Canada has changed its study permit rules more in the last two years than in the previous ten. If you are reading advice written before 2025, throw it out. Three changes matter, and the rest is noise.
The intake cap and the PAL
Canada now limits the number of study permits it approves each year, and most applicants must include a Provincial Attestation Letter, the PAL, with their application. No PAL, no application, with a short list of exemptions.
The PAL is not a formality you collect at the end. It gates the whole application, and provinces run out of them. Treat it as the first deadline, not the last.
The GIC threshold moved
The Guaranteed Investment Certificate that proves you can cover living costs has risen well above the old CAD 10,000 figure. Budget for the current number, and remember it is returned to you in instalments after you arrive, so it is a deposit, not a cost.
What to do, in order
- Confirm your college is on the list of institutions that can issue a PAL.
- Secure the PAL as soon as you hold an offer; do not wait for fee payment confirmation.
- Open and fund the GIC at the current threshold, not last year’s.
- File the permit with proof of funds that covers tuition plus the GIC plus travel.
If you want us to check your college’s PAL status and the live GIC figure before you pay anything, send us your offer letter and we will reply within a day.