Question: I am applying for a Certificate in continuing studies (CFA) program at the University of Toronto, Canada, which is also for international students. It does not require admission, and we only have to register ourselves in their courses and pay the full fee. As acknowledgment an Official Income Tax Receipt is issued. This document confirms your registration and payment of fees. Hence I would like to know whether this receipt could be considered as student authorization and if I will be able to get the student visa.

Answer: An official tax receipt from your school for tax purposes and a student visa authorization have absolutely nothing to do with each other. In fact, you can obtain any tax receipt from your school only once a year, and only after having arrived and made the payment for your tuition. Here is the catch: You require a student visa to enter the country. Thus, the student visa comes well before you can ever get your hands on a tax receipt for tuition payment. And, a tax receipt does not authorize you to enter or stay in Canada.

We suspect that you thought you found a loophole in the Canadian immigration laws for an easy entry into Canada. You are mistaken! Most continuing education programs do not even qualify for a student visa. An international student must enroll in a full-time program to be eligible for a student visa. Also note that international students are not authorized to work in Canada without appropriate employment authorization from the Canadian immigration authorities beforehand. The employment authorization is issued to an international student only for a specific and strict purpose, such as a research or teaching assistantship. The authorization is not handed out because an international student simply asked for one.

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