A Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) is a formal document that verifies you have a spot in the given year’s provincial allocation and is included in the federal cap to submit a study permit application.
Most students will need to provide a PAL in their study permit application. The most common situations where students need to provide a PAL are:
- You apply for a study permit from outside Canada.
- You change Canadian institutions and need to apply for a new study permit.
- You are a UBC undergraduate student who will begin/has begun graduate studies. If you need to extend your study permit, you will require a PAL because you are changing your study level (from undergraduate to graduate).
The most common situations where you do not need to provide a PAL are:
- You are a current UBC graduate degree seeking student who is extending your study permit to continue graduate studies, whether you finished your first graduate program or not (even if you switch between master’s degree and doctoral degree programs).
- You were previously a UBC undergraduate student whose study permit is still valid. You can study at the graduate level with your current study permit (if you need to extend your study permit, a PAL will be required).
- You are eligible for a temporary policy allowing work permit holders to study without a study permit. (If you need to apply for a study permit to finish your program, a PAL will be required).
- You are from certain countries which have a temporary public policy and apply for your study permit before the policy expires.
Full details about PALs can be found on the IRCC PAL webpage.