Every year, millions of foreign nationals apply for study permits to pursue further education in Canada.

In fact, studying in Canada is so popular that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently imposed a two-year limit on new international students aimed at controlling the arrival of foreign nationals.

Generally, there are now three steps an applicant must take to obtain a study permit. The process involves obtaining a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from their Canadian Designated Learning Institution (DLI), obtaining a verification letter from the province or territory where the DLI is located, and then applying for a study permit from IRCC.

Explore your options for studying in Canada

However, in the following four cases, foreign nationals coming to study in Canada will also need a medical exam:

• If the student is coming from a specified visa-required country/territory
• If the student will be in Canada for more than six months
• If the person is a medical student
• If the student will work in “healthcare or any other field that [them] coming into close contact with children or the elderly”

Temporary Public Policy for Medical Examinations

As of October 6, 2024, IRCC has implemented a policy on medical examinations that exempts certain applicants – for both temporary residence and permanent residence – from completing another medical exam if they have already completed a medical exam in the past five years.

Applicants must satisfy all four of the following conditions to be eligible for this exemption:

• the applicant “must have applied, or [currently be] Applying for permanent residence or temporary residence” such as a study permit
• The applicant must already be residing in Canada
• The applicant must have completed a medical examination in the last five years
• The applicant’s previous medical examination must have “indicated a low or no risk to public health or public safety”

Understanding Medical Exams for Temporary Residents

IRCC explains that there are different procedures and policies for medical exams depending on whether the recipient is applying for temporary residence* or permanent residence in Canada.

Click here to learn more about medical examinations for Canadian permanent residence applicants.

Who needs a medical examination?

For temporary residence applicants, IRCC states that the requirement for a medical exam generally depends on how long the person intends to stay in Canada.

Specifically, IRCC indicates that temporary residents who plan to stay in Canada for six months or less “generally do not need a medical exam, unless [they] Plan to work in certain jobs [where] Public health must be protected.”

Examples of such jobs provided by IRCC include:

• workers in health care centres
• Patient Attendants in Nursing and Geriatric Homes
• Medical students admitted to Canada to study at university
• Employees working in a primary or secondary school, or in a child-care setting
• workers who care for children, the elderly, and the disabled at home

This condition also applies to agricultural workers who have lived in or visited one of these countries for six consecutive months or more in the year before coming to Canada.

On the other hand, temporary residents planning to stay in Canada for more than six months will need a medical test if:

Types of medical examinations

IRCC notes that applicants may be required to undergo a standard medical examination or a streamlined medical examination, which IRCC describes as “a simplified medical examination” [for] in urgent operational situations, such as humanitarian crises, and other exceptional circumstances as determined by IRCC.”

*Applicants are unable to request a specific type of medical exam, and IRCC will inform them which test they will need to take.

Who can do a medical examination?

Only IRCC-designated panel physicians are licensed to perform the medical examination required for temporary residence or permanent residence applicants. In other words, applicants cannot have their family doctor perform this examination, unless that person is also designated by IRCC.

Note that the final decision regarding an applicant’s medical exam is made by IRCC, not the examining doctor.

Explore your options for studying in Canada