or images into a single PDF.
And make sure that the scanned document cannot be more than 4 MB.
Digital Photo
The digital photo should look similar to a passport photo.
Proof of financial support
This document will normally consist of many pages. You need to combine all these many pages and make one single PDF document.
You must provide documentation to prove how you will be paying for your tuition and your cost of living for at least one year.
If you don’t have all of the money for one year of studies in your bank accounts then you will need to show evidence of where the money will be coming from. For example:
- The receipts for tuition payment for the current and/or future semester;
- Your bank statements and transaction history from the last four months.
- A family member’s or friend’s bank statement showing funds available accompanied by a letter from that person stating they are supporting your studies in Canada. Contact information must be included.
- Proof income such as pay stubs or letter of employment. You can provide this if you are working part-time during your studies.
How do I extend Canada study permit online?
I am covering all the step by step process but trust me after this, you will be clear with what you need to do. So let’s get started with the application process
Sign in or Sign up for an IRCC account
You have to log in with your IRCC secure account or GCkey account to start the process.
- If you already have an account, you can use it for your application.
- If you are not able to login into your old account, just create a new account with a new username
You can visit here: Register for IRCC account with GCKey
Start the application
After login, we can start our application to extend Canada study permit.
It will ask you for this personal reference code. If you have already completed the Canada Express entry application you will get a personal reference code. You can enter this personal reference code here and you can continue with the process.
In case you don’t have any personal reference code just click on the question sign. You will able to see new options as seen below:
Find out if you are eligible to apply
It will take you to this page. Here these questions are here to check your eligibility to apply.
You must answer all the questions on this page.
- What would you like to do in Canada? We need to select the study.
- How long you plan to stay in Canada? It depends on different things. For example, your program duration.
Click next.
Here we are applying for a study permit in Canada. Click on continue.
Do you also want to apply for a work permit?
If you are studying a program that includes a field placement or a co-op work term, you can select yes to this question. If you select yes, you will be asked to provide a letter from the College later in the application.
Have you lived in a designated country or territory for more than six months in the last year?
If you are asked this question, please note that Canada is not a Designated Country. If you live outside of Canada for more than 6-months within the most recent 12-month span, then you will need to click the question button to find out how to correctly answer this question
Do you want to submit an application for a family member?
If you have a spouse and/or child who is currently with you in Canada, and if you want to add their application, you can do so here.
- Do not use this option to try to apply for a spouse or child who is currently outside of Canada.
- This cannot be used to apply for family members who are not your spouse or child.
Submit your documents
Once you finish the questionnaire, you will see your document checklist. This is where you upload your required and optional documents.
Application IMM5709
This PDF document must be saved to your computer for editing. When you enter information in this form it will not be saved online.
You must save your changes in the PDF document on the computer you are using. Keep a copy of your records. You can easily fill this form.
You will upload this document to your MyCIC account once you have finished entering the information.
Supporting Documents
These are all the supporting documents that we have discussed before.
Option Documents
If you are applying from within Canada, do not complete the Application for Temporary Resident Visa listed here.
You can use the Client information section to upload a Letter of Explanation to provide any details that you feel were not clear in the rest of your application
Once you have uploaded documents into all of the required sections of the document checklist. You will be able to continue to the payment step in the application.
Fee payment
Once you upload all the required documents and will come to the payment section. For the application to extend Canada study permit, we are paying 150 Canadian dollars.
- When you are ready to pay with your credit card or debit card, click ‘Transmit and Pay’
Make sure you save a copy of your receipt so you can pay by your credit card with all the visa and master cards. You can do the payment through Interac online also.
How long does it take to extend a study permit in Canada?
Here you can check how long it will take for CIC to send your Study Permit: Check processing time
As seen in the image above, the study permit extension processing time can take up to 83 days due to the current scenario.
You can check the current status of your study permit extension application by visiting your MyCIC account.
Update your eTA or TRV
Once you have your new permit in hand, make sure you update your Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) or Temporary Resident Visa (TRV). To find out which one you need, you can visit the following Link
How to fill the IMM5709 Application form for a study permit extension
You can download the ‘Application to Change Conditions, Extend my Stay, or Remain in Canada as a Student (IMM5709)’ form from your document checklist. It is a PDF document. You must save it to your computer for editing.
As you can see below:
- The application form should have this title: “Application to Change Conditions, Extend my Stay, or Remain in Canada as a Student”
- Use the ‘Validate’ button any time you want to check if you have missed any required parts on the form. ‘Validate’ can be clicked as many times as you need
Let’s start filling the form.
- UCI: It is an 8-digit or 11-digit Client ID or UCI on your study permit. But it should be written without the dash.
- I want the service in: you can select your appropriate language.
- I am applying for one or more of the following: Select an initial study permit or extension of the study permit
Note: You only reach temporary resident status, if it has already expired. If your old status had expired before you were able to apply for an extension. You can choose the ‘Restoration of temporary resident’.
Remember: If your study permit is not expired you can go with an initial study permit or extension of a study permit
Personal Details
Required information in this section is as follows:
- Full name
- Have you ever used any other name? Yes/No
- Sex
- Date of birth
- Place of birth
- Current country of residence:
- Your current marital status
- Have you previously been married or in a common-law relationship? Yes/ No
Note that you need to give your country of residence. On the current status, select a student. And provide the day you entered Canada and the expiry date of your study permit.
Language
Here is the list of required information in the language section:
- Native Language/Mother tongue
- Are you able to communicate in English and/or French?
- Have you taken a test from a designated testing agency to assess your proficiency in English or French? Yes/No
You will answer yes only if you have written a test such as an IELTS or TOEFL for the English language. And if you have attempted an official French language test.
Passport detail
Compulsory information in the section of passport is as follows:
- Passport number
- Country of issue
- Issues date
- Expiry date
In short, You need to give your passport details. As I mentioned earlier it is better to have all the documents in hand so you can easily refer them.
Contact details and mailing address
For the current mailing address, fill the form as shown below:
If you have paid for P.O box service at a post office, you can write it under P.O box.
Apt/Unit: If you live in an apartment, the unit number goes here.
Street no: The building number goes here.
In addition to the current mailing address, you need to specify a residential address, telephone number, and email address.
Coming to Canada
- Here you have to include the date and place such as the city or airport you arrived in Canada
- Your original purpose for coming to Canada will be studying.
- If you have left Canada and re-entered you will need to indicate the date and location. If you have only entered Canada once you will leave this blank.
- Document Number: It is the number that starts with an ‘F’ on the top right of the study permit.
Details of Intended study in Canada
Here you have to provide details about your school and your studies. It includes:
- Name of your school
- You program details
- School location details and DLI number, student ID
Note that for the duration of the expected study. The ‘From’ date should be the current date. The ‘to’ date should be the end date of your program.
Education
Post-secondary means a program leading to a degree or certificate after high school.
Employment
If you are currently studying at a college write “Student” in the current activity section.
You must include dates, level, institution, city, and country. If you have not completed your studies, leave the “to” date blank.
You will also be required to list your activity for the last 10 years. If you have been employed in Canada and/or abroad enter that information.
Previous study permit
As you already have a study permit in your hand, you have to provide its details here.
In addition to initial study permit details, you have to provide information about any other refusals or extensions you have applied for.
Sign and Validate
Once you have completed the form, you need to sign it. However, it is an electronic document, you will type your name as it is shown on your study permit.
Prot tip: Be sure to press ‘Validate’ before saving any changes to the form.
Save this PDF document once it is complete. The saved PDF file is what you will upload to your MyCIC application.
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