Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL)

What is a PAL?

A Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) is a letter issued by the province of Ontario and allows an international student to apply for a study permit at a specific Designated Learning Institution.  Most study permit applicants for the University of Waterloo will need to provide a PAL. 

Unless you meet one of the exceptions, you must submit a PAL with your University of Waterloo study permit application. 

Please note:

  • You must include the PAL with your study permit application: it can’t be provided to IRCC later on during processing. 
  • A PAL would be required even if you are applying for a prerequisite course or program (including language courses or programs)
  • If you are applying for multiple study permits together with your dependents on the same application, any study permit applicants attending a post-secondary DLI will need to include their own PAL.  

PAL Validity

  • For the 2025 study permit cap year, unless a PAL has an expiry date listed, it will be valid until December 31, 2025.  2025 PALs started being issued on January 22, 2025.  If you have a PAL that was issued for the 2024 study permit cap year, it can no longer be used in an application.
  • If your study permit application was not accepted for processing (IRCC withdrew the application and your application fees were refunded), then you can submit a new study permit with the same PAL (if it is still valid).
  • If your study permit application was accepted for processing but was later refused, then you must get a new PAL before reapplying.

PAL Exceptions

IRCC states that you are exempt from the PAL requirement if any of the following situations apply to you:

If you meet one of the exceptions and do not require a PAL, you will need to provide proof that you are exempt with your study permit application. 

Find out if you need a PAL

Please take the University of Waterloo’s PAL quiz. Upon completing the quiz, you will be given specific information on whether you need a PAL and how to obtain one.