A master's admit (fall-only intake at a BC university) received the visa letter two days after the university's visa-submission deadline; the university refused a late join, forcing a deferral of a full year. The applicant worried about the already-issued visa (valid to March 2024) and a passport expiring October 2024. The thread's actionable answer:
- Accept the deferral, then get a revised LOA. Once the university confirms the new intake, request an updated Letter of Acceptance carrying the new program dates. This is the anchor document for everything that follows.
- Raise an IRCC webform to update your file. With the revised LOA in hand, notify IRCC through a webform so the record reflects the deferred start. Members treated this as the standard, accepted procedure — a forced deferral after visa issuance is a known scenario, not a crisis, as long as IRCC is informed.
- Mind your validity dates against the new start. The thread pressed for the exact new study dates because the issued visa's validity (March 2024) and the passport expiry (October 2024) both bracket a deferred start. A study permit issued at the border cannot outlast the passport, so renewing a soon-expiring passport before travel — and checking the visa remains valid for the new entry date — is part of the same housekeeping.
The reassuring core of the thread: "Now that it has been deferred, it's OK" — universities' deadlines and IRCC timelines misalign often enough that the revised-LOA-plus-webform path exists precisely for this case.