Canada has set its study permit target for 2026 at 408,000 permits, a planned 7% decrease from 2025.
According to IRCC, 155,000 permits will go to new international students and 253,000 will be for in-Canada extensions.
How the 408,000 permits are divided
- PAL/TAL-required students: 180,000
- Master’s and PhD students (PAL/TAL-exempt): 49,000
- K–12 students (also exempt): 115,000
- Other exempt groups: 64,000
Starting January 2026, master’s and doctoral students at public DLIs are fully exempt from the federal cap and no longer need a provincial or territorial attestation letter. The figure shown (49,000) is simply IRCC’s forecast of how many permits they expect to issue, not a limit.
Provincial allocations for capped groups
For students who still require a PAL/TAL, IRCC will process 309,670 applications in 2026. This is expected to lead to up to 180,000 approvals, distributed across provinces and territories based on population. Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia receive the largest shares under this quota.
