Hold a work permit? Since 4 September 2026 you can take a course of six months or less without a study permit.
What it means →
Study permit — document checklist
Prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. · government fee $150 + $85 biometrics
Study permit — document checklist
Every document an officer will look for, grouped in the order they are read. The ones marked refusal risk are where these applications actually fail — a complete file is not the same as a persuasive one.
12 documents 7 where refusals happen Government fee $150 + $85 biometrics
Identity
Who is this person, and is the story consistent?Where files fail here: Names, dates or passport details that disagree across documents.
Proof of identity — passport and two photos
Always required. The permit cannot be issued past your passport’s validity, so renew first if it is short.
Biometrics
$85 per person, or $170 per family. You have 30 days from the request letter to give them.
Eligibility
Do they meet this program's bar, on paper?Where files fail here: A requirement evidenced by assertion instead of a document.
Letter of acceptance from a DLI
Your school confirms it through the IRCC Portal. If the school does not respond by IRCC’s deadline, the application is returned and the fee refunded.
Provincial attestation letter (PAL / TAL)
Needed in most cases, but the exemptions are wide — and from 1 January 2026 master’s and doctoral students at public DLIs are exempt. Check before you chase one.
Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ)
For study in Quebec this replaces the PAL. Issued by the province, and applied for separately from the study permit.
Academic transcripts and certificates
Not on IRCC’s required list, but gaps and sudden changes of field draw scrutiny unless explained.
Funds
Is the money real, available, and theirs?Where files fail here: A large deposit landing days before filing, with no explanation.
Proof of living funds
A single applicant outside Quebec must show $23,448 for applications submitted on or after 1 September 2026, plus first-year tuition and travel. IRCC asks for six months of bank statements, including the month you apply or the month before.
Proof of tuition payment
One of several accepted ways to evidence funds, not a requirement of its own. Paid tuition is still the strongest single signal the study plan is real.
Intent
Does the purpose hold together, and will they comply?Where files fail here: A plan that doesn't match the applicant's history or finances.
Letter of explanation / study plan
IRCC lists this as recommended, not required — and it is where most refusals are decided. It must explain why this program, why now, and what happens after.
Evidence of ties to your home country
Not an IRCC-listed document, but the officer must be satisfied you will leave when required. Assertions do not count.
Admissibility
Is there anything that disqualifies them?Where files fail here: An old charge left undisclosed because it “didn’t count”.
Immigration medical exam, if required
Depends on where you have lived in the past year and whether your program places you in a health-care or child-care setting.
Custodian declaration, children under 17
Required for a child under 17 not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Page 1 is notarised in Canada, page 2 in the home country.
General information, not legal advice. This checklist is prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. and was checked against the Government of Canada’s published requirements on the date shown. Requirements change and vary by case, and IRCC generates a personalised document list for many applications — where that list or canada.ca differs from this document, they govern.
Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees. Police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC makes all final decisions.
CHK Immigration Services Inc. is an immigration consultancy with offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Our consultants are regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). Nothing in this document creates a client–consultant relationship.
Current version: https://chkimmigration.ca/checklists/study-permit
Checked against the official IRCC page for this application in September 2026. Where that page disagrees with anything here, it wins. General information, not legal advice. Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees — police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC also generates a personalised checklist for many applications, and that list governs. IRCC makes all final decisions.
Having the documents is not the same as having a persuasive file.
Every item above can be present and correct and the application can still be refused — on intent, on a date that does not reconcile, or on a lead time that ran out. A licensed consultant reads it the way an officer will.
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CHK Immigration Services — Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions.