The process at a glance
- Get accepted by a BC school and receive your PAL if you need one. Master’s and PhD students at public universities such as UBC and SFU don’t need a PAL in 2026.
- Prepare proof of funds — $23,448 for living costs plus first-year tuition and travel.
- Have Chinese-language documents translated by a certified translator.
- Book your upfront medical exam with an IRCC-approved panel physician.
- Apply online, then give biometrics at a visa application centre when IRCC asks.
Translations
Any document not in English or French — transcripts, graduation certificates, household registration, bank letters — needs a certified translation, the translator’s declaration, and a copy of the original. Notarial certificates are commonly used. Machine translations are not accepted.
Medical exam
China is on IRCC’s list of countries requiring an immigration medical exam for stays longer than six months. Use an IRCC-approved panel physician.
Biometrics
Canada has visa application centres in several major Chinese cities. Use IRCC’s “Find a visa application centre” tool to choose the closest one, and book as soon as you receive your biometrics letter.
Paying tuition and moving money
Mainland China limits how much foreign currency an individual can buy each year for general purposes (commonly cited as USD 50,000 per person). Tuition and other documented study expenses are often handled differently when you show your admission letter and fee invoice to the bank.
Talk to your bank months before your first payment so you know which documents it needs. Also make sure your funding documents show a clear history — IRCC looks for where the money came from, not just the final balance. A student GIC from a Canadian bank can make the funds easy to verify.
After you arrive
Readers can switch this site to Chinese (中文) using the globe icon at the top of any page. For your first weeks in BC, use the arrival checklist.