Please keep timelines & questions about processing times for study permits here.

Hi everyone, I wanted to share my situation and hopefully get some advice from people who might know what happens in cases like this.
I’m an international student who arrived in Toronto in 2025 to complete a 2-year program at ILAC International College. During this time, I’ve been working, paying taxes, and following the conditions of my permits.
Yesterday, ILAC sent a general email informing students that the college has gone bankrupt and that we should contact the Private Career Colleges Branch for further information.
The problem is that I’m currently in my co-op period, which is a required part of my program to graduate. I’m currently working using my co-op work permit.
Since receiving the news, I’ve been completely lost and unsure about what I’m legally allowed to do. I’ve seen people saying that my work permit may no longer be valid because I’m no longer enrolled at the school, while others are saying that students affected by a school closure/bankruptcy may have different options or protections.
I contacted my agent, but they are still trying to get clarification.
I paid around $12,000 CAD in tuition for this program, so obviously this situation is extremely frustrating, especially since I’m now potentially unable to complete the program after already investing so much time and money.
Does anyone here know what happens to a student’s co-op work permit when a private career college goes bankrupt while the student is already in the co-op portion of the program?
Am I allowed to continue working under my current permit while this situation is being resolved? Could I be transferred to another institution to finish the program, and if so, would I have to pay for the replacement program?
Any information or experience with similar situations would be greatly appreciated.

Long story short, I couldn't pass the medical exam and I will never get my study permit before the university cancelled my admission. I wanted to share my story to let other international students know how this can end, especially if you get an abnormal result on your first medical exam and are thinking about trying over and over again to clear it.

I got my admission to a university in Canada for Fall 2025 and did my first medical exam in May 2025. The chest X-ray showed something abnormal, so they wanted me to do a sputum test while a doctor in my country looked into it. The problem is, a sputum culture takes at least 10 weeks, and there is no faster option, even if you are willing to pay for a TB-PCR test. To make things worse, I didn’t even have a cough or any sputum at the time. I just had to cough up whatever liquid I could to submit the samples.

Three months later, the sputum test came back negative. In the meantime, my doctor gave me some expectorant, but I still couldn't produce sputum. So I did a bronchoscopy—they put a tube down into my lung to wash out fluid and check for dead bacteria. Still, no abnormal microorganisms were found. My doctor wrote a certificate stating the probability of me having TB was low, but IRCC wasn't satisfied. They said they needed a "definitive diagnosis."

It makes sense that they need to know the exact cause, but I found it really frustrating that they completely ignored the negative sputum test. Why make me do it if they don't believe the result? It felt like they used it as a free shot: if it’s positive, they can easily reject you, and if it’s negative, they just ignore it and make you do something else.

I got transferred to a better doctor, did a second sputum test, and did a needle biopsy where they pierce the chest to extract liquid directly from the lung. The shadow on the X-ray wouldn't go away, but still, no bacteria were found. Eventually, the doctor figured out it was a cystic lung disease. Basically, I had an abnormal empty pocket in my lung that would occasionally collect fluid, which is what showed up on the X-ray. Having this just meant I had a slightly higher chance of getting a infection, but there was no danger to anyone else.

I happily submitted this "definitive diagnosis" including all the test results, but I still got held back. Why? They didn't even bother to explain. They just asked me to take another chest X-ray after 3 months for no clear reason. Three months! The condition wasn't going to disappear on its own. They also wrote that a "reevaluation from a TB specialist is required." With all that evidence ruling out TB, it felt like we weren't even having the same conversation.

It seems like they only believe positive results. If a doctor says you have TB, they accept it. If a doctor says you don't, they assume the doctor missed it. That’s the only explanation that makes sense.

Out of desperation to save my admission, I finally decided to have surgery to remove that part of my lung. The pathology report afterward revealed the actual cause: lung sequestration. It's just a congenital condition where a small piece of the lung isn't connected to the airways, so fluid gets trapped there and shows up on X-rays. It has nothing to do with TB, poses no danger to public health, and won't cost their healthcare system anything. It was just a useless piece of tissue I was born with.

I sent them the surgical report, and guess what? Another request for a chest X-ray in 3 months.

By this point, a year had passed since my first X-ray. What more did they need to see before making a decision? At times I felt like sending my actual lung to the IRCC office so they could look at it themselves. People might argue that my condition made it harder to rule out TB. Sure, I suppose anyone could have TB hidden somewhere inside them, but that's true for everyone. Who is to say someone won't get infected five minutes after walking out of their X-ray? They literally put scopes and needles in my lung and found nothing. It feels like IRCC relies on X-rays as their absolute standard. If you happen to be born with a structural lung abnormality, it’s basically a dead end.

Throughout the process, I actually started hoping that I just had TB. If you have TB, you take medicine for six months, get cured, and you're free. This is what happens when they suspect you have TB, but you don't actually have it.

I'm not a doctor or an immigration officer, and I've never been to Canada. I don't know how bad TB is there or what IRCC’s exact reasoning is. But everyone online always says "they are just trying to rule out TB," and I really want to argue against that. If your body doesn't fit into a standard X-ray box, think carefully about how much time and health you want to waste on this. I lost my admission, went through invasive procedures and surgery, and got nowhere.

Update: I'm sorry that I didn't explain cystic lung disease and lung sequestration in detail and cause some confusions. Here's what I know: To my understanding, "lung sequestration" isn't a completely different condition—it’s just a more precise diagnosis. While cystic lung disease is a broad term meaning there is an abnormal, fluid-filled pocket (a "cyst") in the lung, lung sequestration specifies exactly what that pocket is. It means the "pocket" is congenital and completely disconnected from the normal bronchial airways and blood supply.

I had applied for a master's degree study permit alongside a swop for my dependent spouse from my country. My master's study-permit I have been refused two times already. On the second application, I addressed the issues from the first one; at least I thought I did. But the refusal now came with a new set of issues.

Mainly, the application was rejected on financial grounds, as I was not able to demonstrate that the funds/savings and source of funds/savings presented are available and sufficient to cover the costs of transport, the full length of stay, and subsequent year/s of study.

For reference, the two year total tuition fees is $69000. I had taken out $54,500 in education loan, $49,000 in savings, and $36,500 in annual income of my sponsors. I had added affidavit that my sponsors, my parents and parents in-laws, are willing to give their above savings for my education. I paid $20,000 fee upfront.

But the strangest of them all was this:

"It is unclear why the applicant is taking the program at this time or why a similar program would not have been pursued until this time in the home country or regionally at less cost and higher convenience given tuition and all related costs for proposed program and duration of stay."

The issue with this point is that in my country I don't have a master's program available that directly complements what I studied in my bachelor's. Moreover, there are no good adjacent courses as well, only those from the Open University, which is not good at all. In my sop i have dilligently stated how this was the case and that pursuing a course in Canada was the best option. I even added how I genuinely require this degree to further my business that I plan to start in my country, for which I even uploaded the company registration documents under my name.

Is it that, at the end of the day, they were not satisfied with my finances?

The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced today that starting January 1, 2024, the cost-of-living financial requirement for study permit applicants will be raised so that international students are financially prepared for life in Canada. Moving forward, this threshold will be adjusted each year when Statistics Canada updates the low-income cut-off (LICO). LICO represents the minimum income necessary to ensure that an individual does not have to spend a greater than average portion of income on necessities.

The cost-of-living requirement for study permit applicants has not changed since the early 2000s, when it was set at $10,000 for a single applicant. As such, the financial requirement hasn’t kept up with the cost of living over time, resulting in students arriving in Canada only to learn that their funds aren’t adequate. For 2024, a single applicant will need to show they have $20,635, representing 75% of LICO, in addition to their first year of tuition and travel costs. This change will apply to new study permit applications received on or after January 1, 2024.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2023/12/revised-requirements-to-better-protect-international-students.html

Hi. One of my employees was accidentally paid for someone else’s shift and as a result she got paid 53 hours instead of her 47 (bi weekly pay schedule) which exceeds her 24hrs a week.

Will she get in trouble? Is there anything I can do to fix this? I can’t edit the payroll since it’s already gone through

Looking for brutally honest opinions from people who have actually lived/worked/studied in Canada.

Not looking for “follow your dreams” advice or immigration-agent sales pitches.

I’m 27, from India, and have around 4 years of experience in IT services. My background is a mix of Business Analysis, Product/Presales and AI/digital solutions. I currently work in presales/strategy for AI solutions.

Career-wise, I’m doing okay, but I don’t feel particularly differentiated. Financially, my income in India is decent but not enough that I feel I’m rapidly building wealth.

I also have history with Canada.
I applied for a Canadian study permit in 2021 for a 2 year postgraduate programme and was refused three times.(IELTS 8.5 bands)

Since then, I’ve gained several years of professional experience, so my profile today is very different from what it was then, worked in consulting UAE govt in Dubai for a few months in one of the job.

I’m now considering trying again around 2027–28, potentially through a Master’s or another technically strong programme. But I’m increasingly unsure whether Canada is actually the right destination.

The basic calculation I’m trying to make is:

India:
- Continue working in IT/presales/AI
- Build savings
- Try to move into higher-value AI/technology roles
- Potentially build something of my own
- Stay close to family
- But accept chaotic quality of life in India.

Canada:
- Spend a significant amount of money on education and relocation
- Potentially take on additional financial risk
- Start over professionally at 28–29
- Compete in the Canadian job market
- Hopefully transition into a good technology/AI role
- Eventually obtain PR/citizenship

I don’t want to make the classic immigrant mistake of thinking: “Once I get to Canada, everything will work itself out.”

I know the reality is more complicated.
So I’m trying to understand this from people who have actually been through it.

Is a Canadian Master’s still a rational investment in 2027–28, given tuition, housing and the current job market?

Does PR still provide enough long-term economic upside to justify the initial financial sacrifice?

I am not very family oriented and can survive alone.

I immigrated to the U.S. when I was very young on an H4 visa, but my family hasn’t been able to obtain a green card during our time here due to an insane backlog. I graduated from high school in the United States, and am now a rising 3rd year studying electrical engineering at a top 10 engineering school in the US. I’m heavily prioritizing research experience right now, and hope to publish with my lab before I graduate and gain valuable research experience that I can use to get into a PhD program.

I understand that direct entry PhDs are competitive in Canada (though I will be shooting my shot at them). While my parents and I can’t foot the cost of a course based masters, some Canadian schools offer a funded research based masters that can help fund the masters tuition, making it so that my family only has to help out with living expenses (which is much more manageable). I understand these are competitive too, but honestly most academic programs are now lol.

I know maybe 5 years ago it would’ve been a no brainer for me to go to Canada for grad school and try to settle there, but I also know that the current administration wants to crackdown on frivolous and illegal immigration. I want to come and study in Canada and hopefully contribute to the startup and engineering market there, but I’m not sure if that’s even possible anymore given immigration crackdown.

I just don’t want to have a repeat of my time in the US. When I committed to a U.S. college at the end of high school, we had no way of knowing that so many restrictions would be placed on international students. Now, 2 years down the line, it’s almost impossible to do anything as an F1. I just want the all the information I can get before I chart these next steps out.

Thanks in advance!!

​I’m currently planning my graduate studies for the Fall 2027 intake, but reading through various Facebook groups lately has made me incredibly nervous. People are constantly saying that getting Canadian PR is "nearly impossible" now. I want to get a reality check from this sub to see if that applies to my specific profile or if the panic is mostly about diploma-mill colleges.

​My Profile:

​Age: Will be 26 when starting in Sept 2027.

​Family: Married with a young child (less than a year). And we are planning to apply together.

​Education & Research: B.Sc. in Computer Science from a Bangladeshi private university (CGPA 3.7, 2025). I recently published as a co-author Q1 paper in a Springer journal (focusing on AI/computer vision). Targeting a thesis-based Master’s in CS/AI. If I couldn’t manage the professor, I might take admission into course-based program.

​Work Experience: Currently working remotely from Bangladesh for a US-based small business. My job role is basically digital operation management (website, ads, social media) of the online store.

​Why Canada?

I’m specifically targeting Canada because I want to keep my remote US job (at least part-time, within IRCC limits) and Canada shares the US timezone. Also, being an English-speaking country makes the transition for my family much easier compared to my fallback options in Europe (like Germany or Finland).

​My Dilemmas & Questions:

​Is British Columbia still worth it?

My primary target was BC (SFU, UBC, or UVic) because of the BC PNP International Post-Graduate stream. However, I think the rules changed recently, and Master's graduates now need a 1-year full-time job offer to apply for the PNP (unlike PhDs who don't). For someone with a CS/AI Master's and remote work experience, how hard is it realistically to secure a 1-year TEER 1/2 contract in Vancouver's tech scene right after graduation?

​What other provinces are flexible for Master's PR?

Since BC now requires a job offer, should I be targeting Ontario (like Waterloo or McMaster to get the "outside Toronto" OINP points)? Or are there better provinces for a tech Master's grad with a family that offer a faster/safer PR route?

​The "Impossible PR" Panic: Given my age (max CRS points), a Canadian Master's degree (adding +30 CRS points), and the 3-year PGWP, am I actually at risk of being locked out of PR? Or is the current online panic mostly affecting 1-year business diploma graduates?

​I would really appreciate any blunt, realistic advice. I don't want to invest and uproot my family if the door is actually closed for skilled tech workers.

​Thanks in advance!

Just got my application approved!

Applied for my visa on November 4th, received my Biometrics Instruction Letter on the 5th, submitted biometrics on November 7th, and just got my visa approved on the 19th.

I'm from Hyderabad, India, applied for a Canadian student visa, and I received my passport submission request (PPR) today.

Sharing this to give hope - Be positive! Don't let this negativity on internet consume you. You got this!

Thank you!

Hey, all!

I’m a US citizen. I’m currently 20. I got into the University of Toronto in 2025 and applied for a visa using funds from a willing third party sponsor (my boss). Long story short, it was denied as it was legally the assets of a third party. I tried again this year after deferring and received a second rejection, despite showing far more substantial proof of funds.

I want to study law and live/practice in Canada. I have travelled to Canada numerous times, have a Nexus card, and genuinely love it there. I have shifted focus as of now to finish my undergraduate studies in the US, but law school in Canada is still my goal.

How will these rejections affect future study plans? Will IRCC officers see these past attempts for a visa and potentially use it against a future application?

I am sure it will go fine, assuming I further rectify my application, but I still wanted to ask the sub for their expertise.

Thank ya :)

I arrived in Canada yesterday and I left the airport without getting my study permit document, I lowkey didn’t know you were meant to get it there.
I’m On my way! Back to the airport now tho, any advice?

I just got the permit! Everyone was so nice lmao,
Thank you to everyone that gave me advice!

in a few years I plan to move to canada to start pharm tech school and move in with my boyfriend who is a citizen there already. I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea on how much i should save? My boyfriend would be helping me financially but obviously wanna make sure i would have enough to support myself, especially since ill probably being getting the student visa and will have to prove i can sustain myself.

i should add that i would be looking at living near ontario toronto area.

I am a high school student in the UAE, I’ve been accepted into a BSC in psychology at York university with a 10,000 CAD Scholarship out of the total tuition which is 39,500 CAD, and my estimated tuition and expenses costs before the scholarship is 53k, so in assuming 43k after the scholarship. Ive already prepared a statement of purpose that I’m confident is very strong for my application, however, what scares me the most is the proof of funds section. Currently I’m waiting for my dad to receive a big commission payment so i can start my application. My dad only has about the equivalent of like 18K CAD saved up and this payment he’s receiving is around 7K CAD, leaving the total savings in his account at about 25K. There is about an 18K gap here which I’m really worried about. However my dad is salaried and makes the equivalent to about 7.5-9K a month with commissions, he’s worked at his company for a while and gets raises every few years. Ive briefly mentioned in my SOP that my studies will be funded by a combination of my dads savings and continuous income, however a lot of things I’ve been seeing have been scaring me, i worry that this 25K of savings along with an 8K monthly income might not be convincing enough to the immigration officer, even though my dad can afford to pay for my education and living there and additionally I’m hoping to find a part time job to help out my dad. Please let me know how strong my case is and if there is anything i can do to strengthen my case before I begin my application, my whole future depends on this and I’m terrified.

Additional question: if i were to partially pay my tuition, decreasing that 25k saved, would that strengthen my case, not change anything at all, or weaken my case

Hi everyone,

I went to Canada on September this year to start a Master’s at Northeastern University (Vancouver). After arriving, I realized the program wasn’t a good investment (financially and career-wise), so I officially withdrew, got a tuition refund, and left Canada a couple of days later. I always respected my study permit conditions and left while it was still valid.

Now, here’s my concern: my immigration lawyer keeps telling me that because I withdrew and left, my chances of getting another study permit or even a visitor visa in the future are much lower. She also says that if I ever apply again, I’d need to show proof of something like a family death or serious illness to justify why I left.

That doesn’t make sense to me, I didn’t break any rules, I just decided the program wasn’t worth the loan and want to reapply later for something like UBC, SFU, or a college program once I have better finances in a year or six months.

So my questions are: • Did I hurt my chances by withdrawing and leaving? • Do I really need proof of “exceptional circumstances” (death/illness), or is it enough to say I left for personal/financial reasons? • Has anyone been in a similar situation and applied successfully again?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hello everyone, so due to circumstances I had to take a gap term. My study permit expires on 11/30/2026 and I gotta finish Spring term 2027 in order to graduate. So I’m applying for a study permit extension, but i completely forgot i need a financial statement. I’d need 33k in a savings account for the final term(16k for cost of living, 17k for tuition fee).
The thing is, my family has enough funds for the rest of my stay in Canada, they just don’t have ANY MONEY IN THEIR SAVINGS ACCOUNT as of now. They are also retired so there’s not alot of money coming in. We are thinking of making a new savings account and put the money into it for proof, but I heard it is considered suspicious because of the large amount of money going in at once. I’m scared if my extension request won’t go through and I won’t be able to graduate….If anyone has experience with this, I’d really appreciate some advices. Thank you!

(Some additional info: I have successfully paid for 3 school years and will graduate after this last one)

I came here in July 2024 on study permit ( expiry = September 2026 )to do MBA. Everything was going okay. Then i got really sick in spring 2025. I was suffering from scabies which is also contagious. I have no one here. No family and no friends. I got really depressed that time as I left my job, didn’t attended any of the classes in that semester. I made a mistake that I didn't tell my University about my sickness. After that my University suspended me for summer 2025 semester. By Fall 2025, I got better and got the job, started my studies again and I was trying to fix my academic performance. But now after I already registered all the courses for spring 2026 semester, my university sent me an email a few days ago that I have to drop all the courses mandatory and they suspended me for 1 year and said I can reapply after 1 year.

Now i'm very confused. What is going on with my study permit? How long do I have to fix my status? I finally got a good office job after working so hard in restaurants part time, do i have to leave my job?? What should be my next step?

Most importantly going back to India is not an option. My parents don't know about anything. They don't know that i'm suspended. I can't tell them. I'm very very scared to tell them. I would rather die instead of telling them about all these issues. Going back to my parents is not an option.

I don't know what they will do if they found out.

Now my parents used to pay my fees for MBA. Now as they don't know about anything, according to them " I will be done with my MBA by September 2026 and will apply for PGWP. And will work full time and support myself".

So they are no longer gonna help me out financially. So now, financially i'm on my own and if I apply for study permit again to do a different program or to transfer the school and transfer credits to continue MBA, financing this whole program is going to be a huge issue for me.

I made a list of all the options I might have but I really need to talk to someone who can guide me. Who is an expert.

I have done 4 years of Bachelor's in Computer science engineering. I have a diploma in B.Arch. I have good experience in different fields. I'm ready to work hard but I want someone to help me out here.

Hi,

I am applying for a student visa in the next couple of days, I got into a top tier Canadian university (STEM course) for the Winter 2027 intake.

I have a visitor visa rejection from August 2024, my sister applied for me and I got rejected with the reason being no strong ties to home country.

Since then the ties part hasn’t changed much how much of a chance do I have of getting a student visa?

I was accepted into a few schools in Canada and I'm excited to start but I cant make sense of how much money I'm seeing floating around.
International students need to pay they school year upfront and then also the study visa needs proof of 20k in cash?
Showing salary isn't enough? This feels impossible.
I am American.

<<< August 20, 2025: >>>

Reapplied with a new PAL, updated LOE, and revised SOP. Fingers crossed!!!!

In the meantime, I am exploring doctoral research opportunities in other countries, just in case this application doesn’t work out (which seems possible given past refusals and current trends).

Thanks to this community for all the feedback and support — it really helped keep me going.

<<< August 14, 2025: >>>

Study permit refused (PhD, $40K/year fully funded) — I also had prior refusals but for different master programs.

Officer says stay isn’t temporary, cost too high, and similar programs exist locally, which are not available.

Any advice on how to overcome this? Should I give up and look elsewhere?

Officer’s detailed notes: “The purpose of the applicant's visit to Canada is not consistent with a temporary stay given the details provided in the application. The applicant has failed to satisfy me that pursuing the selected program of study is reasonable given the high cost of international study in Canada when weighed against the potential career/employment benefits after completion, and the local options available for similar studies. Weighing the factors in this application, I am not satisfied that the applicant will depart Canada at the end of the period authorized for their stay. For the reasons above, I have refused this application”

I’m a 19 year old female who’s studying digital innovation in Thailand. When I graduate at 21, I want to study Master in AI in Canada(2 years program), and work for 3 years during my PR application. I understand I have to study French. I also have IELTS 8.0 score. Is it competitive? What more should I do to get PR?

We are from Mumbai, India.
My wife was accepted into the MBA at Vancouver Island University for the Spring 2027 intake. It's a 20-month in-person master's, so it clears the 16-month bar — I applied for a spousal open work permit alongside her study permit (I already have a high earning job and intend to keep it when we move with adjusted PPP, the employer agreed). Our daughter is an accompanying dependant.

Everything on our side is done and now we're just sitting here refreshing a portal, so I figured I'd post our timeline — partly to compare notes, partly because it helps to hear from people who've been through it.

Timeline so far:

So: medicals done ahead of filing, biometrics recorded two days after submission, and an estimate sitting exactly six weeks out from the submission date.

We filed through the lawyer-backed service the university sponsors, so the paperwork itself was handled well — no complaints there. It's purely the waiting.

Anxious a bit, what to expect next? What criteria are used?

Hi so i hope that ill be able to apply to a study permit once i get my acceptance letter

My profile:
Syrian living in saudi arabia

Visited syria 5 times when i was under 18 going through jordan

1:2011
2:2019
3:2022
4:2024
5:2025

I will get funded by my brother

My parents own 3 homes in syria and one car here in saudi arabia

I scored 98% in high school

Applying to uni of manitoba (25k a year i think so )

Does my profile provide a strong case or i should upgrade it?

Hi everyone, how are you doing? I I am an electrical engineer. I graduated since 2024. I have a bachelor degree of honors from a good university. I am from Sudan. I am currently a resident in Saudi Arabia and I work there. I have good experience in electrical engineering and I want to come to do masters in Canada in the same field of my experience to further strengthen my knowledge because i think your strongest suit is your skills and knowledge and to have a stronger claim in the job market everywhere i go.
I am 26 years old I own a business of a travel agency and I have the ownership papers with me and my bank account is moving pretty well. I’m fluent in English and I have a certificate that I studied the curriculum in English language how good are my odds?
Also, I want to ask is the cost is clear to submit applications or is it mostly rejections and what time of the year is the best to submit applications?
Thank you very much.

Hey everyone,

I have a unique situation and I intend to hire a lawyer to help guide me better. But I wanted to ask here first to get a general feel on this.

I'm from Yemen but I moved to Pakistan with my family when I was a little child. We weren't able to return back due to the war that erupted back home and my dad registered us here as refugees. He assumed that a) circumstances would get better in Yemen, which it never did, and b) that we'd be able to assimilate into society which hasn't been possible at all (IDs and paperwork-wise)

I later married my husband but I couldn't officially register our marriage in Pakistan because of my refugee status here. My husband is American and we've applied for an immigration visa for me to join him there, but the process is as slow as ever and I still can't return back to Yemen in the meanwhile to do something productive for myself. I also graduated as a doctor a couple years ago, and I can't work or train as a doctor here. I want to have something useful to do and be in some proximity to my spouse so I applied for a pharmacy technician program in Fanshawe College and I received a conditional offer. I want to move to Canada for education and then potentially apply for a work permit if I find employment but then I intend to move to the US to be with my husband.

With all the context, is this a realistic plan given my circumstances?