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Domestic/International Tuition Fee Assessment

For the purpose of tuition and fees, the classification between domestic and international students is based on citizenship/permanent residency.

You are required to provide documentation to verify your eligibility for domestic tuition and fees assessment. Invalid or incomplete documentation will result in your student account being placed on hold for additional investigation until a final decision is reached.

Domestic Tuition Fees

You will be assessed domestic tuition fees if you meet any of the following criteria:

  • You are a Canadian citizen
  • You are a permanent resident of Canada
  • Your parent or guardian is a permanent resident of Canada and you meet the definition of a dependent child.
  • You are a convention refugee
  • Your parent or guardian is a convention refugee and you meet the definition of a dependent child.
  • You are a diplomat assigned to Canada
  • Your parent or guardian is a diplomat assigned to Canada and you meet the definition of a dependent child.

Learn more about canadian status verification

International Tuition Fees

You will be assessed international tuition fees if you do not meet the criteria for domestic tuition fees.

  • If you hold multiple citizenships and one of these is Canadian, you will be assessed as a domestic student. SFU will not retroactively change fees assessed in past terms from International to Domestic. SFU can only change fees assessed for the current term and subsequent terms, and subject to the tuition deadline as noted below. Individuals eligible for domestic tuition fees are responsible for informing SFU of their eligibility and whether their eligibility changes during their studies. SFU requires supporting documentation to assess domestic tuition rates.

NOTE: SFU DOES NOT OFFER DOMESTIC FEES FOR DEPENDENTS OF WORK PERMIT HOLDERS.

Deadlines

Students must submit the documentation required by the tuition deadline of that term to be assessed domestic tuition fees; this applies to all categories listed below. Please contact urecords@sfu.ca for information on how to submit your documentation in goSFU. 

See how to submit your documents

International Student to Permanent Resident Status

Permanent resident status is attained as of the "Landed on" date indicated on the Confirmation of Permanent Residence document. Fees will not be changed retroactively for previous terms, regardless of the “Landed on” date indicated on the COPR document.

Related topics

Documents required

Students who are eligible to pay domestic tuition fees must provide the following documents.

Category

Documents Required

Exchange Students visiting SFU, on approved exchange programs under a formal exchange agreement between their home university and SFU (Student Mobility Agreement) and pay fees to their home university. 

           https://www.sfu.ca/students/exchange/prospective.html

 
  • Student Mobility Agreement, approved by Senate Committee on International Activity

Permanent Resident of Canada (Landed Immigrant)
  • Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) (previously called a Record of Landing)
  • Canadian Permanent Resident Card
    Permanent Resident status is attained as of the "Landed on" date, indicated on the Confirmation of Permanent Residence, not the "Date Issued."
Dependents1 of Permanent Resident of Canada (Landed Immigrant)
  • Proof of Relationship with the Permanent Resident
  • Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) (previously called a Record of Landing) of the Parent/Guardian
  • Canadian Permanent Resident Card of the Parent/Guardian
    Permanent Resident status is attained as of the "Landed on" date, indicated on the Confirmation of Permanent Residence, not the "Date Issued."

Convention Refugee (Protected Person)
  • Any person in Canada who has been determined under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to be a Convention refugee and can present a Notice of Decision issued by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
(Note: Refugee Claimants are not eligible for domestic fee assessment)

Dependents1 of Convention Refugee (Protected Person)
  • Proof of Relationship with the Convention Refugee
  • Notice of Decision issued by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada of Parent/Guardian
A student who is in Canada to carry out official duties as a diplomatic or consular officer
  • Diplomatic and/or official visa 
  • Diplomatic Appointment Confirmation Letter

Dependents1 or Spouse of Diplomatic or Consular Officers in Canada
  • Diplomatic and/or official visa 
  • Diplomatic Appointment Confirmation Letter of Parent/Guardian
  • Proof of Relationship with the Diplomat

1 Dependent child

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, a dependent child is someone who: 

a)    has one of the following relationships with the parent, namely,

(i) is the biological child of the parent, if the child has not been adopted by a person other than the spouse or common-law partner of the parent, or

(ii) is the adopted child of the parent; and

b)    is in one of the following situations of dependency, namely,

(i) is less than 22 years of age and is not a spouse or common-law partner, or

(ii) is 22 years of age or older and has depended substantially on the financial support of the parent since before attaining the age of 22 years and is unable to be financially self-supporting due to a physical or mental condition. 

(Note: Definition of dependent child may change by IRCC, without advanced notice)

The IRPR definition of a dependent child can be found here.

Dates and deadlines for the academic year can be found here.

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