Accept Your Offer

Receive Offer and Pay Tuition Deposit

If program seats are available, qualified applicants will receive a Letter of Offer. To accept the offer, students must pay the tuition deposits before the payment deadlines, which are usually within three weeks of the offer issued date. Applicants will then be issued a Letter of Acceptance if the tuition deposit is paid before the payment deadline indicated on the Letter of Offer.

Review the Letter of Offer Carefully

Ensure your name on the Letter of Offer matches your passport. The name entry process below is consistent with the instructions from IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada). If there is any error on your Letter of Offer, inform VCC immediately by replying to your offer email. Once the Letter of Acceptance is issued, no name changes will be permitted.

If you only have one first/given name: According to the guidelines from the BC Ministry of Education, if a student only has one given name, the name will be identified in the school system as the last name.
If you have more than one first/given name: According to the guidelines from the BC Ministry of Education, the first given name will be identified in the school system as the first name, and the second given name will be identified as the last name.

Accept the Offer by Paying the Tuition Deposit

The tuition deposit amount and payment deadline are indicated on the Letter of Offer. If the tuition deposit is not received by the deadline, the application will be withdrawn. If you need another week or two to make the full payment, please reply to ieadmissions@vcc.ca to email the request before the offer expires.

Once a Letter of Offer is issued, no changes to the program or intake will be permitted. If you wish to be considered for a different intake or program after receiving the offer, please re-apply.

Waitlisted applicants will not be required to pay tuition deposits unless an offer is available.

Letter of Acceptance (LOA)

The Letter of Acceptance will be issued within a few days after your tuition deposit payments are received in your VCC student account, which can take days or weeks depending on your payment method. You should receiving your Letter of Acceptance (LOA), review it to make sure there is no error.

Request an updated LOA

An updated Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for the same program and for the same term may be issued upon request only if:

You have met all the conditions listed on your Conditional Letter of Acceptance (CLOA) by the deadlines.
Your name has changed. Supporting documents (such as marriage certificates) must be submitted to complete the request.

If you are approved for deferral of admission or a change of programs, an updated LOA will be issued once your admission is confirmed.

Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL)

Most students need to provide a provincial attestation letter (PAL) from the province or territory where they plan to study.

Receiving a PAL

VCC will include the PAL with the LOA if you need one for your study permit application. You must apply for a Study Permit with your PAL. VCC typically only issue one PAL for each applicant, so we strongly encourage you to review the study permit requirements carefully before applying for a study permit.

Requesting a new PAL

If your study permit application is refused by IRCC, you cannot use the same PAL and must get a new PAL before you reapply. VCC will typically only consider issuing a new PAL in highly extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis. If you feel you have a strong case and wish to re-apply for a study permit, please email ieadmissions@vcc.ca with your request for a new PAL within 10 business days of receiving a study permit rejection, including:

a copy of your refusal letter
a summary with a maximum of 500 words of how you will update your study permit application to be successful. Please ensure you address each refusal point in your refusal letter.

Submit Proof of Study Permit Approval

Apply for a Study Permit with the Letter of Acceptance. Students must provide proof of their study permit approval by the deadline indicated on the Letter of Acceptance. If students do not submit proof of Study Permit or Student Visa Approval to the VCC International Education office by the deadline, the program seat may not be guaranteed, and students may be deferred to the next available start date.

To prove your Study Permit approval, you can submit:

a copy of your valid study permit with Vancouver Community College as the Designated Learning Institution (DLI)
a copy of your IRCC study permit approval port of entry (POE) letter of introduction (you must have applied for a study permit by using VCC’s LOA)

Satisfy Conditions

If students receive conditional admission, they must satisfy the conditions in order to receive full acceptance. The conditions and the deadlines are indicated on the Letter of Acceptance.

Conditions may include the following:

Meeting the English requirement at VCC's partner language schools (ILAC or ILSC)
Meeting the Food Safe Certificate requirement for selected programs
Meeting the high school graduation and final grade requirements

For more information about the types of conditions, refer to Conditional Admission.

Bring Official and Original Documents

Scanned and photocopied documents are only accepted for initial evaluation purposes. Students must bring all original hard copy educational documents used for admission with them to Canada. VCC reserves the right to request students' educational documents at any time for review.

Official and original documents may include transcripts, graduation certificates or diplomas, and other educational documents submitted during the application process.

More questions about applying to VCC? Check out our Future Students section for more information.

Already a VCC student? Check out our Current Student section for additional support.