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Conditional admission letter vs. full Letter of Acceptance: when can you actually apply for a study permit?

Canada • Study Permit • study 0 views
By VisaBuddies Communityvia community — compiled from public visa forums

Documents Needed

  • Conditional admission letter

    Issued while you're still finishing grade 12 or a prerequisite course; not the document used for the study permit application.

  • Full/actual Letter of Acceptance (LOA)

    Issued once your final course completion is confirmed — this is the document you submit with your study permit application.

Step-by-Step

A member still finishing grade 12 sent their IELTS TRF and in-progress transcript to a Canadian college for a Letter of Acceptance, and asked whether they could apply for the study permit once they got the LOA, or had to wait until their course was fully complete.

What the thread clarified:
  1. Before your course is complete, the college/university will only issue a conditional admission letter, not the full LOA. This conditional letter isn't the document you use to apply for your study permit.

  2. You need to wait until you've completed your current course (grade 12, in this case) to receive the actual, final LOA. Once your final results/transcript are available, you can go back to the institution to request the actual LOA.

  3. The specific requirement can vary slightly by institution, so confirm directly with your chosen college or university whether they'll accept a conditional LOA for the study permit application, or strictly require the completed, final LOA.


The practical takeaway: don't apply for your study permit using a conditional admission letter — wait until you've completed your current course and received the actual, final LOA from the institution, since that's generally the document required for the study permit application.

Dos, Don'ts & Tips

  • Don't: Don't assume a conditional admission letter is sufficient for your study permit application.
  • Do: Wait until you've completed your current course and received the final LOA before applying.
  • Tip: Confirm directly with your specific institution, since practices can vary slightly.

Have a question about this? Join the discussion.

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