The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) plans to issue an estimated 437,000 study permits in 2025, reducing it by 10% from the 2024 cap. The move follows pressure on housing, healthcare, and other public services, which were exacerbated by rapid growth in international student arrivals. Last year saw a 40% reduction in international student arrival, given comparable measures.
A New Attestation Requirement for Province/Territory:
Effective 2025, most study permit applicants will be required to provide the PAL/TAL together with their application, including graduate students. This requirement will seek to make sure that students meet the standards and expectations placed for them by the province or territory they intend to study in. This is part of efforts to manage and regulate the flow of international students.
Exemptions to the PAL/TAL Requirement:
There are some groups of students who would be exempted from making a PAL/TAL. These students include:
Primary and secondary school students K-12.
Specific government priority groups.
Vulnerable cohorts, for example, refugees, and those in special situations.
Students who already have study permits and are seeking extensions at the same DLI.
Exchange students will no longer need to submit a PAL/TAL, so their reciprocal study abroad programs will be allowed to operate without interruption.
Study Permit Quota by Cohort:
The IRCC has categorized its 2025 study permit allocation into several classes depending on the student’s academic level and if they need to submit a PAL/TAL. Here is how it is segmented:
Graduate Degree Students: 73,282 study permits.
Kindergarten to Grade 12 Students (PAL/TAL-exempt): 72,200 study permits.
Other PAL/TAL-exempt Applicants: 48,524 study permits will be issued.
Remaining PAL/TAL-requiring Cohorts: 242,994 study permits will go to students who shall require study permits and submit the PAL/TAL.
Study permits will be issued for 120,724 PAL/TAL-exempt students; 316,267 permits will be allocated to applicants requiring submission of the PAL/TAL.
Province and Territory-Specific Allocations: The IRCC has also finalized the distribution of study permits across Canada’s provinces and territories. Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia will receive the highest allocations:
Ontario: 116,740 study permits.
Quebec: 72,977 study permits.
British Columbia: 53,589 study permits. Other provinces like Alberta and Saskatchewan will collectively receive 41,530 study permits.
New DLIs regulations:
All Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) will have to adhere to new regulations beginning November 2024. These new regulations include verifying letters of acceptance and participating in student compliance reporting. If a DLI does not meet the standards, then it may be suspended for up to one year. In this way, DLIs follow proper protocols and maintain standards in international student education.
Hence, issuing as many as 437,000 study permits in Canada in 2025 is by the government the effort to bridge the demand growing for education but not outmatched by the level of public services available there. This also includes introducing TAL/PAL for most while exempting selected groups from most of these new regulatory requirements, mainly to ensure students from abroad still come to these shores without the needed quality services crumbling for the host residents. This will also make the process much more streamlined by only allowing qualified institutions to sponsor international students and having new regulations for DLIs with allocation of permits based on provinces.
