Admissions  

Admission Deferral

Deferring your admission to a future term

We understand that unforeseen circumstances can arise that may affect your ability to start your NAIT studies as planned. If you find yourself in such a situation, you may be eligible to request an admissions deferral.

What’s an admission deferral?

If you encounter an unexpected circumstance, an admissions deferral allows you to move your seat in a degree, diploma or credit program to a future open intake without having to reapply for admission. This option is only available for new students who encounter unforeseen circumstances beyond their control, such as:

  • Health issues or medical emergencies affecting you or your family
  • Military service or deployment
  • Study permit delays
  • Other significant life events or emergencies

You can only defer your admission once. Deferral requests are not guaranteed and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Deferrals are not approved for students planning to attend another institution or who are not financially prepared to start their studies.

How to defer

Winter 2025 Deferral Deadline Extended: NAIT has extended the deferral deadline to December 16, 2024 for the upcoming Winter 2025 term.

Eligibility

Who can defer

To be considered for a deferral, you must:

  • Have accepted an offer of admission to NAIT by paying your tuition deposit.
  • Continue to meet any conditions outlined in your offer of admission.
  • Be affected by an extenuating circumstance beyond your control and provide supporting documentation (such as a medical note).
  • Submit a deferral request within the specified timeline (see below).

Additional considerations

  • It is your responsibility to make sure your deferral request has the correct information and appropriate documentation.
  • Whether you're a domestic or international student, you can only defer your admission once and cannot qualify for a second deferral. If you previously deferred your admission and still are unable to attend NAIT, you need to submit a new application.
  • You can only request a deferral for the same certificate, diploma or degree program to which you were initially accepted.
    • Requests to defer from the previous Digital Media and IT (DMIT) program to the new specialized diplomas will not be considered. 
  • Any awarded entrance awards cannot be deferred.

Deferral deadline

When to defer

You have until the deferral request deadline for your term start to submit a deferral:

Term start Deferral request deadline
Fall Aug. 1
Winter Dec. 16 for Winter 2025
Spring April 1

Requests from students facing unforeseen circumstances submitted after the deferral request deadline are reviewed and considered at the discretion of NAIT.

Submitting a deferral request

How to request a deferral

To request an admission deferral:

  1. Go to the online contact form, select topic: Admission Questions, subcategory: Admission Deferraland
  2. Attach supporting documentation regarding your situation. This may include a medical note, official letters or other relevant documents.

Submit a deferral request

Deferral decision

You will be notified via email once your request for a deferral has been reviewed and a decision has been made. Review timelines depend on the time of year and volume of deferrals, please allow for approximately 2-3 weeks.

Once a deferral decision has been made, it typically cannot be reversed or undone.  

Approved deferral

If your deferral request is approved, you will:

  • Have your current application cancelled and be withdrawn from your classes in the term you were originally scheduled to begin your program.  
  • Be deferred to the next available intake.
  • Not be required to pay the tuition deposit again, as your original deposit will be moved to this new term automatically.

If you’re an international student, you will be issued a new Letter of Acceptance to begin your program in a later term. Upload this new letter to the IRCC webform. You will also receive a new tuition guarantee based on the new term you will begin your program.

Denied deferral

If your deferral request is denied and you do not want to attend NAIT, we recommend that you log in to your MyNAIT portal to drop your classes in your current term, so you do not incur any additional academic or financial penalties. You’ll need to submit a new application if you wish to attend NAIT in the future.

Please note that if your deferral request is denied, your tuition deposit paid is non-refundable and non-transferable.

View refund policy


International applicants

Impacted by study permit delays

If you’re an international applicant and your study permit processing is delayed, please carefully review the deferral eligibility and submission requirements provided above. Additionally, please read the following additional information:

Study permit delays additional information

If you have applied for your study permit but have not yet received approval due to processing delays, you can request to defer your admission to delay the start of your studies.

Study permit denials or refusals cannot be deferred. Please review NAIT’s refund policy for information about what to do if your study permit is refused.

Study permit status documentation

When submitting your deferral request (see above), please include a screenshot of your current study permit status from your IRCC portal. The screenshot should clearly display:

  • Your full name (first and last name)
  • Current status of your study permit

When to request a deferral

If you are waiting on your study permit, we suggest not requesting a deferral too soon – you may still get your study permit in time. It's best to wait and submit your deferral request closer to the deadline, noted above.

Impacted by IRCC changes to PGWP eligibility

If you have been impacted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) changes to Post-Grad Work Permit (PGWP) eligibility, you can use the International Application Transfer Form (PDF) to request to transfer your current application to another program at NAIT. Before submitting the form, please:

  • Check the program’s International Applicant tab to confirm it is PGWP-eligible;
  • Make sure you meet admission requirements and that the program is open for applications.

Note: Submission of this form does NOT guarantee admission to the new requested program. NAIT will review and assess your application to determine eligibility – you’ll be notified via email regarding the status of your request.  


Need some help?

Connect with us

If you’d like more information about making the decision to defer, reach out to:

  • The Student Service Centre for general questions, like about your class schedule or deposit.
  • International students with immigration questions can contact an Academic Advisor with a focus on international matters. You can do this by submitting an Immigration inquiry on the Contact Form.
Shopping Cart Quick View
Open Shopping Cart