Frequently Asked Questions

While each situation and visitor may be different depending on their circumstances and IRCC processing times, generally speaking, visiting international students coming to Canada to participate in a research internship will enter via one of three categories.

• Visitor Visa via Global Skills Strategy 120-day Work Permit Exemption for international research visitor stays of less than 4 months
• Work Permit for stays of over 4 months
• eTA (electronic Travel Authorization)

Find out if you need a visa to travel to Canada

Please note that none of the above options are study permits. Do not apply for a study permit, as academic visitors performing research are not coming to Canada to enroll in courses or participate in a study exchange for credit.

As per IRCC, international student visitors entering Canada to perform research through the specific programs in this portfolio are not able to study or enroll in courses.

For any immigration-related questions not answered above, research interns who have already been offered a placement with a U of A Host Professor are welcome to Submit a General Inquiry → Staff General Inquiry to the Staff Service Centre with “Immigration - Academic Visitor” in the ‘What do you need help with?’ subject line. Please be patient, as it may take 1-4 business days on average to receive a reply after you send an inquiry. 

University of Alberta International facilitates the immigration invitation process and campus registration for research interns coming through the programs we administer.

Should you be interested in hosting a research intern whose stay is not directly facilitated by UAI, please refer to the information regarding inviting international visitors (academic visitors) to campus.

Yourself or someone from the department may need to complete the Foreign Visitor Category Assessment (FVCA), which will be reviewed by our HR Immigration Services colleagues. The visiting researcher(s) will need to provide some information such as passport number, citizenship, date of birth, so that the FVCA can be completed.

HR Immigration Services advisors can be reached via the Staff Service Centre if you have questions about this process. The U of A professor or research associate can submit an inquiry with the word "Immigration—Academic Visitors" in the subject line.

Then, once the invitation process has been completed as outlined above, and the visiting international student has arrived in Canada, our team at University of Alberta International (UAI) International Student and Visitor Services (ISVS) is happy to provide the visitor with settlement services, including information about weekly social events and cultural activities organized by our student Program Assistants. 

Please have the visitor(s) sign up their UAlberta email address(es) for our newsletter. Many events are free or low-cost ways to meet new people while experiencing life in Canada. For example, our English Conversation Club from 3-5pm on Friday afternoons allow visitors to practice not only conversing in English with people from different countries and cultures (as for some visitors, English may already be their first language), but also aims to educate international visitors about different facets of daily life in Edmonton, Alberta and foster dialogue about Canadian culture.  

While our fellow U of A colleagues in HR Immigration Services are the best resource for starting the visa/immigration process, please do not hesitate to reach out if our office can assist in other ways.

University of Alberta International coordinates research internships for visiting international students who are sponsored by the following programs:

• Mitacs Globalink Research Internships (Mitacs GRI)
• Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP)
• Canada-ASEAN Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development (SEED)
• University of Alberta Research Experience (UARE)
• China Scholarship Council (CSC)
• RWTH Aachen Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)

If you are not eligible for any of the above programs, you may wish to individually pursue a self-funded research internship directly with a U of A host professor. This is organized independent of UAI. Based on your individual funding and availability, you may opt to find a willing University of Alberta host supervisor and independently arrange a research stay. 

Should you independently arrange a research stay at University of Alberta as an academic visitor, we would be delighted to include you in any social programming or campus activities for visiting international students.

Due to capacity and resources, University of Alberta International only collects research projects from our U of A faculty members who are willing and able to host and mentor visiting researchers through two of our specific programs: UARE and CSC-funded research internships.

To our knowledge, there is no centralized list of all research projects on campus for interested visiting researchers to access. The closest resource we can find to a centralized list or database of research projects across campus is this Successful Grants Library hosted by the Research Services Office, which serves U of A Researchers (i.e., faculty members). Please feel to reach out to us if you have new information to share with us.

Because of this, in order to find an appropriate/suitable research project as a prospective academic visitor, you can either apply to participate in one of UAI's research internship programs if you are eligible, or independently pursue a research stay with a U of A host professor if you will be self-funded or have external funding.

In order to find an appropriate supervisor/mentor at University of Alberta for your research stay, you can visit our Colleges & Faculties webpage, and from there, click on the webpage of the faculties you are interested in to view a list of our professors and their research areas.

Alternatively, you can also search for Professors, Associate Professors and/or Assistant Professors using this Directory, which is grouped by faculty.

You may also wish to consult this list of Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects.

Your next step is for you to reach out to the University of Alberta faculty member directly via email. When contacting University of Alberta host professors via email, they may find it helpful for you to include:

• your full name and contact information
• your home university and home country
• whether you are currently an undergraduate (bachelor's) or graduate (master or doctoral) student
• current year of your program and anticipated date (month/year) of graduation
• how you expect to fund your research stay (ex. funding from your home university or other sources; a scholarship you have already received; a scholarship that you plan to apply for but need someone to supervise you, etc.)
• your research background and academic interests, and how they align with the chosen host professor's
• desired length of program (how long you wish to stay to do research), including your ideal start & end date and/or which specific months you are available, or how flexible you can be
• documents such as your CV/resume, transcripts, or relevant academic history

In order to effectively perform research, visiting international student participants must have proficient English speaking, reading, writing, and listening capabilities. In terms of standardized testing and benchmarking, this translates to TOEFL 70 iBT or 5.5 IELTS (or the equivalent through another testing platform) as a minimum score. 

Of course, some of our research interns are native English speakers, or have taken courses in English as an additional language during the majority of their schooling. However, other students may have had less opportunities to use English as the primary language in professional settings, or to be immersed in a predominantly English-speaking community. 

Due to the unique technical nature of specific terminology in many academic subjects and fields of research, University of Alberta International encourages faculty members to set up a brief video interview to see if the prospective visiting international student has sufficient communication capabilities to contribute to the host professor's research project. 

There are also opportunities to utilize French as the primary language of communication with specific Host Professors, such as for research projects with our faculty members based at University of Alberta's Campus Saint-Jean in Edmonton.

International Student & Visitor Services (ISVS) hosts various events throughout the year. Join the fun and meet new friends!

Check out upcoming events or subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with what's happening.

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Participation in social activities is optional but strongly encouraged for research internship participants so that you can meet new people and network. Many of your fellow visiting international researchers may also be new to Canada, and we do not want you to feeling isolated or alone in a new place. Our goal is to help you become a part of the University of Alberta community by fostering an inclusive, supportive environment where you can flourish and make new connections.

University of Alberta International employs student staff as Program Assistants (PAs for short). The PAs will plan fun activities that will introduce you to our campuses and life in Alberta. They understand student life, and strive to connect you with the experiences you are seeking during your time at University of Alberta.

Please feel free to communicate with our staff about which events you would like to try! We are open to suggestions, and we try to offer activities that range in cost and location.