Applying for a study visa itself it not a crime nor is it considered false pretense. However, an applicant must satisfy the officer he/she will leave at the end of their authorized stay. Did the friend have an admission letter and adequate funds to pay tuition? If the officer did not believe he was a bona fide student, it would be grounds for rejection.
As I understand it:
- friend had a work permit which was due to expire soon
- he applied for CEC before work permit expired. This does NOT give "implied status".
- it appears friend eventually received AOR and applied for BOWP; was his work permit still valid at this time? If work permit had expired, the BOWP will be rejected eventually.
- to retain legal status, friend applied for a study permit, thinking this will give "implied status". Not possible because this is a change in conditions(i.e. worker to student).
- If friend did not apply for BOWP before current work permit expired, he was expected to stop working once it expired. Did he continue to work?
- officer who rejected study permit application, could probably see that he no longer had legal status to remain in Canada, hence the voluntary departure letter.
What to do:
- assuming he did not apply for BOWP or any other type of work permit before his current work permit expired, he did not have legal status from the time it expired.
- has it been 90 days since work permit expired?
a) if yes, he has no option but to obey the voluntary departure and check in with CBSA, to ensure they are aware he left Canada.
b) if no, then he still has time to apply for restoration status AND change conditions to visitor OR restoration AND change conditions to worker(if he has a LMO).
I do not know whether one can apply for restoration AND a BOWP, might be a good question to confirm with the CIC call centre or immigration lawyer.