Goodday,I applied for a study permit while inside Canada, and I recently got an approval for it. What I did was to submit my application by mail to the Los Angeles VAC. Like you, my visitor visa will expire while my study permit application is ongoing so I applied for a visitor visa extension as well. You will have to send your passport when you apply for a study permit, as this is the required process by the Los Angeles Visa Office. Ensure that you have another valid government ID other than your passport in case you are asked for a medical exam as part of your application. If you don't have another ID, ensure that you have a certified true copy to present to the doctor when the time comes.
After you received your study permit did you have to leave Canada and reenter at a port of entry in order to "ACTIVATE" your study permit?Because there is a whole procedure that needs to be done at a POE in order to start the study permit.How did you go about this since you were already in Canada when you received the study permit.