Next steps for admitted students
From accepting your offer to building a budget, to choosing where you’ll live and registering for courses, learn what lies ahead.
Apply for a study permit
International students need a valid study permit to attend UBC. Getting a permit can take several months, so be sure to begin the process as soon as you can.
Next steps for admitted students
From accepting your offer to building a budget, to choosing where you’ll live and registering for courses, learn what lies ahead.
Who needs to apply
You will need to apply for a study permit if:
- You are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
- Your UBC program of studies is more than 6 months long.
Special instructions apply if:
- You are under 19 years of age.
- You are attending high school in Canada on a study permit.
- You are coming to UBC from a Canadian college or university.
- You are a United States citizen, permanent resident of the United States, or a resident of Greenland or St. Pierre and Miquelon.
- You are applying from Bhutan, India, or Nepal.
When to apply
You need to be admitted to UBC and receive your letter of admission from UBC before you can apply for a study permit. You also need a Provincial Attestation Letter from the province of British Columbia. Some international students may be exempt from requiring a Provincial Attestation Letter.
You can apply for your study permit as soon as you are admitted to UBC, receive your UBC letter of admission, pay your deposit, and receive your Provincial Attestation Letter.
How to apply
Study permits are issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the government department that handles immigration. As an international student, you’ll either need to extend your existing study permit from inside of Canada or apply for a new study permit from outside of Canada.
Depending on your country of citizenship, you may need a medical exam or you may need to provide biometric information in addition to supporting documentation.
Study permit steps
Verify your personal information with UBC. Log in to the Applicant Service Centre, click Edit Profile and select Contact Summary to confirm that your name matches the name on your passport and that your home address and date of birth are correct. You can update your address in the system if needed. To update your name or date of birth, email ubc.pal@ubc.ca.
Accept your offer of admission and pay your deposit.
If you are applying for a study permit from outside of Canada, wait for UBC to send you your BC Provincial Attestation Letter in about 3 business days. Check your email account that UBC has on record to get your BC Provincial Attestation Letter. If you are extending your study permit from inside of Canada, you don’t need a Provincial Attestation Letter and you can go to Step 4. You can confirm that you’re exempt from requiring a Provincial Attestation Letter on the IRCC website.
Download your letter of admission from UBC. Log in to the Applicant Service Centre, click Admissions, and select Letter of Admission. You will need both your offer of admission and your Provincial Attestation Letter in your study permit application.
Follow the steps to apply. If you are an international student applying from outside of Canada you will need to apply for an initial study permit for UBC Okanagan or UBC Vancouver. If you are an international student applying from inside of Canada you will need to follow the steps to apply for a study permit extension at UBC Okanagan or UBC Vancouver and be sure to review the Important Considerations section.
Contact an advisor
Only certain people can legally provide Canadian immigration advice. UBC’s international student advisors are authorized to provide immigration support and can help you through applying for study permits, free of charge. They can answer a wide range of questions about immigration advising, health insurance, and general transition support. If you decide to hire someone outside of UBC to help you, make sure they are authorized.