International Students FAQ

YES: Bow Valley College is registered as a Designated Learning Institution. Our DLI is # O19273769422. (The first character is the letter “O” followed by eleven numbers: O 192 737 694 22).

Additionally, all of our Certificates, diplomas and post-diploma certificates are listed as Designated Learning programs and are eligible to receive foreign nationals with a study permit. Please note that Open studies, continuing education, pre-business and pre-health pathways within the High School upgrading courses are not Designated Learning Programs.

When applying for your study permit, you must provide our DLI number along with our Letter of Acceptance.

You may verify the list of Designated Learning Institutions here.

You can pay the $140 application fee when you submit the application.

However, a minimum confirmation fee of $1500 is required before we can issue a Letter of Acceptance and guarantee a seat for you.

Your application will not be processed until the $140 application fee is received.

Please Note: Both fees are non-refundable.

The non-refundable, non-transferable confirmation fee must be paid within 21 days of receiving notification that you have been accepted into a program. The balance of all tuition and fees owing for each semester are due by the tuition fee deadline.

You can pay fees by Visa, Mastercard, cash (in person only), debit (in person only), or by wire transfer.

See Payment Options.

See the Learner Account Policy.

At Bow Valley College International Students are those who are not Canadian Citizens, Landed Immigrants, Refugees or Permanent Residents of Canada. Anyone who has a study, work or visitor permit would hold an International Student status for the purpose of enrollment at Bow Valley College. If you have any doubts, please contact the International Education Office.

Bow Valley College welcome applications for International Students that are made through an agency. However, the International Education Office is also happy to work with International Students directly to support their registration process for any program at Bow Valley College.

For more information on the steps to apply directly please refer to or for confirmation that your agent is an approved representative of Bow Valley College, please contact us.

Applications for a Bow Valley College program take approximately 6 to 8 weeks from the point that all required documentation is received and the application fee paid.

Applications to the International ELL program typically take 2 weeks.

The final stage of the application process is when applicants obtain their Letter of Acceptance to use for Immigration Purposes. These periods do not include the time needed to process immigration applications. Please refer to Immigration and Citizenship Canada’s website for information on processing times for immigration applications.

Once an admissions decision is finalized, the International Education Office will contact you by email. You will then be provided with a copy of the tuition fees and asked to pay at minimum the non-refundable confirmation fee of $1500 to reserve your seat in the program. Once this payment has been received, the Letter of Acceptance and receipt of payment will be sent via e-mail to the applicants personal e-mail as indicated on the application form.

At the discretion of the Registrar, some Bow Valley College programs can offer conditional acceptance. To find out if you might be eligible, please contact us.

The structure of this program is a blend of part-time and full-time study and the length of the program is unique to each student, dependent on the results of the challenge examinations. For these reasons, international students in this program are not eligible for Canada Immigration’s Off-Campus Work Permit program or Post-Graduation Work Permit Program. Therefore authorization to work would need to be obtained through an alternative Canadian Immigration Work permit.

Yes, international students are eligible to register in some of the High School Upgrading options at Bow Valley College as long as it works with their immigration status in Canada. Students who are overseas are eligible to take combined online High School Upgrading option. Students who have a Canadian study permit and are in Canada can take traditional courses. For information on High School Upgrading please visit click here.

In most cases, when students are registered in one or more high school upgrading courses at Bow Valley College, admission officers for our programs will consider an applicant for conditional acceptance. This is not a guarantee and applicants should speak with the International Education Department about their education pathways goals before registering in the High School Upgrading about this possibility. A separate application and application fee is required for each application to a program.

No, you will need to complete one level before moving onto the next level of the same subject. For example if you place at an English 20 level, you would not be able to study English 30 until you have completed English 20.

An individual who is authorized to supervise or monitor a student(s) for the entire duration of writing an examination.

Students not living within close proximity to a Bow College site may arrange to have their exams supervised by another educational institution (elementary school, high school, or post-secondary institution such as a college or university).

The exam proctor must be an employee of the educational institution (teacher, instructor, professor, exam facilitator). It is responsibility of the student to make the arrangements with the educational institution, both the institution and the staff who will proctor/invigilate the exam must be approved by Bow Valley College. The exam proctor may not be a relative, friend, or neighbor.

In the event that you are unable to write your exam under the supervision of a one of the above staff of an educational institution, you will need to arrange for a professional from one of the groups listed below. This arrangement must also be pre-approved by Bow Valley College.

• Chiropractor
• Judge, Magistrate Lawyer(member of a provincial bar association)
• Librarian
• Medical Doctor or Dentist
• Registered Nurse
• Minster of Religion Authorized by Law to Perform Marriages
• Public Notary
• Optometrist
• Pharmacist
• Police Officer
• Postmaster
• Professional Accountant (member of APA,CA,CGA,CMA,PA,RPA)
• Professional Engineer
• Professional Geologist
• Signing Officer of a Bank or Trust Company Veterinarian

Please ask your proctor to fill out the Exam Proctor Administration Form (email your instructor to request the form) and submit to atol@bowvalleycollege.ca prior to starting the proctored exam for approval.

Please note:

• Third party institutions or professionals may charge varying fees to proctor/invigilate an exam. We strongly recommend that you research potential proctorship arrangements available to you prior to registering in your on-line studies.

• Bow Valley College will not be responsible for any fee that may be charged by the proctor or fees incurred by the proctor from shipment of materials.
• Bow Valley College reserves the right to reject a proposed proctor.

There are scholarships available for International learners. Visit Awards for a comprehensive list of awards and guidelines. You will be able to view specific awards for international learners.

Yes, orientation is mandatory. Attendance will be taken and counted towards your student record. Anyone who is unable to attend the orientation needs to inform the International Education Office in advance.

Students should arrive in time to attend the college New Student Orientation and the International Learner Preparation Day. Students won't be permitted to start classes after the first day of classes.

Cost of workbooks is not included. The estimated expense is between $50 to $100 CAD per semester. Workbooks are available for purchase through our bookstore.