Studying in Canada: study permits, work and life after graduation

A study permit is a document from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that allows a foreign national to study at a designated learning institution (DLI). A DLI is a school approved by a province or territory to host international students. If you are approved from outside Canada, IRCC also issues a visitor visa or an electronic travel authorization (eTA) if you need one.

The rules are in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). Under section 216, the officer must be satisfied that a DLI has accepted you and that you will leave Canada at the end of your authorized stay. Section 220 requires enough money, without working in Canada, for tuition, living costs and travel for you and any family who come with you.

The program has changed a lot since 2024. IRCC caps how many applications it accepts each year, most applicants need a PAL/TAL, students must apply for a new permit to change post-secondary schools, and the post-graduation work permit (PGWP) now has language and field of study rules. IRCC's March 2026 briefing for the House of Commons immigration committee reported that 59% of new study permit applications were refused in 2025.

Likely a good fit if:

• You have, or can get, an acceptance letter from a DLI for a program that fits your education and plans.
• You can document enough money for your first year and explain how you will pay for the rest of the program.
• You plan a master's or doctoral degree at a public DLI, which no longer needs a PAL/TAL.
• You want Canadian credentials and, after graduation, Canadian work experience.

Look at other options if:

• Your course lasts 6 months or less. You may be able to study as a visitor (see the Visitor page).
• You already hold a work permit and want a program of 6 months or less. IRCC allows some workers to study without a study permit.
• Your main goal is to work or immigrate, not to study. See the Work Permits and Express Entry pages.

IRCC's list of study permit requirements does not include a language test, although your school may require one for admission. Language results become mandatory later, for most PGWP applicants.

Some people can study without a permit, including anyone in a course of 6 months or less, families and staff of accredited foreign representatives, and people with Registered Indian status. Minor children in Canada can attend preschool, primary or secondary school without a permit in several cases, for example when a parent is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, or is authorized to work or study in Canada.

Generally, you must apply before you come to Canada. Only some people can apply from inside Canada, for example if you or your spouse, common-law partner or parent already hold a study or work permit. Citizens and permanent residents of the United States, and residents of Greenland or Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, may apply at a port of entry.

The international student cap limits how many study permit applications IRCC accepts each calendar year. IRCC divides the spaces among provinces and territories, which pass them to their schools. When a school gives you a space, you receive a PAL/TAL. In most cases you must first accept your offer and pay part or all of your tuition.

To reach 180,000 approvals, IRCC will accept up to 309,670 applications that need a PAL/TAL in 2026. The largest shares go to Ontario (104,780) and Quebec (93,069).

You do not need a PAL/TAL for preschool, primary or secondary school, a master's or doctoral degree program at a public DLI, a federally designated military college, the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot or certain Quebec vocational programs. Exchange students who pay no tuition to the Canadian school, Global Affairs Canada scholarship holders and students extending at the same school and level of study are also exempt, among others. Include proof of your exemption.

• A PAL/TAL issued in 2026 is valid until December 31, 2026, unless it shows an earlier date. It must be valid when you apply, not when you start school.
• Submit it with your application, not after. Each applicant needs their own.
• You need a new one if your last application was approved or refused, if you change schools, if you restore your status, and in most cases if you change your level of study.

1. 1

   Choose a DLI and program

   Check the school on IRCC's DLI list. If you may want a PGWP, confirm the program is PGWP-eligible and, for college programs, that its field of study is on the eligible list when you apply.

2. 2

   Get your letter of acceptance

   Apply to the school. Upload the acceptance letter only in its own space in the online application.

3. 3

   Get your PAL/TAL or CAQ

   Ask your school how to get a PAL/TAL. For Quebec, apply to the MII for a CAQ for studies through the Arrima platform.

4. 4

   Gather your documents

   Prepare your passport, proof of funds and a letter of explanation saying why you want to study in Canada and that you understand your responsibilities. Add a medical exam, police certificate or custodianship declaration if needed.

5. 5

   Apply online and give biometrics

   Pay the study permit fee and, in most cases, the biometrics fee. Most applicants aged 14 to 79 give fingerprints and a photo, which stay valid for 10 years.

6. 6

   Respond during processing

   IRCC checks your acceptance letter with the school and may ask for an interview or more documents. Keep your contact details up to date.

7. 7

   Travel and start studying

   If approved from outside Canada, you get a port of entry letter of introduction. The border officer issues your permit when you arrive. Read its conditions; you can only start working once your program starts.

• Since April 1, 2026, post-secondary students do not need a co-op work permit for required placements. Secondary students still need one (no fee).
• Working more than 24 hours a week off campus in a regular term breaks your conditions. You can lose your status and be refused future permits.
• You cannot work off campus if you only take English or French as a second language, general interest courses or courses needed to enter another program.
• If you are eligible but your permit has no work condition, ask IRCC to add it at no cost before applying for a SIN.

After your program ends, you may keep working full-time while you wait for a decision if you were eligible to work off campus and applied for a PGWP or other work permit before your study permit expired.

Since January 21, 2025, your spouse or common-law partner may get an open work permit only if you hold a valid study permit and study in:

• a master's degree program of 16 months or longer
• a doctoral degree program
• certain university professional degrees: dentistry, law, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, nursing, education (BEd) or engineering
• an eligible program listed by IRCC, such as the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot

The spouse's permit is usually valid for as long as your study permit. Spouses who do not qualify may be able to get another type of work permit.

Your funds must cover every family member who comes with you. Minor children coming with a parent who is applying for a study or work permit must apply for their own study permit before entering Canada, without needing a letter of acceptance. The age of majority is 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan, and 19 elsewhere. A child who reaches it needs a study permit to keep studying.

You must stay enrolled at a DLI and actively pursue your studies: be enrolled each term (except scheduled breaks), make progress, and not take an authorized leave longer than 150 days. Schools report to IRCC twice a year on whether international students are enrolled, and IRCC may email you to confirm your enrolment. If IRCC finds you did not meet your conditions, it may ask you to leave, and you may have to wait 6 months before you can apply for a new study permit, or for a visitor visa or work permit in Canada.

• Validity: usually your program plus 90 days. If you finish early, the permit stops being valid 90 days after your school first confirms you completed your program.
• Extending: apply at least 30 days before your permit expires. If you apply in time and stay in Canada, you can keep studying under the same conditions until IRCC decides. A permit cannot be extended past your passport's expiry date.
• Restoring status: if your permit expired, you can apply within 90 days, with a new PAL/TAL, but you cannot study until your status is restored.
• Changing schools: since November 8, 2024, you must apply to extend your permit for the new post-secondary DLI, with a letter explaining the change and, since January 22, 2025, a new PAL/TAL unless exempt. You usually must wait for approval before starting, unless your old school closed, discontinued your program, lost its designation or was placed on the suspension list, you have not left Canada since your new acceptance letter, and you still meet your current conditions.
• Changing programs at the same school: you can keep studying if your permit is valid and its conditions allow it.
• Changing schools after approval but before you arrive: submit a new application with a new acceptance letter and pay the fees again.

The post-graduation work permit (PGWP) is an open work permit for graduates of eligible programs at PGWP-eligible DLIs. You can get only one.

• The program must be at least 8 months long (900 hours in Quebec), studied full-time each term, with part-time allowed in the final term.
• Apply within 180 days of confirmation that you completed your program, while your study permit was valid at some point in that period.
• Eligible fields of study are linked to occupations in long-term shortage. IRCC will not add or remove any for 2026.
• If you started your program or applied for your study permit on or after September 1, 2024 (whichever came first), at least 50% of the program must be in class in Canada.
• Not eligible: English or French as a second language, general interest courses, most non-credit programs, and most programs a private college delivers for a public college.

A master's degree of at least 8 months can lead to a 3-year PGWP. For other programs, one shorter than 2 years leads to a PGWP up to its length, and one of 2 years or more can lead to 3 years. The PGWP cannot outlast your passport.

Many graduates later apply for permanent residence through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) in Express Entry. It requires at least 1 year (1,560 hours) of paid skilled work in Canada, in jobs in Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) categories 0, 1, 2 or 3, within the 3 years before you apply, plus approved language test results. Work done as a full-time student, including co-op terms, does not count. The CEC is for people who plan to live outside Quebec, which selects its own skilled workers.

The MII charges $135 in 2026 to examine a CAQ application for studies. The fee is not refunded if the application is refused.

Common proof of funds includes a receipt for paid tuition and housing, a guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) from a Canadian financial institution, a bank loan, a scholarship, and bank statements for the past 6 months showing where the money came from. The Student Direct Stream (SDS) and Nigeria Student Express ended on November 8, 2024; the regular process still accepts GICs.

Tuition is extra. Statistics Canada expects average tuition for international undergraduates at public degree-granting institutions to be $41,746 a year in 2025/2026 ($24,028 for graduate students), ranging from $18,867 in Newfoundland and Labrador to $49,802 in Ontario for undergraduates.

Processing times change often and depend on where you apply from. IRCC's current figures for applications from outside Canada, from inside Canada and for extensions are shown on this page.

• Purpose of study: the officer is not convinced your main purpose in Canada is to study. Your letter of explanation should say why you chose this program and show you understand your responsibilities.
• Leaving Canada: the officer is not satisfied you will leave at the end of your stay, as IRPR section 216(1)(b) requires.
• Funds: not enough money, or money whose source is not documented. IRCC assesses both the amount and its source (IRPR section 220).
• Acceptance letter: the school cannot confirm the letter, or it is not valid.
• Missing or invalid PAL/TAL: it must be valid when you apply and included with the application, unless you prove an exemption.
• Medical or criminal inadmissibility.
• Misrepresentation: false documents or hidden facts can make you inadmissible for 5 years under section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
• Past non-compliance, such as unauthorized work or not studying while holding a permit.

The refusal letter gives the reasons. Since July 29, 2025, IRCC also sends an officer decision note with most study permit and study permit extension refusals, though parts may be removed. If you apply again, you need a new PAL/TAL. In Quebec you can reuse a valid CAQ unless you change your level of study.