Change of Plans?

On Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a policy change regarding Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) eligibility for international students. Please review the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) eligibility updates carefully.

If you are starting in the January 2025 Term and your study permit application has not been approved before the start of the term, you may consider the following options:

Deferral requests are subject to program availability, must be submitted before the last day to drop course(s) and be accompanied by a signed Deferral Request form (PDF)

Refund requests must be accompanied by a signed Tuition Refund form and be accompanied by supporting documentation; administrative fees may apply

Please note that the time spent studying outside of Canada from September 1, 2024 onwards will be deducted from the length of your PGWP.

If your study permit is rejected, you may defer your acceptance to the next available term while submitting a second study permit application, or you can request a refund (no administrative fee will be charged

• If your second study permit application is rejected before the start of your first semester, you may still be eligible for a refund (no administrative fee will be charged)
• Refund requests must include the most recent copy of your IRCC rejection letter and must be made within 14 days of the date noted on the rejection letter

Only students who have paid their first-semester tuition fees can be granted deferred admission. The deferral request must be submitted before the last day to drop courses with a completed request form (PDF). If a study permit application is still pending a decision from IRCC, the deferral request must be submitted before the last day to drop courses. Students may defer once only. Any subsequent requests for deferral are considered new applications and will require a new application fee of $90.

ELI students who have taken their placement test are not eligible for deferral and need to withdraw from their program. This includes those who received direct entry to an ELI level and have already confirmed their attendance with the ELI Office.

Deferral requests are subject to the program availability, please refer to the Program Availability page. Late deferral requests will not be considered unless approved by the committee with a written appeal. Late deferrals that are granted are subject to a $200 late fee.

To request a deferral of admission to a future term, complete the following steps:

• Complete the Request to Defer Admission form (PDF)

• email the completed form to theservicehub@senecapolytechnic.ca from an email account registered with Seneca

Students may be eligible to apply for a tuition refund if:

• a decision on their visa/study permit application has not been reached in time to start classes
• the visa/study permit application has been refused
• IRCC policy changes have negatively impacted a student’s study plan
• students are unable to attend Seneca due to unforeseen circumstances 

To request a tuition refund, the following documents are required. Seneca may request additional information depending on the type of refund required.

• clear copy of valid passport showing both the identification and signature pages
• completed Request for Tuition Fee Refund (PDF) form, signed by the requesting student – not a third party. The request form must be received by Seneca before the last day to drop courses. If a study permit application is still pending a decision from IRCC, the deferral request must be submitted before the last day to drop courses.
• supporting documentation applicable to your reason for withdrawing:
  • copy of visa/study permit refusal letter
  • copy of letter of acceptance for another institution
  • student direct stream (SDS) exit interview (if the student applied for a study permit via the SDS program)
  • other relevant documents, as requested

Submit the documents to theservicehub@senecapolytechnic.ca from an email account registered with Seneca before the last day to drop courses. No refund will be issued if the supporting documents are found fraudulent, or the study permit is refused due to fraudulent documents and misrepresentation.

• An administrative fee ranging from $1,000 to $2,900 (depending on your program) will be deducted from your paid tuition fees for withdrawal and refund requests, with limited exceptions
  
• Refund requests must include a signed Request for Tuition Fee Refund form (PDF) and  be submitted by the last day to drop course(s), unless otherwise noted
• If you choose to transfer to another Designated Learning Institution before the last day to drop course(s),  an administrative fee ranging from $1,000 to $2,900 (depending on your program) will be deducted from any applicable refunds

• No administrative fee will be deducted for your withdrawal and refund request if your study permit application has been rejected by the IRCC, or your study plan is no longer viable due to IRCC policy changes.
• Refund requests must be accompanied by an IRCC rejection letter and submitted no later than 14 days after the date noted on the letter. Only IRCC rejection letters relevant to the term you are withdrawing from will be considered.
• The administrative fee may not be charged for withdrawal and refund requests due to unforeseen circumstances following a satisfactory review and approval of relevant supporting documents

In order to be compliant with Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering policies, all refunds will be sent back to the credit card or bank account from which the funds were originally paid. Seneca is not responsible for the fluctuation of the currency exchange rate.

• If a payment was made by credit card more than 12 months ago or that card is no longer active, funds will be returned through Convera with online banking information verification. The instruction email will be sent to your MySeneca.ca student email address.
• Funds paid through CIBC International Student Pay, Flywire, ICICI Bank/Unifee or Convera will be returned through their portal to the account from which the funds were originally paid.
• Payments made from Canada using Interac or Canadian bank payments will be refunded back to the account through e-transfer.
  • to be eligible for e-transfer, the refund must be issued directly to the student who has access to their Student Home account, Seneca email, and holds a bank account at a Canadian banking institution.