Use best practices as a designated learning institution
Fraud prevention
To discourage fraudulent applications, educational institutions should not offer financial rewards to education agents or international student advisors for submitting study permit applications.
Letters of acceptance
International students are required to submit a letter of acceptance from a designated learning institution (DLI) when submitting a study permit application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). A template letter of acceptance (PDF, 73.68KB) is available for DLIs. Using this template facilitates the study permit application process.
DLIs at the post-secondary level are encouraged to include the DLI number (which starts with the letter “O”) on all letters of acceptance. This will make it easier for students to complete their study permit application.
Keep up to date on IRCC policies and procedures
Stay up to date on study permit and visa requirements. Check for updates, or subscribe via RSS feed to have all the updates sent to you.
IRCC instruction manuals are available online. They detail how IRCC processes all types of applications, including study permits.
Authorized immigration representatives
An education agent or international student advisor who advises on immigration matters related to student recruitment, such as applying for a study permit, re-entry visa or status extension, must be an authorized immigration representative.
An authorized immigration representative must be a member in good standing of one of the following organizations:
- law society of a province or territory (this includes paralegals and students-at-law if they act under the supervision of a lawyer or, in Quebec, a notary)
- Chambre des notaires du Québec
- College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC)