Do I need a visa to enter Canada ?

Whether or not you need a visa to enter Canada depends on the country you are from. Please visit www.cic.gc.ca for information specific to your country.

If I want to study for less than 6 months, do I need a study permit?

If you are sure that you will study for less than 6 months in an ESL/FSL (English/French as a Second Language) program then you do not need to have a study permit. However, if you think that you may want to study for longer than 6 months, you should apply for a study permit. You may also apply for a study permit for less than 6 months. Please visit www.cic.gc.ca for more details.

What if I am not sure if I want to study for more or less than 6 months?

If you do not know right now if you will want to study for longer than six months, it is best, if possible, to apply for a study permit. This is more flexible and allows you to extend your visa more easily and more often. Please visit www.cic.gc.ca for more details.

Remember you may not need to register for 6 months to apply for a study permit. In many countries you can register for only 12 weeks (3 months) and apply for a study permit.

If I come to Canada with a temporary resident (visitor) Visa, can I change to a study permit after I arrive in Canada ?

It is very difficult to change a visitor permit to a study permit. Applications for study permits have to be made at a Canadian embassy and they are all located outside of Canada . Therefore, to make an application for a study permit, you have to leave the country.

We do not recommend planning to make the change after you have arrived. It is much better to make the application for the study permit from your home country. Then you have the option to study longer if you wish, simply by extending your study permit.

Can I extend my visa easily once I am in Canada ?

Once more, please visit www.cic.gc.ca for complete and detailed information. Rules are different for different countries and you should carefully research the rules that apply to your country before making any decisions.

Generally, if you enter Canada with a study permit, you have 2 choices for extensions. You can register in another program (either with GEOS or another school) and apply to extend your study permit. Or you can choose to extend your visa as a visitor and therefore would not be required to register in a school. You can usually only extend one time as a visitor.

If you enter Canada with a visitor permit, you can usually apply to extend it at least one time, but please remember that you will not be able to study for more than 6 months, even if you get a new visa for a total of 1 year.

GEOS schools offer assistance completing visa extension applications.

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