Study permit attestation and annual cap

Summary#

The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Marc Miller, published instructions under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that change how many and which new study permit applications will be accepted for processing. Most new student-class study permit applications must include a provincial attestation letter, and the government will accept up to 606,250 such applications for processing for one year starting on the date the instructions were signed (January 22, 2024).

What it does#

• Requires most new study permit applications in the student class to include a provincial attestation letter from the province or territory where the applicant plans to study.
  • That letter must confirm the applicant has a space in the province/territory allocation and include the applicant’s full name, date of birth and address.
• Limits the number of these study permit applications that will be accepted for processing to 606,250 for a one‑year period beginning January 22, 2024. The cap can be changed later by further instructions.
• Any covered application received after the instructions take effect that does not include the attestation letter will not be accepted for processing and any processing fees will be returned.
• Once the cap of 606,250 accepted applications is reached, additional covered applications received after that point will not be accepted and fees will be returned.
• Excludes certain applications from these rules, including applications for primary or secondary school, applications for graduate (master’s or doctorate) studies, and some specific cases referred to in the regulations (subsections 215(1) and 215(2)). These regulatory references are technical and the Gazette notice does not explain them in plain language.

Who's affected#

• Prospective international students applying for a study permit in the student class (Part 12 of the regulations) — most of these applicants will now need a provincial attestation letter.
• Provinces and territories, which must issue those attestation letters and manage their allocations.
• Colleges, universities and other learning institutions, which may be involved in provincial allocation systems or asked to confirm offers of study.
• Applicants for primary/secondary school or for graduate degrees (master’s or doctorate) are explicitly not covered by these instructions.
• It is unclear from the notice how some specific regulatory referral cases (the named subsections) map to real‑world situations; legal or immigration-advice sources would be needed for detail.

Why it matters#

• This creates a hard limit on how many new study permit applications will be put into processing for one year. That could reduce or slow the number of international students who can begin the permit process.
• The attestation letter adds an extra step before an application is even accepted. Applicants without the required letter will have their fees returned and their application not processed.
• Provinces and territories gain a practical gatekeeping role over how many international students move forward in the federal application system.
• For applicants and institutions, this could mean changes to planning, recruitment, timelines and paperwork when arranging study in Canada.