You must apply for a study permit extension from within Canada through an IRCC secure account. You must apply to extend your study permit before your current one expires, but we strongly recommend applying six months prior to expiry. 

Visit the IRCC website to review application processing times and learn more about the study permit extension process.

Review the application document checklist on the IRCC website.

Verification of enrollment letter: IRCC requires a letter which confirms your enrollment at Trent University and states your anticipated graduation date. This informs IRCC of the required length of your study permit extension. 

• If you have a new Letter of Acceptance for a new program, you will provide IRCC with your new Letter of Acceptance (prior to its expiration date). 

Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL): A PAL is required if you are applying to restore your student status. Click here to determine if you need a PAL, and contact our International Student Advising team at internationaladvising@trentu.ca for support with your next steps. 

Proof of financial support: Visit the IRCC website for all details about providing proof of financial support. 

• We recommend including your Trent Account Statement if you have made any payments to Trent (including your deposit). View a summary of your payments in myTrent > Finances> My Account > Account Statement.
• If you have more than one source of financial support, include a cover letter to summarize for IRCC. Download a template here.
• If you are receiving parental or sponsorship support, include:
  • A letter from them confirming their commitment to covering your academic and living expenses while in Canada.
  • Proof of funds available to support your studies. If your program is longer than one year, we recommend including proof of employment from your parents.
  • Proof of relationship to your sponsor.
  • Copy of your birth certificate (or passport if it states parental information).
  • Copy of passport from your sponsor
  • Letter of Explanation
• Combine all into one document (max file size is 4 MB). 

Digital copy of your current passport: Include a copy of all information pages, and any page with stamps, visas, or markings (from any country/territory). 

If taking photos of your documents, insert them into one word document (download template here) and save as a PDF. If you have a cancelled passport with valid immigration documents, include copies of this passport as well. 

Your Canadian immigration documents cannot be issued beyond the length of your valid passport. You may need to renew your passport prior to extending your study permit. 

Digital photo: Visit the IRCC website to determine the photo specifications. 

Application form: Change Conditions, Extend my Stay or Remain in Canada as a Student (IMM5709) form 

Biometrics (if applicable): May be required if one of the following situations is applicable to you if: 

• Your biometrics are not valid, or
• you have not completed within the last 10 years for an application to come to Canada, or
• Your biometrics will expire before you complete your study program.

Check the validity of biometrics here. 

Immigration medical exam: You are required to submit an immigration medical exam if you have lived outside of Canada in certain countries or territories for more than six months in the last year, or if you intend on working with vulnerable peoples (e.g. children, elderly, sick). 

You may be exempt from a medical exam if you meet IRCC criteria and can provide a copy of your previous medical exam. Learn more here. 

If you do not complete the exam, your work permit will have conditions which will not allow you to work in these types of jobs. 

Dependent family member documents: If your family members are already in Canada, you can include their applications to extend their status in Canada when you apply to extend your study permit. 

Letter of Explanation:  A Letter of Explanation is required to explain any gap(s) in your studies, part-time enrollment, or anything atypical about your academic progression when applying for a study permit extension or post-graduation work permit. 

Upload your Letter of Explanation under “Client Information” in the “Optional Documents” section of your online document checklist on your IRCC Secure Account. 

Find a template Letter of Explanation here. 

IMM5709 application form: See next step for instructions on how to download and complete this form.

• Complete the IMM5709 application form. Download Adobe Reader (free version) to open and fill the form.
• Do not use any special characters in the form.
• Box 1: Include your UCI (Unique Client Identifier or Client ID). This eight- or ten-digit number can be found on your study permit. Type the numbers only, and do not include hyphens (-).
• Personal Details
  • Current country or territory of residence: Canada
  • Status: Student
  • To: Current study permit expiration date
  • From: Initial study permit issue date
• Languages
  • If you have completed an English/French language proficiency test, answer “Yes.”
• National Identity Document
  • Do not enter passport information. If you select “Yes”, provide the issue date and/or expiry date as applicable to your document.
• Coming into Canada
  • Date and place of your original entry to Canada: The date you first entered Canada for any purpose. Typically, this date coincides with your study permit issue date. For place, indicate the city and province that you first entered Canada during your previous entry to Canada (port-of-entry).
  • Most recent entry into Canada: If you have left and re-entered Canada (including flag poling), you will need to provide the most recent re-entry date and port of entry information in this section.
  • If applicable, provide the document number of the most recent study permit issued to you. This a nine-digit number in black writing at the top right of your study permit starting with F (e.g. F012345678).
• Details of Intended Study
  • Trent’s Designated Learning Institution Number (DLI #) is O19395164223. Note that the first character of the DLI # is the letter O, not zero.
  • “Cost of my studies” includes:
    • Tuition: The estimated cost of your tuition for the year.
    • Room and board: Living expenses.
    • Funds available for my stay (CAD): Total of tuition and room and board.
  • If your program has a required work component, you can apply for a Co-op Work Permit.
• Employment
  • If you do not have any work experience, state your current occupation as “Student”, and your facility name as “Trent University”.
  • If you have a long employment history that does not fit into the application form, provide the extra information on an Explanation Letter and upload it to the “Client Information” section of the IRCC portal.
• Background Information
  • 2c): Answer “Yes”. You have already applied for your original study permit outside of Canada, and potentially a study permit extension and entry visa application.
  • Summarize previous immigration applications in Box D (e.g. In 2023, I applied for a study permit and a visa to study at Trent University). 

Once complete, confirm that all information is accurate. Save the completed form to your computer and upload it to your application through your IRCC secure account.

To start your online application, create an IRCC secure account or sign in to an existing account through GCKey or Sign-in Partner. 

Once logged in, scroll to “Start an application" section and click "Apply to come to Canada". 

You will be asked to enter a “Personal Reference Code”.  If you do not already have a code, navigate to "I do not have a Personal Reference Code" and click on "Visitor visa, study and/or work permit" and begin the questionnaire to determine your eligibility. 

After answering the questionnaire truthfully, you will be provided with a list of applications you may be eligible to Submit.  Select "Study permit (in Canada)" and click “Continue” to complete the questionnaire and populate your student checklist.

Follow the answer guide below when completing the eligibility questionnaire.

After selecting the application for "Study permit (in Canada)" you will answer a series of questions to populate your personalized document checklist. Your document checklist is where you upload the documents relevant to the application. 

Follow the answer guide below when populating your personalized document checklist.

Upload the required documents into the space provided in your Document Checklist. 

• Passport
• Letter of Acceptance or Letter of Enrollment/Registration
• Proof of Means of Financial Support
• Digital Photo

Once required documents are uploaded successfully, a blue “Next” button will appear below the fees. 

• Click “Next”.
• Agree to share your information with the IRCC.
• Type your full name as a digital signature.
• Complete the verification question.
• Click “Transmit your documents to IRCC”. 

You will then proceed to the payment process. Once you have paid the fees, you will receive a confirmation of payment. We recommend printing the receipt for your records. 

• Work permit fee: $255.00 CAD
• Biometrics fee: $85.00 CAD if applicable 

To ensure your submission was successful, log back into your IRCC secure account and navigate to the “Applications Submitted” section. Here, you can click on your application to review status updates.

Acknowledgment of receipt (AOR): After submission, you’ll receive an (AOR) confirming IRCC has received your application. 

Maintained Status: After submission, prior to the expiry date, you will have maintained status after the expiry date of your current study permit. This means that you can continue your studies and work as per the conditions of your original study permit until you obtain a decision on your new application from IRCC. Do not leave Canada while awaiting your new status document, as you will lose your maintained status. 

Processing times: Study permit extensions typically take four to six months to process. Visit the IRCC website to view current processing times. 

Mailing address: If you need to update your mailing address prior to your study permit extension application being approved, complete the ”Change or update your contact information” form on the IRCC website.

Once a decision has been made on your study permit extension application, IRCC will notify you through your IRCC secure account. Your new study permit will be mailed to the address indicated in your application form (IMM5709). 

Once your study permit extension application is approved, you may need to apply for a new entry visa if you are from a visa requiring country.

Once you obtain the hard copy of your study permit, you can apply to extend the validity on your Social Insurance Number (SIN) at the nearest Service Canada Centre.