Study Permits

A study permit is the document that allows a foreign national to study at a designated learning institution in Canada. JAVED Legal and Immigration Services prepares study permit applications, extensions and changes of school from the Scarborough office, for students in Toronto and across Canada.

The requirements in this area have changed repeatedly since 2024, and several of them now turn on details that are easy to miss: the attestation letter, the amount of money that has to be shown, and what happens when a student moves to a different school. The current position is set out below.

Who needs a study permit

Most foreign nationals need a study permit. The main exception is a program that lasts six months or less, which can be taken without one.

There are narrower exceptions for minor children already in Canada in certain circumstances, family or staff of foreign representatives accredited by Global Affairs Canada, members of a foreign armed force from a country designated under the Visiting Forces Act, registered Indians in Canada, and some others.

One point is worth knowing before relying on an exception. Without a study permit you cannot work while studying, and a separate work permit would be required. For a short program that may not matter; for anything longer it usually does.

What has to be in place before you apply

Acceptance by a designated learning institution

You need a letter of acceptance from a school on IRCC’s list of designated learning institutions. Not every school in Canada is designated, and not every designated school offers programs that lead to a post-graduation work permit. Both are worth checking before fees are paid.

A provincial or territorial attestation letter

A provincial attestation letter or territorial attestation letter, usually called a PAL or TAL, is a letter from the province or territory confirming that a study space has been allocated to you. It is issued through the school, and in most cases you have to accept your offer and pay tuition in part or in full before the school will provide it.

It is required in most cases, but not all. IRCC lists these as not requiring a PAL or TAL:

• preschool, primary school and secondary school up to grade 12
• a federally designated military college
• a vocational training program in Quebec leading to a diploma of vocational studies, an attestation of vocational specialization, or a skills training certificate
• a school taking part in the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot, where the letter of acceptance identifies you as an applicant under that pilot
• a master’s degree-granting program at a public designated learning institution
• a doctoral degree-granting program at a public designated learning institution

An attestation letter is tied to the study permit cap year in which it was issued and, unless it shows an earlier expiry date, one issued during 2026 is valid until 31 December 2026. It has to be valid when you apply, not when you start studying. It must be submitted with the application rather than afterwards, and each applicant needs their own, including where a family applies together.

Proof of financial support

You must show that you can pay tuition, living expenses for yourself and any family members coming with you, and return transportation, without working in Canada. You have to show funds for the first year, and for a longer program you also have to explain how the rest of it will be paid for. IRCC assesses both the amount and the source of the funds.

Satisfying the officer that you will leave

An applicant has to satisfy an officer that they will leave Canada when the permit expires. This is where a large share of refusals happen, and it is assessed on the whole picture: ties to the home country, the purpose and logic of the study plan, the applicant’s history, and the family situation. A study plan that does not make sense against the applicant’s background and previous education attracts close attention.

You must also be admissible. A police certificate or an immigration medical examination may be required depending on where you have lived and what you intend to study.

Applying from outside Canada

Most applicants apply from outside Canada, normally online, with the letter of acceptance, the attestation letter where one is required, proof of funds, identity documents and whatever else the applicant’s situation calls for. If the application is approved you receive a letter of introduction, and the permit itself is issued when you arrive. A visitor visa or an electronic travel authorization is issued alongside it depending on nationality.

If the school changes after an application has been approved, a new application and new fees are required. Where the application is still in progress, the school can be changed by submitting a new letter of acceptance, and a new attestation letter where one is needed, through the IRCC web form.

Applying or extending from inside Canada

Some people already in Canada can apply here, and existing students extend their permits from inside Canada. The expiry date on a study permit is normally the length of the program plus 90 days, and that extra period is there so a student can prepare to leave or apply to stay.

An application to extend has to be made before the current permit expires. Do that, and you have maintained status: you may remain in Canada, and continue studying, while the application is processed.

Maintained status has limits that catch people out. While on maintained status you cannot renew provincial documents such as a driver’s licence or health card, and you cannot obtain a social insurance number card. It is worth renewing those before the permit expires rather than after.

If your permit has already expired

You lose student status if the permit expired before you applied for a new one, if you changed something the permit fixed, such as your school, your type of study, the location or the period of study, or if you did not comply with the permit’s conditions. Once status is lost, you cannot study until it has been restored.

Restoration is possible, but it is time-limited: the application must be made within 90 days of losing status, and you must still meet the requirements of your stay. You apply for restoration and for a new study permit together, and pay both fees. You may remain in Canada while it is processed, but you cannot study in the meantime and there is no guarantee of approval.

Family members in Canada are not covered by your application. A spouse, partner or dependent child who has also lost status has to apply separately and pay their own restoration fee.

Conditions on a study permit, and keeping status

A study permit is not simply permission to be in Canada. It carries conditions, and the obligations attached to it are ongoing:

• you must be enrolled at a designated learning institution and actively studying;
• you must make progress towards completing your program;
• you must comply with any condition printed on the permit, which may fix the institution, whether you may work, and the date you must leave;
• you must stop studying if you no longer meet the requirements.

IRCC checks compliance. Schools report students who are not registered, and IRCC may email a student directly, from an address ending in @cic.gc.ca, requiring confirmation of enrolment by a stated date. Those emails should not be ignored.

Working while studying

Where the permit carries the right condition, a full-time student at a designated learning institution in a program of at least six months leading to a degree, diploma or certificate may work off campus without a separate work permit once the program has started. The current limit is 24 hours per week while classes are in session, and hours are unlimited during scheduled breaks such as summer, winter and reading week.

Students in an English or French language program alone, those taking only general interest courses, and those taking only prerequisite courses cannot work off campus on this basis. A permit that has no work condition on it, or that carries an out-of-date 20-hour condition, is worth checking rather than assuming. Working more hours than permitted is a breach of the permit conditions, and the consequences reach beyond the current permit into future applications.

Changing schools or programs

This is the change that causes the most difficulty, because the rule is not what most students expect.

At the post-secondary level, a student who moves to a different designated learning institution must obtain a new study permit by applying to extend the current one, before starting at the new school. Telling the school is not enough, and neither is simply enrolling. The application has to include a letter explaining why you are changing schools and, unless one of the exemptions applies, a new and valid attestation letter, which has been a requirement since 22 January 2025.

There is a narrow exception that allows a student to begin at the new school while the application is being processed, and it applies only where all of the following are true: you have not left Canada since receiving the new letter of acceptance, you continue to meet the conditions of your previous permit, and, before you finished your program, your former institution closed, discontinued your program, was placed on the suspension list, or lost its designated status. Anyone outside that exception should plan to have the new permit in hand before leaving the old school.

Changing schools without telling IRCC has real consequences. The former school reports the student as no longer enrolled, which breaches the permit conditions. The permit may become invalid or be cancelled, the student may be required to leave or change status, and future study or work permit applications may be refused. Different rules apply in Quebec, where a new CAQ is involved, and to students changing level of study at the same institution.

Spouses, partners and children

Family members can often accompany a student, but the right to work is considerably narrower than it used to be, and this is the point most often misunderstood.

Since 21 January 2025, a spouse or common-law partner may be eligible for an open work permit only where the student holds a valid study permit and is studying in a master’s program of 16 months or longer, a doctoral program, an eligible program, or one of a defined list of university professional degree programs, which includes medicine, dentistry, law, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, nursing, education and engineering.

A spouse or partner of a student outside those categories is not eligible for an open work permit on this basis. They may still be able to apply for another type of work permit on its own merits, which is a different application with its own requirements. Where an open work permit is granted, it is usually valid for the same period as the study permit, and it cannot be extended beyond it.

Accompanying children may be able to attend school in Canada, and the rules differ depending on their age and level of study. This should be confirmed for the particular family rather than assumed.

After you finish studying

A post-graduation work permit is a common goal, but it is not automatic and it is not a consequence of simply studying in Canada. Eligibility depends on several requirements, including when the study permit application was submitted, and on the institution and the specific program. Some designated learning institutions offer no eligible programs at all.

That is why the program and the school are worth checking against the post-graduation work permit requirements before fees are paid, rather than in the final term. The work permits page deals with post-graduation and other work permits in detail.

Nothing about studying in Canada guarantees a post-graduation work permit, permanent residence, or any other future status. Anyone presenting a study permit as a guaranteed route to permanent residence is misdescribing it.

Refusals

Study permit refusals are common, and the most frequent grounds are that the officer was not satisfied the applicant would leave at the end of the authorised stay, that the funds were insufficient or their source unclear, or that the study plan was not persuasive. A procedural fairness letter may be issued before a decision where the officer has a specific concern.

A refusal is not necessarily the end of the matter, but reapplying without understanding why the first application failed usually produces the same result. What the options are, and which of them are appeals, is dealt with on the refused applications page.

How this practice can assist

• Before you apply. Checking that the institution is designated, that the program is what you think it is, and whether an attestation letter is required, before money is committed.
• The application itself. Assembling the financial evidence so that both the amount and the source are clear, and putting the study plan and the applicant’s circumstances before the officer in a form that addresses what the officer has to decide.
• Extensions, changes of school and restoration. These are deadline-driven, and the consequences of getting them wrong fall on the student’s status.
• Procedural fairness letters and refusals. Identifying what the officer was not satisfied about, and advising on what can realistically be done next.

The office is at 695 Markham Road, Unit 19 in Scarborough, and acts for students in Toronto and across Canada. Syed Javed Hussain is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant and a Licensed Paralegal.

Common questions

How much money do I have to show?

For applications made on or after 1 September 2026, outside Quebec, a single applicant must show $23,448 for the first year on top of tuition and transportation, with more for each accompanying family member. The figures change every 1 September, so check the current table before you prepare the evidence.

How many hours can I work?

Where the permit allows off-campus work and you meet the requirements, 24 hours a week while classes are in session, and unlimited hours during scheduled breaks. If your permit still shows a 20-hour condition, the 24-hour limit applies as long as you continue to meet the eligibility requirements.

Do I need a PAL or TAL?

In most cases, yes, but not always. Master’s and doctoral programs at public designated learning institutions, primary and secondary school, federally designated military colleges and some other categories are excepted. It has to be valid when you apply, and each applicant needs their own.

Can I change schools?

At the post-secondary level you must apply to extend your study permit and obtain a new one before you start at the new school, and you generally need a new attestation letter. Only a narrow exception allows a student to start while the application is pending.

My study permit was refused. Can I just apply again?

You can, but a second application that does not address why the first was refused is likely to meet the same outcome. Obtaining the officer’s reasons first is usually the better order of work.

Discuss your matter

If you are applying, bring your letter of acceptance, your attestation letter if you have one, and what you have by way of financial evidence. If you are already in Canada, bring your current study permit and any correspondence from IRCC or your school, and say when your permit expires, because that governs what can be done.

Related pages: work permits and post-graduation work permits · visitor visas and temporary residence · refused applications · all immigration services

Last reviewed: 20 September 2026 against IRCC material. Study permit requirements have changed repeatedly since 2024, particularly the attestation letter, the financial requirement, the rules on changing schools and the eligibility of spouses for open work permits. Check IRCC’s own pages for the current position before acting.