Provincial attestation letter or territorial attestation letter

A provincial attestation letter (PAL) or a territorial attestation letter (TAL) is a letter provided by the province or territory where you plan to study. It confirms that you’ ve been assigned one of the available spaces to study in that province or territory. Most study permit applicants need to provide a PAL or TAL when they apply, unless they meet one of the exceptions.

On this page

• Who needs a PAL/TAL
  • Getting your PAL/TAL
  • How long a PAL/TAL is valid
  • When to get a new PAL/TAL
• Studying in Quebec
• Who doesn’t need a PAL/TAL

Who needs a PAL/TAL

Unless you meet one of the exceptions, you must submit a PAL/TAL

• with your application, not after
• when you apply for a prerequisite course or program
  • This includes language courses or programs .
• for each study permit applicant, even if you’re applying as a family and submitting your applications together

Getting your PAL/TAL

Contact your school to find out how to apply for a PAL/TAL. Once you have one, you can apply for a study permit.

If you’re applying to a school in Quebec, follow the instructions below.

How long a PAL/TAL is valid

Unless it has an expiry date on it, it’s valid

• until January 21, 2025, for the 2024 study permit cap year
  • This means that your PAL/TAL was issued between January 22, 2024, and January 21, 2025.
• until December 31, 2025, for the 2025 study permit cap year
  • This means that your PAL/TAL was issued between January 22, 2025, and December 31, 2025.

Your PAL/TAL needs to be valid when you apply. You can’t use a PAL/TAL that was issued during a previous study permit cap year.

When to get a new PAL/TAL

You can reapply with the same PAL/TAL if

• your PAL/TAL is still valid, and
• your study permit application was accepted for processing and you voluntarily withdrew your application before a final decision was made, or
• your study permit application was not accepted for processing
  • This means that your fee was refunded and you were told that your application was not processed.

You must get a new PAL/TAL before you reapply if

• your PAL/TAL has expired or is no longer valid, or
• your previous study permit application was approved or refused, or
• you’re changing schools, or
• you’re changing your level of study
  • This means you’re moving from
    • the post-secondary level to the graduate level, or
    • the graduate level to the post-secondary level

If you’re reapplying to study in Quebec, find out if you need to renew your authorizations.

Studying in Quebec

Quebec Acceptance Certificate

If you want to study in Quebec, you need an attestation of issuance of your Quebec Acceptance Certificate (Certificat d’acceptation du Québec [CAQ]), which is issued by the Government of Quebec. Contact your school to find out how to apply for the CAQ.

Who needs a CAQ

Most students who don’t need a PAL/TAL and want to study in Quebec must still get a CAQ. There are very few exceptions.

Make sure your CAQ is valid when you apply

A CAQ received before January 22, 2025, will be accepted for the 2025 study permit cap year if it is valid when you apply.

Your CAQ needs to include the following line :

“This attestation letter confirms that the applicant has a place in Quebec’s share of the distribution of study permit applications or is exempt from it.”

CAQs for applications received before 8:30 a.m. ET on January 22, 2024, did not require the above line.

Find out which documents you need to study in Quebec.

Who doesn’t need a PAL/TAL

You don’t need a PAL/TAL when applying for a study permit if any of the following applies to you.

• You’re applying to study at a
  • preschool
  • primary school (including kindergarten)
  • secondary school (up to grade 12)
  • school participating in the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot (FMCSP) and you have a letter of acceptance from this school identifying you as an applicant under the FMCSP
  • federally designated military college or
  • school in Quebec in a vocational training program that leads to one of the following:
    • a diploma of vocational studies (DVS)
    • an attestation of vocational specialization (AVS)
    • a skills training certificate (STC)
• You’re an exchange student studying under an exchange arrangement between your home institution and a designated learning institution (DLI) in Canada, and you don’t pay tuition fees to the DLI.
• You’ve received a scholarship from Global Affairs Canada.
• You’re in Canada or entering Canada at a port of entry and are eligible for an exemption from certain study permit requirements based on a public policy as part of a migration response to a crisis or other pressure.
• You’re exempt from certain study permit requirements under the temporary measures to reunite families of Indigenous people separated by Canada’s border.
• You’ve entered Canada and one of the following situations applies to you:
  • You’re applying for a study permit extension at the same DLI and level of study as your current study permit.
  • You’re under a removal order, but can’t be removed from Canada at this time.
  • You have a temporary resident permit valid for at least 6 months.
  • You’re a protected person.
  • You’re eligible for permanent residence
    • based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds , or
    • based on a current public policy, or
    • as a spouse or common-law partner (through the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class)

You need to provide proof that you meet one of the above exceptions if you don’t provide a PAL/TAL with your study permit application.

Protected person in Canada

You’re a protected person if either

• the Immigration and Refugee Board has found that you’re either
  • a Convention refugee
  • a person in need of protection
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has approved your application for a pre-removal risk assessment