Canada 2026 Study Permit Cap: 408,000 Total, 155,000 New Arrivals

Quick Summary Matrix

Figure	What it is	Source
408,000	2026 study-permit issuance target (new + extensions)	IRCC notice
155,000	New arriving students (Levels Plan)	Same notice + Levels Plan
253,000	Extensions for current and returning students	IRCC notice
180,000	PAL/TAL-required issuance target	IRCC notice
309,670	PAL/TAL-required application spaces IRCC will accept	IRCC second table
49,000	Master’s/PhD at public DLIs (PAL/TAL-exempt)	National split table
115,000	K–12 (PAL/TAL-exempt)	National split table
64,000	Other PAL/TAL-exempt	National split table

Retrieved 27 August 2026 from:

2026 provincial and territorial allocations

If the notice moves, Canada.ca wins. Zinjet does not sell quota.

Permit mechanics: Canada study permit. After study: PGWP.

Official source first

IRCC expects to issue up to 408,000 study permits in 2026:

Cohort	2026 figure (IRCC)
Newly arriving international students	155,000
Extensions for current and returning students	253,000
Total issuance target	408,000

That 408,000 is 7% lower than the 2025 target of 437,000 and 16% lower than the 2024 target of 485,000 (same notice).

The 2026–2028 Levels Plan lists the 155,000 student arrivals target (then 150,000 in 2027 and 2028). Temporary resident arrivals overall are 385,000 in 2026 (students + workers).

How the 408,000 splits (IRCC table)

2026 national target (new arrivals and in-Canada extensions)	Count
Master’s and doctoral students at public DLIs (PAL/TAL-exempt)	49,000
Primary and secondary (K–12) (PAL/TAL-exempt)	115,000
Other PAL/TAL-exempt study permit applicants	64,000
PAL/TAL-required applicants	180,000
Total	408,000

Read this as two systems:

• Exempt groups still need a study permit. They do not need a PAL/TAL according to this table. Confirm your exact exemption on the live notice.
• Required groups need a letter from the province/territory. Schools only have as many letters as they were given.

PAL/TAL-required issuance targets by province

IRCC says up to 180,000 permits for PAL/TAL-required applicants, distributed by population:

Province or territory	2026 PAL/TAL-required issuance target
Ontario	70,074
Quebec	39,474
British Columbia	24,786
Alberta	21,582
Manitoba	6,534
Saskatchewan	5,436
Nova Scotia	4,680
New Brunswick	3,726
Newfoundland and Labrador	2,358
Prince Edward Island	774
Northwest Territories	198
Yukon	198
Nunavut	180
Total	180,000

Application spaces (309,670) are not permits

IRCC also published application-space allocations (how many PAL/TAL-required applications it will accept), totalling 309,670, based on recent approval rates. Examples from the notice: Ontario 104,780, Quebec 93,069, British Columbia 32,596, Alberta 32,271. Nunavut is 0 in that applications table.

Those are not the same as permits issued. Provinces issue PALs until their application spaces or their DLI allocations run out — then new PAL/TAL-required files wait until next year.

Each province distributes spaces to its DLIs. Zinjet cannot skip that queue.

What the cap does not do

• It does not replace the study permit.
• It does not change the $CAN 150 fee or the $22,895 living-funds row (see study permit).
• It does not make a non-DLI letter valid.
• It does not guarantee a PGWP.
• It does not mean “Nigeria is banned.” It means seats are finite.

Step-by-step with the cap in mind

1. Pick a Canada programme whose school is a DLI.
2. Ask, in writing: Does my intake need a PAL/TAL? Which exemption, if any?
3. If required, the school requests a letter under its provincial allocation. You cannot buy one from an agent.
4. File the study permit only with a real DLI letter (and PAL/TAL if required).
5. If the school says “no PAL left for this intake,” switch intake or school. Do not file a permit hoping IRCC will invent a letter.

Refusal and delay patterns the cap creates

1. Filing without a PAL when your cohort needs one.
2. Using last year’s PAL for this year’s intake.
3. Assuming a master’s at a private college is PAL-exempt because “master’s are exempt” — the table says public DLIs.
4. Paying a deposit for a January seat after the college has used its letters.
5. Confusing 309,670 application spaces with 180,000 issuances and thinking “there are still 300k visas.”

Real-world scenarios

Public-university MSc, 2026

You sit in the 49,000 PAL/TAL-exempt master’s/PhD row if IRCC still classifies you that way on the live notice. You still compete for the school’s academic offer and still need funds + $150.

Public college diploma, Ontario

You are in the PAL/TAL-required world. Ontario’s issuance target is 70,074. The college’s own PAL stock can hit zero before the provincial total does. Get the letter, then file.

K–12

K–12 is PAL/TAL-exempt in the 115,000 row. Different product than a college diploma. Minor-child rules are on IRCC.

Checklists

• I know whether I need a PAL/TAL (school email, not a forum)
• I have not paid a non-refundable deposit for a closed allocation
• DLI letter is for the same intake as the PAL
• I can still meet funds + DLI rules if I must slip to the next intake

How to read both IRCC tables without mixing them

Table A — issuance targets (180,000 PAL/TAL-required). This is how many permits IRCC expects to issue to that cohort.

Table B — application spaces (309,670). This is how many applications IRCC will accept from PAL/TAL-required students, scaled by recent approval rates. A province with a lower approval rate gets more application slots than issuances so that issuances can still hit the target.

If someone says “Canada still has 309,670 visas,” they are reading Table B as Table A. They are wrong.

Nunavut’s 0 in Table B means IRCC will not accept PAL/TAL-required applications under that allocation — not that Nunavut vanished from the map.

What to ask a college admissions desk

Send one email:

1. Is my programme PAL/TAL-required for the Month Year intake?
2. How many PAL/TAL letters do you still have for that intake?
3. If letters run out, do you automatically defer me, or do I re-apply?
4. Is the programme PGWP-eligible on the IRCC DLI list today?

Save the reply. If the answer to (2) is “we will see,” do not pay a large non-refundable deposit.

What “exhausted” looks like in the middle of the year

IRCC does not email every applicant when Ontario hits 70,074 issuances. You find out because:

• the college stops issuing PAL/TAL letters
• IRCC returns or refuses files that needed a letter and did not have a valid one
• the school offers a later intake (which is a new PAL, not a reuse)

If you already paid a deposit, the refund is a school contract issue, not an IRCC product. Read the refund clause before you pay.

Extensions (253,000 of the 408,000) are for people already in the system. They are not a back door for a new Nigerian applicant who never held a permit.

K–12 (115,000 exempt) and public master’s/PhD (49,000 exempt) still consume issuances inside 408,000. Exempt means no PAL, not unlimited.

Levels Plan vs this notice

The Levels Plan’s 155,000 is new arrivals. This notice’s 408,000 is issuances including extensions. Both can be true. Citing only 155,000 as “the cap” understates extensions; citing only 408,000 as “new students” overstates new arrivals. Use the row that matches the question you are answering.

How Zinjet fits

We list programmes. We do not allocate PALs. Get started · Contact.

Pathway from Nigeria: Study in Canada from Nigeria.

Related resources

• IRCC 2026 allocations notice
• 2026–2028 Levels Plan supplementary
• Canada study permit