A student asked whether it's safe to change their Designated Learning Institution (DLI) within a week of landing for the fall intake, or whether they should first spend time at the DLI their visa was based on. The thread's answers:
- Changing after arrival is possible. Members confirmed you can change DLI after reaching Canada — one noted you can switch once you hold the study permit, even for the same intake you were admitted to.
- Contact your current college first. The repeated practical step: before doing anything, go through your existing college's policy. When asked what that means concretely, the member spelled it out — ask them directly whether you can change colleges and whether they will refund your fees (and how much).
- Money is the real risk, not the permit. Notably, no one in the thread claimed an immigration barrier to switching; the caution centred on institutional policy and fee refunds. The financial exposure of a paid semester is what makes an immediate post-landing switch 'unsafe' if you haven't confirmed refund terms in writing first.
Suggested order of operations from the thread: secure admission at the new DLI, get your current college's refund/withdrawal policy confirmed, then execute the switch — and remember to notify IRCC of a DLI change as required for study permit holders.