Parents who want to accompany their child to Canada to help them settle in, but only decide close to the study permit approval, sometimes ask if they can be added directly to the child's visa application to save time.
What group members advised:- A parent cannot be included in the student's study permit application. The two are separate application types and can't be merged, even under time pressure.
- Apply for a visitor visa separately, and do it as early as possible. Group members suggested submitting the parent's visitor visa application as soon as the child's study permit is approved, since visitor visa processing has its own separate timeline.
Plan for these as two independent applications from the start rather than assuming the parent can simply be added on later.