Provincial Attestation Letters (PAL)

Most new international undergraduate students, with some exemptions, will require a provincial attestation letter (PAL) from the province or territory in which they plan to study with their Canadian study permit application. The PAL will be required in addition to the official letter of acceptance/offer of admission.

Yes, your provincial attestation letter (PAL) will expire 10 weeks after it is issued. Your letter of acceptance (LOA) from Saint Mary’s will have a 5-week expiration from its date of issue. You will therefore have 5 weeks from receiving your LOA to confirm your offer and pay your admission deposit to SMU. Once you pay your admission deposit and receive your PAL, you will have 10 weeks to apply for your Canadian study permit.

You should have received an email from our recruitment team about your next steps in obtaining a PAL. Please contact international@smu.ca with any additional questions about this process.

If you have already received a letter of acceptance/offer of admission to Saint Mary’s University and would like to request a PAL:

• You must complete the PAL consent form in the online application for us to request a PAL on your behalf. You can find the consent form by logging in to the application portal. This form is titled “SMU PAL Questions & Consent” and can be found under the required “supplemental items and documents” section
• You must accept your offer and pay your $3,000 non-refundable admission deposit before your letter of acceptance/offer of admission expires
• Once the admission deposit is paid, we will then request a PAL from the Nova Scotia provincial government. Your PAL will have an expiry date, and you must apply for your study permit at cic.gc.ca before that PAL expires

No, graduate (master’s) level students are exempt from the new IRCC requirements.

No, international students already studying in Canada are exempt from the new IRCC requirements for a PAL. However, you will still require a study permit.

If you are a current student studying online outside of Canada, you will need to have the following documents to apply for the Study Permit:

• Acceptance Letter to Saint Mary’s University
• Confirmation of Enrolment
• Written explanation as to why you have been studying online
• Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL)
• Students must be in good financial and academic standing with the university

Part of obtaining the PAL requires a signed PAL consent form and a $3,000 non-refundable admission deposit.

Please email international@smu.ca to obtain more information on obtaining the PAL consent form.

Some common groups of students who do not require a PAL include:

• Students who already have a valid study permit
• Students who are currently studying in Canada and have a valid study permit
• Students applying to a graduate or master's degree program

To see a full list of students who do not require a PAL please refer to IRCC PAL information

The PGWP program for undergraduate programs has not changed. However, international students enrolled in master’s programs of two years or less will now be eligible for a PGWP of up to three years.

Yes! You can apply online. The application deadline for the September 2024 intake is June 15, 2024. Students applying for September 2024 will require a PAL.

Here are the steps to follow to apply to SMU and obtain a PAL: 

• Apply to your chosen undergraduate degree program. There is a $50 CAD application fee. Upload your transcripts and complete the PAL consent form
• You must accept your offer and pay your $3,000 non-refundable admission deposit before your letter of acceptance/offer of admission expires
• Once the admission deposit is paid, we will then request a PAL from the Nova Scotia provincial government. Your PAL will have an expiry date, and you must apply for your study permit at cic.gc.ca before that PAL expires

If you were accepted for May 2024 or July 2024 and do not yet have a valid Canadian study permit, we recommend that you defer to September to allow enough time for your study permit to be processed.

You can make a deferral request in the application portal by clicking on the application and selecting “defer application.” Once we have processed the deferral, you will receive a new letter of acceptance/offer of admission and can then follow the steps to obtain a PAL. 

If you have already started an application, please log in to the application portal. The form is titled “SMU PAL Questions & Consent” and can be found under the required “supplemental items and documents” section.

Based on the changes that IRCC announced, we have had to increase the admission deposit to $3,000. We cannot request a PAL on your behalf until you have completed the PAL consent form and made the admission deposit payment. If you already paid $200, you will only be required to pay the difference between your original payment and the new $3,000 requirement. Please email service.centre@smu.ca once you have made the additional payment.

The $3,000 admission deposit is non-refundable, even if the study permit is not approved. The PAL consent form outlines the terms of the admission deposit.

Paying the $3,000 in addition to the completed consent form ensures that Saint Mary’s University will request the PAL on your behalf. However, the provincial government then determines whether or not a student will be issued the PAL. Students can only obtain a PAL for one institution per province, so if a student applies for a PAL for more than one institution in Nova Scotia, the PAL request will be denied. 

Once you accept your offer and we receive your admission deposit payment, we will automatically request the PAL on your behalf. The time from us receiving the payment to releasing the PAL can take up to two weeks.

You will receive an email regarding a status update to your application. When you login to the application portal, you will find a letter that outlines the instructions on how to download your PAL.

For questions related to your study permit application, please contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

For questions regarding your application status, contact admission.status@smu.ca.

For questions regarding the PAL process, please contact international@smu.ca.

You may also join one of our upcoming webinars for international students.