Two out of three study permit applications were refused last year. The files that made it had the program, the money and the story straight before anything was paid. That is the file we build with you, and we stay useful after you land.
Canada has capped study permits three years running. For 2026, IRCC expects to issue up to 408,000 permits, with 155,000 going to new students. Most new applicants need a Provincial or Territorial Attestation Letter before applying; from February 2026, files missing one are returned unprocessed. One meaningful opening: master's and doctoral students at public institutions no longer need an attestation letter as of January 1, 2026.
Approval is not random. In 2025, university undergraduate programs were approved at roughly 52% and university postgraduate at 47%, while college programs ran near 27% and vocational programs near 11%. Every acceptance letter is verified directly with the school, and the funds bar is real: first-year tuition plus travel plus $22,895 in living costs for a single applicant, with a paper trail for where the money came from.
If your program is below a bachelor's degree, check the work-permit list before paying tuition: the PGWP field-of-study list is frozen at 1,107 programs for 2026, and many private-college diplomas are not on it. Degree graduates are exempt from the field-of-study requirement but still need CLB 7 language for the PGWP (CLB 5 for college programs).
Sources: IRCC notices and allocations, ICEF Monitor approval data, StatCan tuition tables, Rentals.ca. Funds thresholds update annually; verify on canada.ca.
Confirm the school is a Designated Learning Institution and, for below-degree programs, that the program is on the frozen PGWP list. This check happens before any deposit leaves your account.
Apply to programs that logically follow your education. Your acceptance letter will be verified directly with the school, so it has to be real and stay valid.
Provincial attestation letter through your school, unless exempt. Funds assembled with a clean origin story: tuition plus travel plus $22,895, via bank history, a Canadian GIC, loans or documented sponsorship.
$150 permit fee, $85 biometrics within 30 days, a study plan that ties the program to your background, and a file with zero internal contradictions.
Your permit prints at the border. Before leaving the airport, confirm the off-campus work condition is on it. Your first-week plan is already in your pocket.
SIN, bank account, phone plan, health coverage, transit card and a housing plan that survived contact with the real rental market. Then you just go to class.
This is where most platforms stop and where Bordrs keeps going. A province-aware arrival plan, generated from your file.
Free at Service Canada with the work condition on your permit. Needed before any paycheque.
Student accounts need your passport, permit and enrolment proof. We tell you exactly which documents to carry in.
A Canadian SIM and number, because everything from banking to housing runs on SMS codes.
Province-specific: BC's plan has a waiting period with a monthly student fee, Ontario students use mandatory university coverage instead. Your plan matches your province.
Average asking rent was about $2,008 in March 2026. We map realistic student options near your campus before you arrive.
Full-time enrolment, off-campus work capped at 24 hours a week during terms. Your school reports enrolment twice a year; keep the file clean.
A study plan that reads immigration-first. The classic refusal: an officer not convinced you will leave when required. Your plan has to tie the program to your background and a credible path home.
Program-background mismatch. A generic one-year diploma below your existing credentials is the profile officers refused most. Vocational programs were approved at roughly 11% in 2025.
Money without a story. Exactly-threshold balances and large unexplained deposits fail. Funds need history and an origin.
Tuition paid before the work-permit check. Many private-college diplomas are not on the frozen PGWP list. Graduates discover there is no work permit at the end. Check first, always.
Agent shortcuts. Every acceptance letter is verified with the school, and misrepresentation, even by your agent, carries a 5-year ban.