To assist graduate students who have already been accepted to the University of Toronto with their transition to graduate school, the School of Graduate Studies will be hosting its annual series of web chat sessions in July. Additionally this year, SGS in partnership with the Centre for International Experience will host two webinars on study permits and other immigration issues.
The aim of the chats is to have on-line discussions with graduate students who have already been accepted but may have questions and concerns prior to their arrival on campus. The web chat sessions are administered by SGS Student Academic Services; in addition to enrolment, registration and graduate awards information, graduate students will get answers to their questions about housing, family care, and other graduate-focused programs and services from representatives of different offices across U of T. Students will need a JOINid or UTORid to participate in the chat sessions
The aim of the webinars is to help international graduate students with the study permit application process and answer their immigration-related questions. The immigration webinars will be hosted on Zoom, and no registration is required.
SGS will email the list of chats/webinars with detailed instructions to the newly accepted students.
The online chat sessions will be delivered on the following dates:
- Tuesday, July 7, 2020 (10:00 – 11:00 am EST) - Participating offices include: Student Academic Services, Graduate Awards/Financial Aid, Housing, Family Care, Student Life.
- Thursday, July 16, 2020 (4:00 - 5:00 pm EST) - Participating offices include: Student Academic Services, Graduate Awards/Financial Aid, Housing, Family Care, Student Life.
- Wednesday, July 22, 2020 (11:00 am - 12:00 pm EST) - Participating offices include: Student Academic Services, Graduate Awards/Financial Aid, Housing, Family Care.
How to Participate
In order to participate in these chats, students will need their JOINid or UTORid. Shortly after students applied to a graduate program, they should have received an e-mail from admissions.sgs@utoronto.ca with their JOINid and instructions for enabling it. If they have not enabled their JOINid, they should do so well in advance of the chats.
Students can join the chats at http://chat.sgs.utoronto.ca. They will be prompted to log in using their University of Toronto weblogin. After logging in, they will be taken to the welcome room and will need to click on the link to “rooms” on the upper left-hand side to see a list of themed rooms.
Webinar: Study Permits and Other Immigration Related Questions
Students can join one of the following times for SGS's immigration webinar, where representatives from the Centre for International Experience and the School of Graduate Studies Office of Student Academic Services will discuss immigration issues relevant to incoming international graduate students.
- Wednesday, July 15 (9:30-11:00 am EST)
- Monday, July 20 (9:30-11:00 am EST)
How to Participate
Students will need to join the webinar via Zoom.
The University recommends that international students apply for their study permit as soon as they get their acceptance letter (and prepare the other required documents). The goal of this webinar is to help international graduate students with the application process and answer their immigration-related questions. The webinar will cover the following topics:
- The options for applying for a study permit.
- The required documents for a study permit application.
- Creating an online account at the website of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).Completing the online Eligibility Questionnaire.
- Completing and validating the required forms.
- Uploading the required documents to the online application system.
- Applying for family members (spouse/partner and/or children) to accompany you.
- Making an online payment and submitting your application.
- Advice to improve the chances of a successful study permit application.
- Communicating with the Canadian visa office/consulate in your country.
- Replying to immigration officers' requests.
- What to do if your application is refused.
- Starting your program remotely.
- Deferring your program's start date.
- Next steps.
After the main portion of the webinar is over, SGS staff will remain online to answer non-immigration questions.
Should you have any questions about the session, please contact hasmik.sargsyan@utoronto.ca.