Won't be getting my study permit in time - is it all over?!

[Mumfi]

I've been accepted to a university in Montréal as part of an exchange programme. I made a terrible mistake though in that I didn't realize until yesterday that applying for CAQ required sending in photo and signature. And delayed CAQ means delayed study permit.

Is there ANY way of getting around the requirement of a study permit at entry? What if I travel to Canada early as a tourist and apply for it within Canada? Travel to the London ambassy from where I will apply for it? Any sort of urgent processing available? ANYTHING?

Have I made my life's greatest mistake or is there light at the end of the tunnel?

Thank you in advance.

 

[scylla]

You can only apply for a study permit at the port of entry if you are American (i.e. hold a US passport). Traveling to the London embassy won't help or expedite anything (you won't even get in the front door). And there is no such thing as urgent processing for study permits.

Sure - you can enter Canad as a tourist and then apply for the study permit. However the application will still have to be sent to the visa office outside of Canada for processing. Also, you won't be able to start studying until you have an approved work permit in hand (if you start studying earlier, you'll be studying illegally). So I don't see any benefit in traveling to Canada earlier as a visitor.

There's really nothing you can do but follow the process and wait.

 

[Mumfi]

Then I'm pretty much screwed. I can't believe it all came down to this after 6 months of preparing. FML so f hard.