A member whose 2-year program only got a 1-year visa stamp asked whether to raise this at the airport to get a 2-year study permit issued on arrival, and if not, how and when to apply for an extension.
What the thread clarified:- At the port of entry, immigration primarily checks your Letter of Introduction (LOI) from IRCC, not your college's LOA. Based on your LOI, the study permit is often printed to match what IRCC has on file — some members reported getting the full multi-year permit at the airport itself, based on their LOI.
- Some officers do check both the LOI and LOA, and in at least one case a member had their permit reprinted based on the LOA. So it's worth having both documents ready and being prepared to raise the discrepancy if it comes up.
- If the permit isn't corrected at the airport, apply for a study permit extension about 1 month before your existing permit expires. Your college can generally help support this extension request.
- One member's actual landing experience: officers primarily asked for the LOI, did a self-check-in process, and printed the study permit before directing arrivals to the immigration counter — suggesting the LOI is the dominant document driving what gets printed in practice.
The practical takeaway: bring both your LOI and LOA to the airport and mention the 1-year vs. 2-year discrepancy if asked — many get the correct multi-year permit issued at the border based on the LOI, but if not, apply for an extension about a month before your existing permit expires, with your college's support.