Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations
Last verified: June 2026 · Source: justice.gc.ca
(1)A foreign national may not enter Canada to study without first obtaining a study permit.
Exception
(2)Subsection (1) does not apply to a foreign national who is authorized under section 188 or 189 to study in Canada without a study permit.
Justice Laws is the authoritative version. If this copy and it ever differ, Justice Laws wins.
Each of these is its own section of the Regulations, numbered after section 9.
What that means
When you apply online, you must use the channel the government sets up for it. Email will not do. Neither will a scanner app or some other channel you like better. Everything filed that way travels as one package. The forms, the supporting documents and the proof you paid all go through the same system.
The law says
(1)Despite section 10, when an application, request or claim is made, a document or information is submitted electronically, or a signature by electronic means is provided, it must be made, submitted or provided using the electronic means that is made available or specified by the Minister for that purpose.
Supporting documents for electronic applications
(2)When an application, request or claim is made by electronic means, any required information, documents or evidence of payment required under these Regulations must be submitted by the same means.
What that means
Disputes about timing are settled by the system's clock, not by your send button. What you upload counts as received at the time the government's portal stamps on it. What the department sends you counts as received the moment it goes out, so a decision letter sitting unopened in your inbox is already legally in your hands.
The law says
(1)Any application, request, claim, document or information sent by a foreign national, an individual or an entity using electronic means is deemed to have been received by the Minister at the time and on the date indicated by the electronic means that is made available or specified by the Minister for that purpose.
Deemed receipt by recipient
(2)Any notice, request, decision, determination, document or information sent by the Minister using electronic means is deemed to have been received by the intended recipient at the time and on the date it was sent by the Minister as indicated by the electronic means that is used or specified by the Minister for that purpose.
What that means
Fees are paid through the government's online payment system by default. There are three other routes. One is a collection service that has an agreement with Canada. Another is paying at the border. The third is a method the Minister allows when a country's systems cannot handle the online one, or when a disaster or unrest blocks it. If a disability stops you from paying online, you may pay by another method the Minister makes available.
The law says
(1)Any fees to be paid or evidence of payment of fees referred to in these Regulations must be paid or provided by the electronic means that is made available or specified by the Minister for that purpose except in the following circumstances:
Payment in exceptional circumstances
(2)Despite subsection (1), the required fees may be paid or evidence of payment provided by any other means that is made available or specified by the Minister for that purpose if the Minister determines that
Deemed receipt
(3)Any fee paid by electronic means is deemed to be paid on the date and at the time recorded by the electronic means that is made available or specified by the Minister for that purpose.
Exception — disability
(4)A foreign national or an individual who, because of a disability is unable to pay the required fees referred to in subsection (1) by electronic means, may do so by other means that is made available or specified by the Minister for that purpose.
No guide cites this section directly. These guides cite other sections in the same Division of the Regulations.