Canada reveals breakdown of study permit allocation by province, shares further details on PALs

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released the provincial breakdown of its 2025 study permit allocation, outlining how many international students each province is expected to welcome, and has shared further details on the Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) requirement.

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According to the federal government, 437,000 study permits are projected to be issued in 2025, reflecting a 10% decrease compared to 2024.

To help implement this cap, IRCC introduced Provincial Attestation Letters (PALs).

Today, the department released a more detailed breakdown of how study permits will be issued in 2025, breaking it down according to student categories and those that require PALs (and those that are exempt from the PAL requirement).

Study permits issued to international student in 2025
Graduate degree students	73,282
Kindergarten to grade 12 applicants (PAL/TAL-exempt)	72,200
All other PAL/TAL-exempt applicants	48,524
Remaining PAL/TAL-required cohorts	242,994
Total	437,000

As can be seen in this table, the total number of study permits issued to graduate degree students will be 73,282. This includes those students pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree.

That means IRCC has reserved 16.77% of all study permits being issued in 2025 to graduate degree students.

Note: On September 18, 2024, the government announced that it would be reserving approximately 12% of allocation spaces for master’s and doctoral students.

That leaves 242,994 expected study permits to be issued to other students requiring PALs. This would include post-secondary study permit applicants, or those studying in non-degree granting graduate programs (for example, certificate programs and graduate diplomas).

Provincial and territorial breakdown

IRCC has broken down the total number of study permits it expects to be issued for students requiring a PAL or TAL in 2025, by Canadian provinces and territories.

Province or territory	Expected study permits for graduate degree students	Expected study permits for remaining students requiring PAL/TAL	Total expected number of study permits to be issued to all PAL/TAL-required students
Alberta	3,887	28,773	32,660
British Columbia	20,053	33,536	53,589
Manitoba	1,224	8,797	10,021
New Brunswick	1,400	5,030	6,430
Newfoundland and Labrador	1,456	3,208	4,664
Northwest Territories	0	220	220
Nova Scotia	1,954	6,343	8,297
Nunavut	0	220	220
Ontario	21,841	94,899	116,740
Prince Edward Island	205	1,045	1,250
Quebec	19,683	53,294	72,977
Saskatchewan	1,578	7,291	8,869
Yukon	1	338	339
Total	73,282	242,994	316,276

The department has also gone one step further by sharing the maximum number of study permit applications that will be processed per province or territory for students required to submit a PAL or TAL with their study permit application.

This means that IRCC will process a maximum of 550,162 study permit applications for students that are required to submit a PAL or TAL with their study permit applications.

The department expects the allocations to result in the targeted number of study permits issued as per the caps, based on the average approval rate for each province and territory in 2023 and 2024.

Province or Territory	Allocations for Graduate Students	Allocations for All Other PAL/TAL-Required Students	Total Allocations
Alberta	5,256	42,082	47,338
British Columbia	28,333	47,754	76,087
Manitoba	1,980	16,611	18,591
New Brunswick	3,112	11,673	14,785
Newfoundland and Labrador	2,648	6,534	9,182
Northwest Territories	0	705	705
Nova Scotia	4,191	14,411	18,602
Nunavut	0	0	0
Ontario	32,579	149,011	181,590
Prince Edward Island	391	2,044	2,435
Quebec	38,786	123,956	162,742
Saskatchewan	2,791	14,850	17,641
Yukon	1	463	464
Total	120,068	430,094	550,162

New PAL Requirements implemented

On September 18, 2024, IRCC announced that master's and doctoral students will be required to submit PAL letters (previously, master's and doctoral students had been exempt from the PAL requirement).

The department has confirmed that this new requirement is in effect as of January 24, 2025.

It also announced a new exemption: Exchange students will join the group that do not need to submit a PAL or TAL.

Other groups exempted from PAL or TAL requirements include

• primary and secondary (kindergarten to grade 12) students;
• certain Government of Canada priority groups and vulnerable cohorts; and
• existing study permit holders applying for an extension at the same designated learning institution (DLI) and at the same level of study.

Background

The cap on study permit applications supports the federal government's objective to reduce the number of temporary residents as a percentage of Canada's population.

The most recent Immigration Levels Plan 2025-2027, announced in October 2024, was the first to include targets for temporary resident levels, including net new study permit holders and net new work permit holders under the International Mobility Program (IMP).

The cap on study permit applications helps support the target of 305,900 arrivals for students in 2025, under the Plan.

The lowered target of admissions for international students, along with new restrictions on family open work permits and tightened requirements for Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), is expected to contribute to a planned reduction in arrivals of foreign nationals under the IMP.

The target for admissions under the IMP is 285,750 for 2025, but only 128,700 for 2026.

Note: Immigration levels for 2026 are notional targets, and may be adjusted in next Immigration Levels Plan.

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