Doctoral degree students: Get faster processing
Doctoral (PhD) students and their accompanying family members may be able to get faster processing on their applications.
Getting your application processed faster means you can start studying in Canada sooner.
On this page
Who’s eligible
You can get faster processing if you
- are enrolling in a doctoral degree program
- apply for a study permit from outside Canada, and
- submit your application online
Eligible family members
Family members who apply to come to Canada with you can also get faster processing if they
- apply for a
- visitor visa
- work permit, or
- study permit
- are included in your study permit application
- submit their application together with yours
Eligible family members include your
- spouse or common-law partner
- dependent child (yours, your spouse’s or your common-law partner’s) or
- dependent child of a dependent child
Who’s not eligible
Your application will not be processed faster if you
- are enrolling in a master’s degree program
- are enrolling in an undergraduate degree program
- are enrolling in a graduate diploma or certificate program
- submit an incomplete application
- For example, your application is missing documents.
- have an application that is more complex
- For example, additional security or medical screening is needed.
- apply from within Canada
How to get your application processed faster
There are some things that you need to do to avoid delays and take advantage of faster processing.
Get your documents ready
When you apply for a study permit, there are documents that you need to include with your application. Get these documents ready before you submit your application.
Get certified translations
Everyone must include certified translations of documents that aren’t in English or French—even if your visa office says that documents in other languages are acceptable.
Submit a complete application
You must submit a complete application to get faster processing. This means that when you submit your application, you must
- include all the forms and documents listed in the document checklist
- pay all applicable fees (including the biometrics fee if needed)
If you don’t submit a complete application, there will be delays.
Give your biometrics within 2 weeks of getting your biometric instruction letter
You may need to give your biometrics after you submit your application. If you do, you must pay the biometrics fee (starting at $85 a person) when you apply.
Find out if you need to give biometrics.
If you need to give your biometrics, we’ll send you a biometrics instruction letter (BIL) when we check that your application is complete.
Your BIL will have instructions on how to make an appointment to give your biometrics. You must bring your BIL with you to your appointment.
To get faster processing, you must give your biometrics within 2 weeks of getting your BIL.
If you gave your biometrics in the past
If your biometrics are still valid, you don’t need to give them again.
However, if your biometrics are going to expire soon, you should pay the fee when you apply and give your biometrics again.
We can’t issue a visa or permit past the expiry date of your biometrics.
Faster processing for your family members
Your eligible family members also need to follow the instructions above to take advantage of faster processing. They need to
- get their documents ready
- The documents they need to prepare will depend on what they’re applying for.
- get certified translations (if needed)
- submit a complete application
- give their biometrics within 2 weeks of getting their BIL (if needed)
- be included in your study permit application
- submit their application together with yours
Processing times
Processing begins after
- we check that your application is complete
- you give your biometrics
- your designated learning institution (DLI) confirms that your letter of acceptance (LOA) is valid
- This can take up to 10 calendar days.
After your DLI verifies your LOA, we aim to process your application within 2 weeks.
Things that will delay processing
You won’t get faster processing if
- your application is incomplete
- you don’t give your biometrics on time
- your application is more complex because of additional medical or security screening
- your DLI doesn’t verify your LOA on time
While your application is being processed, we’ll only contact you if
- you’re missing documents
- If you’re missing documents, you won’t get faster processing.
- we made a decision on your application
Contacting us will not speed up the processing of your application.