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International Student Services

International Letters of Verification

International students may request International Letters of Verification from the International Student Centre (ISC). These letters may be used for a number of purposes including to support certain applications to Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC). A $20 letter request fee is charged for every request, so make sure to carefully review the information provided below.

New and future students with a valid Letter of Acceptance from BCIT should use that for any IRCC purposes and should not need to request and pay for any additional International Letter of Verification.

Students needing verification letters for purposes other than IRCC applications may be able to use the free letters available in your myBCIT account. These are NOT suitable for IRCC applications though.

On this page:

  1. Types of International Letters of Verification
  2. How to request a letter
  3. Paying the letter request fee
  4. How to access your letter & when it will be issued
  5. Letter of Acceptance
  6. Letters of verification from BCIT Student Records

Types of International Letters of Verification

There are three types of international letters of verification:

  1. International Confirmation of Enrolment (ICOE)
  2. International Confirmation of Graduation (ICOG)
  3. International Confirmation of Future Registration (ICOFR)

Details about the purposes and eligibility criteria for each type of letter can be found at the pages linked above. Make sure you are eligible BEFORE requesting a letter!

How to request a letter

To request an International Letter of Verification, follow the steps below:

  1. Before requesting any letter, update your contact information in your myBCIT account if necessary. The mailing address and phone number that we have on record will be included in your International Letter of Verification. You will need to submit a new request and pay an additional letter request fee if you need to change your contact details after a letter has already been issued to you.
  2. Visit the web page for the type of letter that you wish to request and review all of the eligibility criteria and other information about that particular type of letter.
  3. If you still have questions after reviewing our letter web pages, contact international.letters@bcit.ca or visit ISC Virtual Drop-in Service BEFORE submitting your request.
  4. Submit an international letter request.
  5. Pay the non-refundable $20 letter request fee.

Paying the letter request fee

Once your letter request is received, a non-refundable $20 letter request fee will be charged to your BCIT student account. Failure to pay may cause a delay in issuing your letter and could result in a hold being placed on your student account that would prevent you from registering for courses or being awarded your credential after you complete your program.

See Payment Options at BCIT for instructions on how to pay your fees. Please use the BCIT – Tuition Payments as a PAYEE option when using online banking to pay for your letter. Your nine (9) digit student ID (A########) is your account number. If the student ID is not present, the funds will be returned to your financial institution.

If you need to transfer funds from outside of Canada, you may use FlyWire (choose the tuition payment option).

Note that paying the letter request fee does NOT necessarily guarantee that you will be issued a letter. You must also meet all of the eligibility requirements for the type of letter you are requesting. If you are unsure about your eligibility, please contact us at international.letters@bcit.ca before submitting your letter request.

The letter request fee is 100% non-refundable.

How to access your letter & when it will be issued

International Letters of Verification are issued electronically. To access your letter, log in to myBCIT and click Student Self Service and then myCommunication. We do not issue paper copies.

The timeline for when you will receive your letter depends on the type of letter you request.

Letter of Acceptance (LOA)

New students who are accepted through an admissions process are issued an official Letter of Acceptance (LOA) that is intended to be used to apply for a study permit and co-op work permit if necessary as well as to be presented to a border services officer when you arrive in Canada. Generally the LOA is issued by an International Admissions Officer shortly after commitment fees are paid, but the exact timeline may vary from program to program. You should not need to request any other kind of International Letter of Verification while you have a valid LOA.

For questions about LOAs, please contact your Admissions Officer or email international_admissions@bcit.ca.

Letters of verification from BCIT Student Records

Any student can access free letters of verification provided by Student Records that are completely different from the International Letters of Verification described above. Be aware that verification letters from BCIT Student Records are NOT suitable for IRCC applications. However, they may be used for other purposes such as demonstrating that you are enrolled in courses in order to qualify for promotions that are only available to students such as no-fee student bank accounts, student phone plans, student ski passes, etc.