Can a Student Drive to School with a Permit? Study permit holders in Canada (who are full time students, particularly those in the latter year of secondary school) may be of driving age. If they are of driving age they may want to drive to school while possessing a study permit. In the province of Ontario, a study permit holder seeking to drive must be at least 16 years of age.
With respect to foreign nationals studying in the province of Ontario, study permit holders must have a valid driver’s licence from their own country. If the student is intending to reside in Ontario for more than three months, the student needs an International Driver’s Permit from their own country. If the student does not have an international driver’s licence, then the student must apply for a drivers licence in the province they reside in.
In the province of Ontario, there is a graduated licencing system. At the fullest level, there is the “G” level of driving. Beneath the G, are two other levels of licensure for driving. Class G1 (which allows the holder to drive Class G vehicles with an accompanying fully licensed driver with at least four years driving experience. There is also the Class G2, a higher level of graduated licensing. G2 Holders may drive Class G vehicles without an accompanying driver but are subject to certain conditions (such as having 0 of blood-alcohol and the number of minors in a vehicle between midnight and 5 am.)
Students with a drivers licence issued by a province in Canada have the advantage of being able to prove their address through said licence. Indeed, a drivers licence may form a beneficial part of a record for a spousal sponsorship application (to prove that the applicant and her sponsor reside together). At the other end of spectrum of scrutiny (e.g. when a person is being scrutinized to ensure that the person is not evading border authorities), a driver’s licence, if no properly updated to match the terms & conditions issued by the Canada Border Services Agency, could form the basis to being deemed a ‘flight risk’. Similarly, in cases where there is a suspicion that a person obtained permanent resident status through a non-genuine marriage, drivers license histories of the couple are obtained to assess if they presented themselves to the provincial authorities as living at the same address.
So, Can a Student Drive to School with a Permit? If you have questions regarding the interplay between a drivers licence and the immigration department (or the Canada Border Services Agency), Contact us.
