Change of Plans?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has provided important updates regarding your ability to study online from your home country, depending on when you start your PGWP-eligible program and how your courses are delivered. Please review the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) eligibility updates carefully.

If you are starting in the January or May 2024 Term and your study permit application has not been approved before the start of the term, you may consider the following options:

a) Start your program online from outside of Canada

• You may be eligible to start your studies online from outside of Canada while waiting for a decision on your study permit application
• To be eligible your program must have online or flexible delivery options in term one; be sure to review how online study from outside Canada may impact your eligibility for PGWP

b) Defer your program to the next available intake

• If you are unable to start as planned you have the option to defer your acceptance to a later term
• Deferral requests are subject to program availability and must be submitted before the last day to drop course(s) and be accompanied by a signed Deferral form

c) Withdraw and request a refund

• If you are unable to start as planned, you have the option to withdraw from your program and request a refund
• Refund requests must be accompanied by a signed Tuition Refund form and be accompanied by supporting documentation; administrative fees may apply

• If your study permit is rejected, you may continue your studies online while submitting a second study permit application, or you can request a refund (no administrative fee will be charged)
• If your second study permit application is rejected before the start of your second semester, you may still be eligible for a refund of your first semester fees (no administrative fee will be charged)
• Refund requests must include the most recent copy of your IRCC rejection letter and must be made within 14 days of the date noted on the rejection letter
• If you receive two study permit rejections from IRCC, you are strongly recommended to request a Leave of Absence to delay your second semester until you receive a decision on your next study permit application
• Leave of Absence requests must be submitted before May 17, 2024 if you are starting in January 2024 or September 16, 2024 if you are starting in May 2024.
• If you begin your second semester without an approved study permit, you will no longer be eligible for a refund of your first semester fees

Only students who have paid their first-semester tuition fees can be granted deferred admission. Students may defer once only. Any subsequent requests for deferral are considered new applications and will require a new application fee of $90.

ELI students who have taken their placement test are not eligible for deferral and need to withdraw from their program. This includes those who received direct entry to an ELI level and have already confirmed their attendance with the ELI Office.

Deferral requests are subject to the program availability, please refer to the Program Availability page. All late deferral requests must be accompanied by a written appeal. Late deferrals that are granted are subject to a $200 late fee.

To request a deferral of admission to a future term, complete the following steps:

• Complete the Request to Defer Admission form (PDF)

• email the completed form to theservicehub@senecapolytechnic.ca from an email account registered with Seneca

Students may be eligible to apply for a tuition refund if:

• a decision on their visa/study permit application has not been reached in time to start classes

• the visa/study permit application has been refused

• students are unable to attend Seneca due to unforeseen circumstances 

Note: Seneca may request additional information depending on the type of refund required

To request a tuition refund, the following documents are required and must be signed by the requesting student, not a third party:

• clear copy of valid passport showing both the identification and signature pages
• completed Request for Tuition Fee Refund (PDF) form, signed by the requesting student – not a third party
• supporting documentation applicable to your reason for withdrawing:
  • copy of visa/study permit refusal letter
  • copy of letter of acceptance for another institution
  • student direct stream (SDS) exit interview (if the student applied for a study permit via the SDS program)
  • other relevant documents, as requested

Submit the documents to theservicehub@senecapolytechnic.ca from an email account registered with Seneca before the last day to drop courses.

• An administrative fee ranging from $1,000 to $2,900 (depending on your program) will be deducted from your paid tuition fees for withdrawal and refund requests, with limited exceptions
  
• Refund requests must include a signed Request for Tuition Fee Refund form (PDF) and  be submitted by the last day to drop course(s), unless otherwise noted
• If you choose to transfer to another Designated Learning Institution before the last day to drop course(s),  an administrative fee ranging from $1,000 to $2,900 (depending on your program) will be deducted from any applicable refunds

Exceptions to administrative fee deductions

• No administrative fee will be deducted for your withdrawal and refund request if your study permit application has been rejected by the IRCC
• Refund requests must be accompanied by an IRCC rejection letter and submitted no later than 14 days after the date noted on the letter
• Only IRCC rejection letters relevant to the term you are withdrawing from will be considered.
• The administrative fee may not be charged for withdrawal and refund requests due to unforeseen circumstances following a satisfactory review and approval of relevant supporting documents

In order to be compliant with Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering policies, all refunds will be sent back to the credit card or bank account from which the funds were originally paid.

• If a payment was made by credit card more than 12 months ago or that card is no longer active, funds will be returned through Convera with online banking information verification. The instruction email will be sent to your MySeneca.ca student email address.
• Funds paid through CIBC International Student Pay, Flywire, ICICI Bank/Unifee or Convera will be returned back through their portal to the account from which the funds were originally paid.
• Payments made from Canada using Interac or Canadian bank payments will be refunded back to the account through e-transfer.
  • to be eligible for e-transfer, the refund must be issued directly to the student who has access to their Student Home account, Seneca email, and holds a bank account at a Canadian banking institution.