Canada Introduces Ultra-Fast 14-Day Application Processing For PhDs; Removes PAL Requirement
Canada has introduced sweeping simplification of the application process for master’s and doctoral students at public universities, by permitting exemption from the national study-permit cap and the requirement for a provincial or territorial attestation letter (PAL/TAL). It has also proposed ultra-fast 14-day processing for PhD applicants and their families. The move aims to attract the world’s brightest and best students, even as overall temporary immigration continues its sharp contraction.
According to official guidance from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada updated in December 2025, starting from January 1, 2026, candidates planning to attend a degree-granting program at the master’s or doctoral level at a public institution do not require a provincial or territorial attestation letter (PAL or TAL) when applying for a study permit.
Graduate students at publicly designated learning institutions are also fully exempt from the 2026 national study-permit cap, set at 155,000 overall new permits. A dedicated target of nearly 49.000 graduate-level permits has been given separately to prioritise high-value talent.
Doctoral applicants and their accompanying spouses and dependent children, when applying online from outside Canada, now receive decisions within two weeks, provided biometrics are submitted promptly, and the institution verifies the letter of acceptance.
IRCC has supported the policy shift with an aggressive social-media recruitment drive. IRCC said in a recent post on X, “Canada is home to world-class institutions and offers clear pathways for international students to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees.” It has also listed the incentive as the simpler processing and 2 weeks timeline for doctoral student applications, and work in Canada after graduation.
The steps were taken after study permit volumes decreased, IRCC has shifted its focus to attrach high quality students to Canada to contribute to the research ecosystem and innovation.
The measures complement a $1.7 billion, 12-year Canada Global Impact Plus Research Talent Initiative launched on December 9, 2025. The program aims to bring more than 1000 leading international researchers, early career scholars, doctoral students, and post-doctoral fellows to Canada.
As per the IRCC data, the new international student arrivals plunged 61 percent to 115,470, a drop of 177.595 from 2024. New temporary foreign worker arrivals fell 47 percent to 153,880, bringing the total decline to 361,935.
By December 31, 2025, Canada had roughly 2.155 million people holding study or work permits: 461,565 study-only, 1,463,805 work-only and 229,650 holding both.
Adding an estimated 505,000 refugee claimants, protected persons and out-of-status migrants brought the total temporary resident population to about 2.66 million, or 6.4 per cent of Canada’s roughly 41.6 million people, still above the government’s 5 per cent target for end-2027. New asylum claims dropped 34 per cent to 113,090. IRCC attributed the declines to caps, tighter rules, the Mexican visa requirement and heightened scrutiny.
