HI, my daughter (US citizen) and her Canadian boyfriend want to study at the University of Regina this fall. She will be starting her second year of college and wants to graduate from this Canadian school.

We have been told by the "expert" at Regina that she can apply for a study permit upon border crossing or when she gets to her port of entry. One of the pieces of information that is required is financial records that show she can support herself. And a letter from the school showing that her tuition is paid.

Our questions are these?

1) Assuming she gets the permit, how often does it have to be renewed?

2) She herself does not have sufficient funds in a bank account to show she can support herself for three years. As her parents, we fully intend to support her living expenses and pay her tuition, however we do not have $50,000 in an account to prove this. We intend to take loans out for her tuition and transfer money to her on a monthly basis to pay for rent and food. (We both work and have income to do this with.) She also has a credit card.

3) Isn't it rather dicey to pay her tuition and get her all ready to go to school and then find out at the border that something is amiss and she can't get a permit to study at Regina? Should we apply for her permit first? But we definitely want some reassurance that she can get the permit before we pay the school any money. This seems like a Catch -22.

4) They would like to marry upon graduation. Will they encounter problems?

5) What experience have other folks had in this area? Thanks so much.