Study Permit Conditions: What You Must Do to Keep Your Status

Last verified: July 6, 2026 · Official source: canada.ca — Your conditions as a study permit holder

General information, not legal or immigration advice. For advice on your situation, consult a licensed RCIC or immigration lawyer.

The bottom line

A study permit isn't just permission to enter Canada — it's a document with conditions attached, and you have to keep meeting them the whole time you're a student. IRCC has been clear about this: the rules say you must be enrolled and you must be actively pursuing your studies. If you stop meeting your conditions, you can lose your student status and your permit, be asked to leave Canada, and — in many cases — have to wait 6 months before you can apply for a new study permit, work permit, or visitor visa from inside Canada.

The good news: the conditions are straightforward, and if you're genuinely studying you're almost certainly already meeting them. This guide walks through exactly what they are, so there are no surprises.

The conditions you must meet

As a study permit holder, you must:

Be enrolled at a DLI (unless you're exempt — see below).
Show you're actively pursuing your studies (unless exempt) — this has a specific meaning, covered in the next section.
Apply to extend your study permit to change post-secondary schools. Since November 8, 2024, you can't just switch to a new DLI on your existing permit — you have to apply for a new one first.
End your studies if you no longer meet the requirements of being a student.
Leave Canada when your permit expires (unless you've applied to extend it in time — see maintained status).

Other conditions printed on your permit

Your physical study permit may list extra conditions specific to you. You must follow these too. They can include:

your level of studies
whether you're allowed to work on or off campus
whether you need to report for medical procedures
whether you're allowed to travel within Canada
the date you must stop studying

⚠️ Read your own permit carefully — the conditions on it override any general assumption. If it says you're not authorized to work, you're not, no matter what a friend on a different permit can do.

What "actively pursuing your studies" actually means

This is the condition students most often worry about. IRCC considers you to be actively pursuing your studies when you are:

enrolled — full-time or part-time — during each academic semester (regularly scheduled breaks, like summer, don't count against you), and
making progress toward completing your program's courses, and
not taking an authorized leave longer than 150 days from your program.

If you're studying in Quebec, check the province's own full-time study requirements as well.

The 150-day authorized leave rule

Life happens, and IRCC allows for it. You can take a leave of up to a maximum of 150 days from your program and still be considered to be actively pursuing your studies — if the leave is authorized. You don't need to tell IRCC in advance, but if they ask, you must be able to prove the leave was authorized and was 150 days or shorter.

A leave counts as authorized if:

your school authorized it for medical reasons or pregnancy, a family emergency, or the death or serious illness of a family member (or any other reason your school authorizes)
your school closed permanently or because of a strike
you changed schools
you or your school deferred your program start date — in which case you must start the next semester, even if that's sooner than 150 days, and get an updated letter of acceptance

Important: you cannot work — on or off campus — during an authorized leave, even if your study permit says you're allowed to work. (The one exception: if your school is temporarily closed because of a strike and you're normally authorized to work, you can keep working for up to 150 days.)

Changing schools is a condition too

Because "apply to extend your study permit to change post-secondary schools" is one of your conditions, moving to a new DLI without first applying for a new study permit is a breach of your conditions — not just paperwork you can catch up on later. Since January 22, 2025, changing schools also means you generally need a new, valid PAL / TAL unless you're exempt.

If you're planning a school change, sort out the new permit before you start at the new institution. (Note: existing permit holders extending at the same school and same level of study are exempt from the cap/PAL process.)

How IRCC checks that you're complying

Your DLI reports on your enrolment and compliance to IRCC through the designated learning institution portal. On top of that, an immigration officer can ask you to prove you're meeting your conditions in two situations:

as part of a random check, or
if they have reason to believe you're not meeting your conditions.

If they ask, you may need to provide:

official documents from your school confirming your enrolment status, the reason and start date of any leave, or the date you withdrew, were suspended or dismissed, or stopped studying
official transcripts
references from people who know you
proof from a medical professional confirming a medical leave
a document confirming your school closed
any other document the officer finds relevant

The practical takeaway: keep your records. Save your enrolment letters, transcripts, and any leave-approval emails from your school. If you're ever asked, having them ready turns a stressful request into a five-minute reply.

What happens if you don't meet your conditions

If IRCC finds you haven't met your study permit conditions, they may ask you to leave Canada. You might also have to wait 6 months before you can apply for a new study permit — or for a visitor visa or work permit from inside Canada.

And it can follow you: the outcome of future applications can be affected if you don't follow your conditions, or if you work or study in a way IRCC hasn't authorized. This is why an "unauthorized" school switch or an accidental full semester off can matter well beyond the moment.

Who's exempt from some conditions

A limited group of study permit holders don't have to prove they're enrolled at a DLI or actively pursuing studies — for example, people who have made a refugee claim in Canada that hasn't been decided, recognized refugees and protected persons, accredited representatives of foreign governments or international organizations and their families, and certain family members of people already living in Canada on a study permit, work permit, or long-enough temporary resident permit. (The full list is on the official page.)

Even if you're exempt from those two conditions, you still must follow every other condition printed on your permit.

What if my permit is about to expire?

If you want to keep studying, apply to extend your study permit before it expires — ideally at least 30 days ahead. If you apply on time and stay in Canada, you're on maintained status and can keep studying under the same conditions until IRCC decides. If your permit has already expired, you may be able to apply to restore your status within 90 days — but you must stop studying until it's restored.

How to stay compliant — a quick checklist

Stay enrolled every semester (breaks are fine) and keep making academic progress.
Don't take an unauthorized leave, and keep any leave to 150 days or less.
Don't work during an authorized leave, even if your permit normally allows it.
Apply for a new study permit before changing DLIs — don't start at the new school first.
Only work within what your permit authorizes.
Keep your documents: enrolment letters, transcripts, leave approvals.
Extend on time — before your permit expires.

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General information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules change — always confirm the current requirements on canada.ca and consult a licensed RCIC or immigration lawyer for advice on your situation.