12 Tips for Study and Co-op Work Permit Applications
1.
APPLY EARLY – it looks suspicious to officers to see applications made months after the
date on the Letter of Acceptance. They question if the applicant is really serious about
studying if they waited many weeks or months to apply for the study permit after getting
accepted by an institution in Canada. DO: Apply for the study permit within one to two
weeks from date on Letter of Acceptance from Tamwood
2. Do your medical exam and get your police certificates BEFORE applying for the study
permit – CIC cannot process an application without the Medical Report and police
certificates. (medical exam reports are required of citizens of certain countries only. Also,
only certain selected doctors are eligible to do the CIC medical exam. Refer to this page for
the list of countries for which medical exams are required and to this page for medical exam
instructions and the list of panel physicians). CIC has targets for processing times for study
permit applications. Once an application is submitted to CIC their clock starts and if they
cannot process it quickly because of a missing police certificate or medical exam report, the
open application will affect that office’s processing times and make the office look bad (too
many open and unprocessed applications affect their performance) so CIC will tend to refuse
a study permit application that has been open for too long. TO DO: Make it is easy for CIC
to process your application quickly by submitting the application for the study permit and
co-op work permit WITH your police certificate and after you have had your medical exam
by a panel physician. Do your medical exam at least two weeks before applying for the
study permit.
3. If further medical tests are required after initial exam, DO THEM and DO THEM QUICKLY!!
4. BE VERY THOROUGH IN ANSWERING ALL QUESTIONS IN THE APPLICATION – don’t assume
that CIC will not find out previous travel history. The USA’s immigration department and
CIC share all your information so if you had a visa to the USA rejected or if you and your
parents were deported when you were a child… put that information in your application and
explain it. Don’t hide anything!!! CIC will find out and if they don’t find it out from you,
they will reject your application
5. DON’T LEAVE GAPS IN YOUR STUDY, TRAVEL AND EMPLOYMENT HISTORY – for example, if
you list in your employment history a job that ended two years ago and don’t explain what
you have been doing since then, it creates doubt about you in the mind of the CIC
officer. TO DO: IN YOUR EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION HISTORY, LIST EVERYTHING
YOU HAVE DONE INCLUDING PERIODS OF UNEMPLOYMENT.
6. Explain where the money to pay for your study and travel overseas is coming from. If
your parents are paying for your expenses, you need to explain what your parents do to earn
income and show where the money is coming from. You need to submit proof of their
employment income not just a letter from them saying they will pay the expenses. Your or
their record of employment, income tax returns showing employment income… are
examples of proof of income.
7. INCLUDE A STUDY PLAN WITH YOUR APPLICATION!!! (THIS IS CRITICAL!) – a sample is
attached to this email and can be downloaded from the Tamwood Agent website – CIC will
only grant a study permit and a co-op work permit to students if they believe the student is
genuine and is taking the program in Canada for the training and for their future career and
not just for the chance to work in Canada. CIC will question why the student chose to take
THIS program at THIS college, especially if the program is in a field that is not related to what
the student has studied and done for work in the past.
Example: a student applies for a study permit to do the Tamwood Careers program in
Hospitality and Tourism. The student has studied engineering and has worked since
graduating from university in engineering for one year. CIC will question why someone with
a university degree and an established career is now wanting to study at a career college
level in hospitality and tourism. CIC will want to know what the student’s study plan is,
what their career goals are and how this program in hospitality and tourism fits into that
plan. WHY THIS COURSE? Student must explain why they are doing this program at
Tamwood and not a program in their home country or at a different college or
university. They need to state clearly what will come next after this program at Tamwood
and how this program will help them get there. The student needs to understand the
content of the course that make up the Tamwood program and show specifically how that
content/training will allow them to achieve their career goals and why that content is better
for them than any other program they could take. The questions in the study plan are
important to a Visa Officer in understanding the applicant’s purpose and intention. I strongly
recommend that every student, even ESL students going for over 6 months, submit a
completed plan, ie every applicant who is applying for a Study Permit, as opposed to an SX-1
Temporary Resident Visa . The applicants don’t have to use the exact plan attached, but it
does help focus the replies.
TO DO: ALWAYS INCLUDE A DETAILED STUDY PLAN WITH THE APPLICATION
8. THE ADDITIONAL FAMILY INFORMATION FORM IS IMPORTANT – Include it with your
application and make sure it is complete and nothing is left out of it.
9. DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING IN APPLICATION – CIC says many times students type or write
a mistake in their email address and then CIC cannot contact them. Sometimes a 0 (Zero)
looks like an O, so check what you wrote carefully. Double check that your email address is
correct. Don’t wait for CIC to send you an email with an update, log into your MYCIC
account to check for messages from CIC.
10. Don’t change your phone number while your application is under review. CIC may try to
call you and if you have changed your number and they cannot reach you they will reject
your application
11. Have other people proof read your application – other people can spot mistakes or gaps
that you might have missed.
12. MAKE SURE YOUR APPLICATION IS COMPLETE WHEN YOU SUBMIT IT!!
NOTE: Tamwood is happy to proof your client’s study plan or application, so please
contact us before submitting it and send us a copy to review.
See below a sample study permit plan. Please change name of
home country/region in question 4 to home country of student. This
questionnaire/plan should be submitted with the study permit
application.
STUDY PERMIT QUESTIONNAIRE
Please submit a completed questionnaire with your Study Permit application. Use a separate
page for additional information should you need more space.
1) Why do you wish to come to Canada to study at the school and in the program for which you have
been accepted?
2) What is your overall educational goal? If this program of study is different from your past field of
study, please explain why you made this change.
3) Is English your first language? If no, please provide full details of any qualifications obtained in
English, providing documentary evidence of same.
4) Why have you chosen to study abroad? How does this course differ from similar courses available
in Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and/or Panama?
5) How will this program enhance your employment opportunities in your country of residence?
Please specify exactly what you intend to do on completion of your proposed studies in Canada.
6) Have there been any gaps in time between your last period of study and now? If so, please specify
exactly what you were doing during your break in studies.
7) How will you be paying for your studies? If someone other than your parents is assisting you,
please identify their relationship to you and provide documentary evidence of their financial ability.
8) What ties do you have to your country of residence that will encourage you to return following to
your course of studies?
_______________________________________________
Signature
_________________________________________
Date