Who needs a PAL when applying for a study permit?

On January 22, 2024, the Canadian Immigration Bureau IRCC announced a policy to limit study abroad quotas. The policy stipulates that some international students need to obtain a provincial attestation letter (PAL) issued by the province where the school is located when applying for a study permit, and include the letter in the application, otherwise the study permit application may be returned.

The PAL policy limits the number of study permits for relevant educational institutions. If an educational institution has used up its PAL quota for the year, students will not be able to apply for a study permit based on the school's admission letter in that year. Therefore, this policy allows the Canadian Immigration Department to control the number of applications from international students.

Who needs a PAL when applying for a study permit?

It should be noted that not everyone who applies for a study permit needs a PAL. Only international students who study in a DLI educational institution's college, undergraduate, graduate diploma (graduate thesis), or certificate program in Canada and apply for a study permit from outside Canada need to apply for a PAL. The following international students are exempt:

1. International students in preschool, elementary school (including kindergarten), junior high school, and high school (up to grade 12)

2. Attend a vocational training school in Quebec and obtain a Diploma of Vocational Studies (DVS), a Certificate of Vocational Specialization (AVS) or a Skills Training Certificate (STC) upon completion

3. Master and doctoral students

4. Have entered Canada and meet one of the circumstances described in section 251(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR):

(1) International students who have obtained a study permit and need to renew it in China

(2) Hold a work permit

(3) Visiting students and exchange students currently studying in Canadian schools

(4) Transferring from one school to another and having completed the prerequisite courses

(5) A deportation order has been issued but the deportation cannot be carried out temporarily

(6) Hold a TRP (temporary resident permit) with at least 6 months validity

(7) protected person

(8) Have submitted an application for permanent residence based on Humanitarian and Compassionate status and passed the eligibility check.

(9) Have submitted an onshore spouse/common-law partner sponsorship and passed an eligibility check.

4. Has entered Canada and meets one of the circumstances described in section 251(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR):

(1) Spouse/common-law partner holds a Canadian study permit, work permit, or TRP

(2) Your spouse/common-law partner has already submitted an application for permanent residence based on Humanitarian and Compassionate status and has passed the eligibility test

etc.

If you meet the above exemption conditions, although you do not need to apply for PAL, you need to submit relevant materials to prove that you meet the above conditions when submitting your study permit application.