Study permit refusals have been rising this year.
To reduce the risk of refusal, you’ll want to ensure that your application clearly demonstrates that you meet the criteria.
A well-put-together application can make the difference between an officer ruling in your favour, or refusing your application.
CIC News has partnered with an experienced immigration lawyer to explain some of the most common reasons that study permit applications get refused. Ensure that you avoid these pitfalls in order to maximize your chances of success.
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What are the top reasons that study permit applications to Canada get refused?
1. Insufficient or inadequate proof of funds
Your study permit application may be rejected if you:
- don’t have the necessary funds; or
- have the required funds, but fail to provide adequate proof of those funds.
IRCC requires study permit applicants to show that they have enough funds to support themselves while in Canada, in addition to paying for travel and tuition.
The amount of funds you (as a single applicant, studying outside of Quebec) will need in 2024— on top of travel and tuition costs—is $20,635 CAD, representing 75% of the Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO). According to the size of your family, the funds you are required to present may change. These fund requirements are set to rise annually.
Note that accompanying family members also influence fund requirements for students. In 2024 the required funds for international students studying in Canada are:
| Number of family members (including the study permit applicant) | Funds required (in CAD) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $20,635 |
| 2 | $25,690 |
| 3 | $31,583 |
| 4 | $38,346 |
| 5 | $43,492 |
| 6 | $49,051 |
| 7 | $54,611 |
| For each additional family member above 7 | Add $5,559 |
For international students planning to study in Quebec in 2024, the funds requirements are as follows:
| Household composition (including the study permit applicant) | Funds required |
|---|---|
| One person under the age of 18 | $7,541 |
| One person aged 18 and over | $15,078 |
| Two people aged 18 and over | $22,115 |
| Two people aged 18 and over and one person under the age of 18 | $24,773 |
| Two people aged 18 and over and two people under the age of 18 | $26,737 |
You must provide the immigration officer with proof that these funds are in your possession.
How can an applicant better meet this criterion?
Ultimately, the immigration officer will be making the decision on whether your proof of funds is sufficient.
You can increase your chances of success by anticipating the potential concerns an officer might have, and ensuring that the proof you provide addresses those potential concerns:
| Potential concern of officer | How to address potential concern(s) |
|---|---|
| Doubts on the possibility of future funding | Include supplementary financial information, for example: - Parent’s employment details / pay-slips; - Bank account history spanning a relevant period of time; and/or - Current or past employment details. |
| Insufficient funds to live and study in Canada | Consider providing IRCC more than one of the following: - Proof of a Canadian bank account; - A Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) from a participating Canadian financial institution; - Proof of a student/education loan from a bank; and/or - Bank statements covering the last few months. |
| Funds held in a foreign currency | Include one (or more) of the following with the application: - A letter from a Canadian or international financial institution stating that the necessary funds are in deposit under the applicant's name (especially relevant to currencies that can fluctuate regularly, relative to the Canadian dollar); - A bank draft in a convertible currency for an amount equal to the funds required for the upcoming academic year; and/or - Written testament from the applicant’s bank that the required funds are on deposit, and from the financial control authorities that the applicant will be allowed to export a sum adequate for “maintenance costs” (living expenses) in Canada. |
2. Lack of ties to the home country
You must also satisfy the immigration officer that you will leave Canada after completing your studies.
Generally, you will demonstrate this by showing that you have sufficient ties to your home country, such that you are likely to return, and not to stay in Canada beyond the validity of your temporary resident status.
To this end, the immigration officer will assess your ties to Canada and your ties to your home country.
In addition to assessing ties, IRCC officers will also consider general economic and political factors that may impact your ability or motivation to return to your home country.
These could include your financial ability (airplane ticket, money, or a statement of bank assets), and/or legal ability (passport, travel document, and/or visa) to return home.
How can an applicant better meet this criterion?
Study permit applicants can provide a range of supporting documentation to better prove their ties to Canada and their home country:
Ties to Canada: Who invited the applicant to Canada? Is there proof of invitation?
Examples of supporting documentation:
- A letter of acceptance from a Designated Learning Institution (DLI); and
- A Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) from the province where the school is located.
Ties to home country: Is the applicant employed? If yes, at what salary, and in what position? Has the applicant’s employer approved a request for leave?
Examples of supporting documentation:
- Letter of employment;
- Pay slips; and
- Letter from employer on official letterhead, confirming relevant details.
3. Weak or absent letter of explanation
You can include a letter of explanation as one of the supporting documents in your study permit application.
In this letter, you can describe your goals and motivations in choosing your school and program, and more broadly in choosing Canada as a study destination.
You don’t have to include this letter, but IRCC recommends including it, because a well-crafted letter of explanation can help the immigration officer better understand your motivations and aspirations for studying in Canada.
While there is no one-size-fits-all format to write a letter of explanation, you can follow several best practices:
| Letter section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Introduction | - Descriptions of the chosen course and school, as well as reasons for choosing them (introductory, will be touched on in more detail later); - Why the applicant chose Canada as a study destination; and - Future plans (in line with the course and degree being pursued). |
| Personal information | - Briefly discuss family background and context (remember that the IRCC officer will be more interested in the applicant themselves, not their family); and - Focus on any aspects of family-life that directly relate to the course/degree being pursued (family values, inherited interests, etc.). - It may be useful to touch on some personal ties you have to your home country here. |
| Academic background | - Discuss prior academic experience, including extracurriculars, awards, certifications, etc. - Emphasize details that are relevant to the course and degree that is being pursued. |
| Professional experience | - Note any professional experience that you have had, that is relevant to the course or program that you have undertaken. - Connect this experience and the course being pursued to your future plans. |
| Reasons for picking a specific university and educational program | - These should already be mentioned briefly in the introduction, but here you’d expand on why you chose your DLI and program. - Connecting these reasons to the previous elements of the letter (where possible) can help give immigration officers a coherent idea of why you are choosing to study in Canada. - This section can also act as a segue to the next section. |
| Goals and aspirations | - What do you hope to accomplish in your time studying at this DLI, personally, professionally, and academically? - How will your time studying in Canada enable you to move forward with your plans? |
4. Incomplete application / Missing documents
If your application is incomplete, IRCC officials will not process it. They’ll return the application to you, with a written request for the missing information.
Your application can also be returned if you fail to pay the necessary fees.
The below table breaks down the minimum needed documents and information for a study permit application. Note that these may vary, and additional documentation may be required/requested based on each applicant’s situation.
| Eligibility criteria | Minimum needed documentation |
|---|---|
| Proof of acceptance at a Canadian post-secondary institution | - Letter of Acceptance (LOA); - Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL). |
| Proof of identity | A valid passport or other travel document: - Examples of documents not accepted here include: - Any passport issued by Somalia; - Non-machine-readable passports issued by the Czech Republic; - Temporary passports issued by the Republic of South Africa; and - Provisional passports issued by Venezuela. |
| Proof of funds (refer above for the minimum required funds) | It’s possible to include only a single document to satisfy the proof of funds requirement for your application. But in some cases you might require additional documents, or should benefit from including additional documents. Here are examples of proof of funds documents: Proof of a Canadian bank account in your name (if you have transferred funds to Canada): - A GIC from a participating Canadian financial institution; - Proof of a student / education loan from a bank; - Your bank statements from the last four months; - A bank draft that can be converted into Canadian dollars; - Proof that you’ve paid tuition and housing fees; - A letter from the person or school providing you money; or - Proof of funding paid from within Canada, if you have a scholarship or are in a Canadian-funded educational program. |
| Letter of explanation (optional) | At minimum this letter should help the reviewing IRCC officer understand the applicant and their goals. It should explain: - Why the you want to study in Canada; and - That you understand your responsibilities as an international student in Canada. |
| Medical exam (Not always required) | You may require an immigration medical exam if: - You plan to stay in Canada for more than 6 months; - You’ve recently spent time in a regulated country; or - You plan to work in a profession in Canada where public health must be protected. |
| Custodian Declaration (for minors only) | If the study permit applicant is a minor that requires a custodian, the Custodianship Declaration form (IMM 5646) must be completed and attached to the application. The custodian in Canada must sign the first page, while the parents or legal guardians of the minor child in the child’s home country must sign the second page. |
| Other supporting documents (if requested by IRCC) | You can check the relevant visa office instructions for your country or region, to see if you may need to provide more information / documentation in support of your application. More information can be found here. For example: If you are not currently in their home country, you may need to prove your immigration status in the country where you currently reside. |
5. Schools not validating letters of admission
As of December 1, 2023, new international students must now have their letter of admission (LOAs) to a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) validated by the school, to proceed with a study permit application. This step is done after international students submit their study permit application.
As part of this process, DLIs will have 10 calendar days to validate letters of admission in IRCC’s online portal (deadlines are shown to schools for each individual applicant who has received an LOA, in IRCC’s online portal).
If the LOA is not validated within that timeframe, IRCC will mark the application as incomplete, and return it to the applicant along with processing fees.
Note that verification must be done before midnight on the date indicated on the portal, according to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example, if the deadline for an LOA to be validated is November 1, the verification process must be complete by 11:59:59 p.m. on October 31 (UTC).
How can students ensure that their LOAs are validated by their schools?
Ensure that you begin to follow up with your selected DLI as soon as you submit your completed study permit application. Although DLIs will likely be mindful of the timeline to verify an LOA, doing regular check-ups on the process can help ensure that all necessary steps are followed in the allotted time frame.
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