International Students in Canada: Changing Schools

International students in Canada, their college, university or other program may change, but they must notify Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

In early July, Canadian immigration officials reminded international students of that obligation and explained how to notify Ottawa of such changes.

“Finally a clear message that students must comply with their agreements study permit conditions before you change schools,” a Canadian commented on Twitter.

“Too many people got off the plane and changed programs. What was the point of writing a letter of intent if they could change as soon as they arrived?

Of course, international students can still change programs or schools – their Designated Learning Institution (DLI) – once they are actively studying in Canada, but immigration officials should be made aware of this.

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“You must contact us if you are a post-secondary student changing schools (or have a co-op). work permit and you have changed post-secondary school to another co-op program or you need to change the terms of your study permit,” the IRCC writes on its website.

Making that simple change to their accounts is a free service.

The Immigration Service of Canada may sometimes ask people with a study permit to confirm their student status.

“If you have a study permit, you may receive an email from us. The email address ends with @cic.gc.ca. You must follow the instructions in that email, by the date indicated, to confirm that you are enrolled and actively studying in Canada,” the IRCC notes.

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When an international student changes schools, the college or university reports him or her to the IRCC as no longer registered to study there.

Failure to notify Canadian Immigration Officers when transferring from one school to another is considered a violation of study permit terms by the IRCC and may result in deportation and refusal work permits or study permits in the future.

Avoiding these unpleasant consequences is as easy as going online and submitting a new letter of acceptance using the IRCC web form and paying all fees for a new application.

“You don’t need a representative to change your DLI in your online account, even if you initially used one to apply for your study permit. You just need the details of the study permit application,” the IRCC notes.

That means that an international student who wants to inform the IRCC about a change of school will need:

• an online account;
• his or her study permit number, which begins with the letter “S” at the top right of the permit;
• the new school’s DLI number, which can be found on the list of DLIs;
• the student’s new student identification number, which can be found on the letter of acceptance sent by the new school, and;
• the start date at the new school.

The process of notifying the IRCC of a school change can be completed online

Here’s how to notify the IRCC of a school change.

The student must first log in to his or her online account. Next, the student clicks on “DLI Number Transfer” under the “Designated Learning Institution for Student Transfer” section.

Once that is done, the student enters his or her student permit application number and clicks “Search for my application”.

At this point in the process, the international student may be asked to provide further details about his or her original study permit application for identification purposes.

The next step is to enter the new school’s DLI number, the international student’s new student ID number, and the start date at that new school. Then click on ‘Send transfer’.

“Check the details of your transfer,” the IRCC suggests. “If all information is correct, click ‘Confirm Transfer’.”

The system sends the international student a confirmation that the application has been completed.

“This confirms that you have informed us that you have changed post-secondary schools,” the IRCC notes. “Click ‘Go to main account page’ to return to your account. You can now log out.”

International students with valid study permits do not need to change or apply for a new permit if they only move between school levels, including:

• elementary to middle school;
• high school to post-secondary;
• post-secondary to high school, or;
• any other movement between school levels.

But if a study permit is about to expire, the international student must of course apply for an extension.

“If your permit has already expired, you must restore your status as a student when you apply for the renewal of your study permit,” the IRCC notes.

“You must apply within 90 days of loss to restore your status. You cannot continue or resume your studies until you are a student again and we have extended your study permit.”

International high school students can only transfer to other DLI high schools,

And those studying in the French-speaking province of Quebec must provide a certificate of issue of a Québec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ).

“You must contact the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) if you are already studying in Quebec and want to change: educational institution; program, (or) level of study,” notes the IRCC.