Designated Learning Institutions (DLI): 2026 Guide

Section 211.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) defines a designated learning institution. It includes learning institutions run by a federal department or agency, post-secondary institutions that a province or territory designates under an agreement with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and primary and secondary schools. Quebec institutions are designated under Quebec education laws. Education quality is a provincial matter; IRCC's role is to decide study permits.

An officer can only issue a study permit if a DLI has accepted you (IRPR section 216(1)(e)). For a post-secondary DLI, the school must also confirm your acceptance to IRCC. IRCC's DLI list page says that all primary and secondary schools in Canada are DLIs and are not included in the list, which covers post-secondary schools.

For a school to confirm an acceptance letter when IRCC asks

10 days

Compliance reports on student enrolment, requested March 1 and November 1 (not yet in Quebec)

2 a year

For a school to file each compliance report

60 days

Longest time a DLI can stay on the suspension list

12 months

IRCC's DLI list has three tabs. Choose a tab, select a province or territory, then search by school name or city.

• The exact campusMany schools have several campuses. Check that the campus on your acceptance letter is listed.
• Public or privateOnly public DLIs qualify for the 2026 PAL/TAL exemption for master's and doctoral degrees.
• The program, not only the schoolOn the PGWP tab, open the details and find your program. Some listed programs, such as associate degrees in British Columbia, must also meet the PGWP field of study requirement.
• The DLI numberWrite it in the details of intended study section of your study permit application (IMM 1294) or extension form (IMM 5709). IRCC encourages schools to print it on acceptance letters.
• Suspension or loss of designationA school that lost its designation is no longer a DLI. A suspended school is still a DLI but cannot be named in new study permit applications during the suspension.

Programs delivered by a private college on behalf of a public college (curriculum licensing agreements) are not PGWP-eligible in most cases, even though the public college is a DLI. Only students who began such a program in the same province before May 15, 2024, or between provinces on or before January 31, 2023, may still qualify.

The DLI number is IRCC's identifier for a post-secondary school, called the Organization ID in its case management system. IRCC assigns it once the provincial or territorial ministry confirms the school's designation. Officers link your application to that number, and since November 8, 2024 the school's name is printed on post-secondary study permits. Officers must make sure the correct DLI number is linked to your application, so copy it exactly from the list.

Your permit then ties you to that school: under IRPR section 220.1, you must enroll at the DLI named on your permit and stay enrolled until you complete your studies. Under section 222, the permit becomes invalid on the day you are no longer enrolled there, other than by completing your studies. To move to another DLI you must first apply for a new permit (section 217.1). The study permit extension page explains how.

Since November 8, 2024, section 222.1 of the IRPR makes four reporting duties legal conditions for every post-secondary DLI. IRCC can check compliance at random, when it suspects a problem or an improperly issued acceptance letter, or when the school failed to comply before.

1. 1

   Verification

   An officer reviews the school's compliance and may require documents or a representative to answer questions.

2. 2

   Notice of preliminary finding

   If the failure is not justified, the school receives the details and the recommended suspension period.

3. 3

   Written submissions

   The school has 30 days to respond, with one possible extension of up to 30 days in exceptional circumstances.

4. 4

   Notice of final determination

   IRCC either issues a warning or places the school on the public suspension list for up to 12 consecutive months, considering how often and how seriously it failed, its efforts and its cooperation.

If your school is suspended, closes, discontinues your program or loses its designation before you finish, you may apply for a permit for a new DLI and, under IRPR section 189.1, start studying there while you wait, if you have stayed in Canada since receiving the new acceptance letter and still meet your other conditions.

Loss of designation is a provincial or territorial decision and is separate from an IRCC suspension. The school stops being a DLI, and IRCC cannot issue study permits for it.

• Application received after the school lost its designation: IRCC refuses it, with no refund.
• Application received before: if it would otherwise be approved, IRCC sends a procedural fairness letter. You can send a new acceptance letter and PAL/TAL for another DLI, withdraw, or let it be refused. No refund applies once processing has started.
• Permit already issued: you can keep studying at the school until your permit becomes invalid, or apply for a permit for another DLI. You cannot extend your permit to stay at the school that lost its designation.
• Deferred start: if the school is de-designated before you start, you cannot start there. Find a new DLI and update IRCC.

The faster processing IRCC does offer today is by type of applicant, not by school: doctoral students and their family members, and students in Canada changing to a new post-secondary DLI.

Outside Quebec, your school reports your enrolment status to IRCC twice a year. IRCC has not yet asked Quebec schools for these reports. IRCC may also email you from an address ending in cic.gc.ca to confirm you are enrolled and actively studying; answer by the date given. If you plan to attend more than one DLI at the same time, you need a study permit for each one. Students in a joint program that leads to a single credential need only one permit and one PAL/TAL, for the school that issues the credential.