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First flight to Canada as a student: booking, baggage, and port-of-entry questions

Canada • Study Permit • study 0 views
By VisaBuddies Communityvia community — compiled from public visa forums

Documents Needed

  • Offer letter

    Asked for at airline check-in and at the immigration counter.

  • Letter of introduction (from GCKey)

    Needed at the first port of entry where the study permit is issued.

Step-by-Step

A student shared their Delhi → Zurich → Montreal → Charlottetown journey and the thread added practical port-of-entry advice.

  1. Book on a single PNR and confirm transit requirements. The traveller booked through the agency's customer service specifically to confirm no transit visa was needed for the layover country. Verify this for your own routing before booking.

  2. Know the baggage rules. The allowance was one laptop bag + one 7 kg cabin bag + one 23 kg checked bag; an extra 23 kg checked bag cost USD 100 paid at the check-in counter.

  3. Budget time for study permit issuance at the first port of entry. The permit is issued at the first Canadian airport you land in. In this case processing took about 2.5 hours, and members recommended keeping roughly 4 hours between connecting flights. If immigration delays cause you to miss a connection, the airline puts you on another flight.

  4. Expect standard immigration questions. At departure and on arrival: where are you going, why, how long will you stay — plus a request to show your offer letter.

  5. Small comforts. Airport Wi-Fi is available even without a SIM (code slips are handed out), and packing familiar food helps on a ~30-hour journey.

Dos, Don'ts & Tips

  • Do: Keep around 4 hours between connecting flights when your study permit is issued at the first port of entry — issuance alone took ~2.5 hours.
  • Do: Confirm whether your layover country requires a transit visa before booking.
  • Tip: If immigration processing makes you miss a connection on a single-PNR booking, the airline rebooks you on the next flight.
  • Do: Keep your offer letter accessible — it's requested at check-in and at immigration.

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