I am writing this post so that someone who is in a similar position can find some peace.
Background: I applied to a program with mandatory co-op element at UofT. Since, co-op was mandatory I applied for co-op work permit in conjunction with my study permit application, by clicking ‘Yes’ on the question where they ask whether work is a mandatory requirement of the program, and uploaded a co-op letter that I got from UofT. However, due to Covid, I got the result on my visa only 3 months before my co-op was supposed to start. And when I got my passport back it had S-1 visa stamped on it instead of SW-1, inspite of applying for SW-1. I could’ve applied for the co-op work permit once I reached Canada, however it usually takes 3-4 months for it to get processed (could be more due to Covid)
Thus I decided to get it changed to SW-1 from India itself. Usually you fill a webform addressing this query, and then they send it to an officer who reviews it and takes a decision. However this is somewhat a long process, especially in Covid times where getting a reply for your webform itself takes more than a month. So instead I called on the IRCC support call center number ( 888-242-2100 ) from India using the Textnow app. I explained my situation to the person there and she was really helpful and patient during the entire call (Canadians are really patient!). She checked in her system and confirmed that they actually had the co-op letter in their system and said that this was a very common issue where S-1 visa gets issued instead of SW-1. She said that she’d leave a note for the officer for this, but said that she’d couldn’t guarantee that he’d actually open. 6 days later I received passport request again and my application was approved once again. I sent my passport for restamping and this time got the SW-1 visa. They kept the original S-1 visa as it was in the passport, however just changed its status to invalid in the Gc key account.
My advice:
Check your letter of introduction to confirm your status. Sometimes you get S-1 visa however in the letter, on the second page you’d see “SP and WP” or just “WP” in the document part. This means you were approved for co-op work permit
If you have more than 4 months to your co-op it might be better to actually get to Canada and then applying for co-op work permit from there itself. However if time is an issue, you can get it changed here as well.
Hopefully this helps to anyone in the same situation. All the best!
PS: These are just my opinions and not immigration advice.
Background: I applied to a program with mandatory co-op element at UofT. Since, co-op was mandatory I applied for co-op work permit in conjunction with my study permit application, by clicking ‘Yes’ on the question where they ask whether work is a mandatory requirement of the program, and uploaded a co-op letter that I got from UofT. However, due to Covid, I got the result on my visa only 3 months before my co-op was supposed to start. And when I got my passport back it had S-1 visa stamped on it instead of SW-1, inspite of applying for SW-1. I could’ve applied for the co-op work permit once I reached Canada, however it usually takes 3-4 months for it to get processed (could be more due to Covid)
Thus I decided to get it changed to SW-1 from India itself. Usually you fill a webform addressing this query, and then they send it to an officer who reviews it and takes a decision. However this is somewhat a long process, especially in Covid times where getting a reply for your webform itself takes more than a month. So instead I called on the IRCC support call center number ( 888-242-2100 ) from India using the Textnow app. I explained my situation to the person there and she was really helpful and patient during the entire call (Canadians are really patient!). She checked in her system and confirmed that they actually had the co-op letter in their system and said that this was a very common issue where S-1 visa gets issued instead of SW-1. She said that she’d leave a note for the officer for this, but said that she’d couldn’t guarantee that he’d actually open. 6 days later I received passport request again and my application was approved once again. I sent my passport for restamping and this time got the SW-1 visa. They kept the original S-1 visa as it was in the passport, however just changed its status to invalid in the Gc key account.
My advice:
Check your letter of introduction to confirm your status. Sometimes you get S-1 visa however in the letter, on the second page you’d see “SP and WP” or just “WP” in the document part. This means you were approved for co-op work permit
If you have more than 4 months to your co-op it might be better to actually get to Canada and then applying for co-op work permit from there itself. However if time is an issue, you can get it changed here as well.
Hopefully this helps to anyone in the same situation. All the best!
PS: These are just my opinions and not immigration advice.