Study in CanadaStudent Visa Guidance from Jalandhar

Information on this page was checked against official Government of Canada sources on 22 October 2026. Reviewed by Mandeep Sandhu, Sandhu Overseas, Jalandhar. Next scheduled review: January 2027. Rules, fees and amounts change — always confirm on the IRCC page linked beside each point before you act.

The short forms, in plain language

Canadian study permit pages are full of abbreviations. These are the ones you will actually meet.

Why students from Jalandhar and Doaba look at Canada

Canada remains one of the most-asked-about destinations at our Jalandhar office, and the reasons are practical rather than emotional. A student who plans properly can work part-time through the academic year, stay on to work after graduating, and in many cases build the Canadian work experience that permanent-residence programs ask for. None of that is automatic, and every step has conditions attached — but the pathway is published, and it is the same pathway for everybody.

What changed recently — read this before you apply

Most of the advice circulating in Jalandhar is two years out of date. Between November 2024 and September 2026 the Government of Canada rewrote large parts of the international student framework. If you are working from a cousin’s experience from 2023, almost every number below has moved.

Sources: IRCC new international student regulations, end of the Student Direct Stream, changes to family open work permits.

The Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL), explained

This is the single most common gap we see in applications prepared without current guidance, and it is the one thing almost no consultancy website in Punjab explains. A PAL is a letter from the province or territory where you intend to study, confirming that a space has been allocated to you under Canada’s study permit cap. Your designated learning institution applies for it; the province issues it.

You will need a new PAL if yours has expired, your previous application was decided either way, you change schools, you change level of study, you extend at a different institution, or you are restoring your student status. Getting the letter usually requires accepting your offer and paying tuition in part or in full, so it sits inside your admission timeline, not after it.

Official source: IRCC — Provincial attestation letter.

Proof of funds: the current figures

These amounts cover living expenses only. Tuition and travel are additional, and the figures apply to applications submitted on or after 1 September 2026. Quebec sets its own cost-of-living requirement through its immigration ministry.

Evidence IRCC lists as acceptable includes:

• A GIC from a Canadian financial institution
• A receipt from your DLI showing first-year tuition and housing paid
• A bank student or education loan from a financial institution
• Six months of bank statements that show where the income came from
• A Canadian bank account in your own name, if money has already been transferred
• A scholarship, or funding under a Government of Canada programme
• Recent pay stubs, pension documents, or proof of rental income
• A letter from whoever is funding you, stating their employment, their relationship to you, their dependants and the amount — with proof of the relationship and their identification

You do not need every one of these. You need enough to satisfy an officer that the money exists, that it is yours or lawfully available to you, and that it can be traced. In our experience the applications that struggle are rarely the ones with too little money; they are the ones where large deposits appear shortly before filing with no explanation of where they came from.

Official source: IRCC — Proof of financial support.

The five things IRCC actually requires

Canada’s published eligibility list for a study permit is short. Everything else you read about is either evidence supporting one of these five points, or a separate requirement that applies later.

• You are enrolled or registered at a designated learning institution
• You can prove you have enough money for tuition, living costs and return travel — for yourself and any family members coming with you
• You obey the law, have no criminal record, and provide a police certificate if one is requested
• You are in good health and complete a medical examination if one is required
• You satisfy an officer that you will leave Canada when your permit expires

Note what is not on that list: a language test. IRCC does not set an English or French test requirement for the study permit itself. Colleges and universities set their own admission language standards, and they vary widely. A language test does become mandatory later, when you apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit.

Official source: IRCC — Study permit: who can apply.

Check your college is a DLI — and check the PGWP separately

A designated learning institution is a school approved by a provincial or territorial government to host international students. If your school is not on the list, your study permit application cannot succeed. The list is searchable on the IRCC website and every DLI has a number that goes on your application form.

Official sources: IRCC — Designated learning institutions list · PGWP eligibility.

Documents you will need

An incomplete application can be returned to you without being processed, which costs you an intake. Use IRCC’s online questionnaire to generate your personalised document checklist before you start uploading, and read Instruction Guide 5269 rather than relying on a summary of it.

Official source: IRCC — Get your documents ready.

How the application works, step by step

Official sources: IRCC — How to apply · After you apply · Medical exam requirements. Study permit and biometric fees are published by IRCC and change from time to time — check the current amounts on the IRCC page before paying.

Working while you study

To work at all you must be a full-time student at a DLI who has started the program, be enrolled in a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional program of at least six months leading to a degree, diploma or certificate, hold a study permit carrying work conditions, and have a Social Insurance Number. Part-time study is accepted only in your final semester, where a full load is no longer needed to finish. You cannot work before your program begins, and you must stop during an authorised leave or while switching schools. If your program has no scheduled breaks, the 24-hour limit applies all year.

Official sources: IRCC — Work off campus · Work on campus.

After you graduate: the Post-Graduation Work Permit

The PGWP is an open work permit, which means you are not tied to one employer. You may receive one only once in your life, so the decision about which program to study is also a decision about this permit.

Certificate and diploma programs do not get the master’s concession, and the permit can never run longer than your passport’s validity. You must apply within 180 days of the confirmation that you finished, and you must have held a valid study permit at some point during those 180 days.

Two further requirements arrived on 1 November 2024, and they are easy to confuse:

The language requirement is keyed to the date you apply for the PGWP; the field-of-study requirement is keyed to the date you applied for your study permit. Accepted tests are CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training and PTE Core for English, and TEF Canada or TCF Canada for French, with results less than two years old. The eligible field-of-study list is published by IRCC and tied to labour-market shortages; IRCC has stated that it will not add or remove fields during 2026, which means the list should be re-checked for 2027. Study completed online from outside Canada after 31 August 2024 does not count towards the permit, and at least half your program must be completed in class in Canada.

Official sources: IRCC — About the PGWP · Field of study requirement.

Can your spouse or children come with you?

Since 21 January 2025 an open work permit for a spouse or common-law partner is available only where the student holds a valid study permit and is enrolled in a master’s program of 16 months or longer, a doctoral program, or one of the listed eligible or professional degree programs — which include MD, JD, LLB, BCL, DVM, BScN or BSN, BEd, and BEng or BASc. The partner’s permit normally matches the study permit’s validity, and it cannot be extended into the student’s final term.

IRCC’s published rules name spouses and common-law partners as the eligible family category for this permit. Children’s situations are assessed separately, and a minor child attending preschool, primary or secondary school in Canada while accompanied by a parent authorised to study or work there does not need a study permit of their own. If your family plan is central to the decision, we would rather map it against the current rules with you at the start than discover a constraint after a deposit has been paid. Our dependent visa and spouse visa pages cover the wider family routes.

Official sources: IRCC — Help your spouse or partner work in Canada · Study without a permit.

If your application is refused

A refusal is not the end of the road, and it is not a mystery either. IRCC sends a letter explaining the decision, and it publishes the reasons an application may be refused:

• You did not have a valid letter of acceptance
• You did not prove you had enough money to support yourself
• You did not pass a required medical examination
• You did not convince the officer that studying is your main purpose in Canada
• You did not convince the officer that you will leave Canada at the end of your studies

The last two are discretionary findings, which is why two applicants with similar paperwork can receive different outcomes. If you want to understand a decision in detail, a refused applicant may request the officer’s decision notes from IRCC. Reapplying without addressing what the letter actually says is the most expensive mistake we see.

Official sources: IRCC — After you apply: next steps · Requesting officer decision notes.

Starting your Canada application from Jalandhar

Most people who sit down with us in Jalandhar are not comparing Canada with nothing. They are comparing it with an application a cousin filed three or four years ago, under rules that no longer exist. Half of a first consultation is usually spent replacing out-of-date assumptions with what the Government of Canada actually requires today. Here is what the process looks like when you are starting it from Jalandhar or anywhere in Doaba.

Jalandhar has more immigration offices per square kilometre than almost any city in India, and the quality varies enormously. Whoever you end up working with, ask them to show you the official page behind any rule they quote. Every figure on this page carries its link for exactly that reason.

How Sandhu Overseas helps

We are an immigration and visa consultancy based in Jalandhar. We are not a government department, we do not represent IRCC, and no consultancy anywhere can guarantee a visa. What we can do is make sure your application is complete, current and consistent, and that you understand each requirement before you commit money to it.

Other Canada services from our Jalandhar office

This page covers the study permit. If your Canada plan involves a different route, these pages go into each one:

Looking at other countries too?

Each page is written from that country’s own official immigration source and carries its own review date.

Frequently asked questions