Required immigration documents
Apply for your immigration documents as soon as you receive your Offer of Admission
Key points
- You must have an official Offer of Admission from Concordia University before applying for immigration documents.
- The documents you need depend on how long you plan to study in Quebec.
- You must show both the Quebec and Canadian governments your expected costs and your financial information
- There are special steps for minors (students under 17 years of age)
Overview
Congratulations on being accepted to Concordia University! Your first step is to apply for your immigration documents as soon as you received your PDF Offer of Admission (even if you receive a Conditional Offer of Admission).
It may take four to six months (or more) to complete this process and get all your documents in order.
What documents do I need?
The documents you need depend on how long you plan to study in Canada and your status in Canada.
The purpose of your stay in Canada is to study and you must therefore enter as a student. You cannot enter as a visitor if you are coming to study.
Even if you are visa-exempt , or already have a visa allowing you to enter Canada as a visitor, you should not travel to Canada as a visitor if your intention is to begin your studies and you do not yet have your required immigration documents authorizing you to study.
Why you should not enter Canada as a visitor to begin your studies
Documents required by length of study
If you are an exchange or visiting student admitted for one term (up to six months), you can enter Canada to study for six months or less without a study permit.
You will need one of the following
- Temporary Residency Visa (TRV) or;
- Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA).
The government of Canada will issue this document depending on your passport or travel document that you use to come to Canada.
Please note: your passport or travel document must be valid for at least 6 months upon entering Canada.
If you are an exchange or visiting student admitted for two terms, you must apply for the following documents.
Once these are approved the Government of Canada will issue a temporary residency visa (TRC) or an electronic travel authorization (eTA).
If you have been admitted to a program (Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD, certificate or diploma), you must apply for the following documents:
Once these are approved the Government of Canada will issue a temporary residency visa (TRV) or an electronic travel authorization (eTA).
Note: The study permit is issued by the federal (Canadian) government, they may ask for a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL). In Quebec, the CAQ acts as your PAL if it contains the specific statement.
You do not need to apply for a separate PAL.
Cost of studies
When you apply for your permits, you must show both the Quebec and Canadian governments your expected costs and your financial information.
You will need to indicate how much one year of tuition fees will cost, along with one year of living and personal expenses. We provide information to help you estimate these costs.
If you are a minor
International students under 17 years of age must name a legal guardian when they apply for a CAQ (Québec Acceptance Certificate). The guardian must be:
- be a permanent resident or Canadian citizen residing in the province of Quebec
- over the age of 18
If you do not have a legal guardian and plan to live in one of our university residences, please email iso@concordia.ca.
