A member whose visa application (originally for July intake) was deferred to September because the visa didn't arrive in time, and who then received their PPR, asked whether they needed to formally inform IRCC of the deferral before proceeding.
What the thread clarified:- You generally don't need to proactively inform IRCC of a deferral before receiving your visa. Members were consistent that this is a very common scenario — many students defer simply because their visa didn't process in time for their original intake.
- The straightforward process: get your deferred LOA, get the visa stamped on your passport (reflecting current details), and travel to Canada. There's no separate notification step required before this.
- Once you arrive in Canada, submit all your documents along with the updated LOA to immigration at the port of entry, and your study permit will be issued reflecting your actual (deferred) intake at that point.
The practical takeaway: a deferred intake that happened because your visa arrived late doesn't require a separate notification to IRCC — just get your deferred LOA, get your visa stamped, and submit the updated LOA along with your other documents when you land in Canada.