Hi @Naturgrl,Changed in May 2021. It is right in the first paragraph. Actively studying means you must attend the school on your study permit (Semester or year). IRCC has decided to close the loop hole where students get admission to a university (expensive) and then come to Canada and change to a college program (cheaper). You can search the forum and see students who haven’t been able to change their permits once in Canada and had to apply for a new ones.
Before you change your school or program, you must meet all the conditions of your study permit. This means you must be:
- enrolled at a designated learning institution (DLI) and
- actively studying while you’re in Canada
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/change-schools.html
Let us step back a bit and review the specific case that this issued was tied to.
1. Applicant used DLI ‘A’ to get her Temporary Resident Visa (TRV).
2. Applicant now wants to switch to DLI ‘B’ before boarding her flight to Canada.
3. The TRV allows applicant to fly into and reside in Canada. It does not allow or permit her to study.
4. Applicant will be issued a study permit at the Canadian border based on the LOA she presents to the CBSA officer.
5. If she presents LOA from DLI ‘A’ she will be issued a study permit accordingly, and if she presents LOA from DLI ‘B’ she will be issued a study permit accordingly.
6. She may be asked why she has chosen to change the DLI before coming into Canada, her response can be ‘it is more suited to my career goals and prospective offers back in my home country’ and not ‘because it is a cheaper school’.
7. No CBSA officer will ask her to go and apply for another study permit, because she does not even have one in the first place, she only has a TRV.
This has been done for 1 of my clients in the past.
Again, nobody here is a CBSA officer we just sharing our experiences perhaps it may help or encourage others. Anyone using information here must do their own research and due diligence.
But immigration issues are never black and white. In my 7-8 years of doing this, I have applied for people who I felt would not be approved, and I told them before hand, and we were all shocked they got approval. I have applied for people with excellent travel history, more than sufficient funds, whom I thought their cases were a slam dunk, only for them to be refused. So it’s not always black and white, the officers have some room to show discretion outside of the rules.
All the best.
Omofar
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