Changing Schools in Canada on a Study Permit: DLI Transfer Rules for Pakistani Students (2026)

Can you change schools on your current study permit?

Many students believe that a valid study permit lets them study anywhere in Canada. It does not. A study permit is tied to the idea that you are enrolled at a designated learning institution, or DLI, and IRCC tracks which one. Before the rules tightened, a change could be handled with a quick update in an online account. That is no longer how IRCC describes it.

As of 18 October 2026, the IRCC page on changing schools or programs says you need to get a new study permit by applying to extend your current one before you can start studying at your new DLI. IRCC’s guidance on when to apply for an extension adds that you can’t start studying at your new school until your extended study permit is approved. In other words, the new school cannot simply take you on because you hold a valid permit. The extension is the permission slip.

IRCC also lists the cases where you do not need to apply. Its page says you do not need an extension if your current permit is still valid and you stay at your own DLI, as long as you meet your permit conditions. The trigger is the move to a different institution, not the passage of time. For a wider look at extensions, read our guide to extending a Canada study permit from inside Canada.

Why Canada tightened school changes

A 2024 IRCC briefing note to the parliamentary committee on immigration explained the worry. It said stakeholders and provinces were concerned that undisclosed school changes could undermine efforts to strengthen the international student program and manage cap allocations. IRCC said it was working on better enrolment data, including school changes. That is the background to today’s stricter process.

What counts as a school change

• Going from one college to another college.
• A switch from a college diploma to a university degree at a different institution.
• Transferring to a different campus that is a separate DLI.
• Changing between schools in the same province or across provinces.

A change of program inside the same DLI is a different case. Ask your school and, where you extend into a new program, check whether a new PAL is needed.

When should you apply?

IRCC’s extension guidance says you must apply at least 30 days before your permit expires, and Guide 5552 likewise recommends applying at least 30 days before the document expires. The change-of-school guidance adds that you should apply before you finish your studies at your current school. If your plan is to move after the semester ends, start at the semester’s beginning, not its end.

IRCC says that if you apply before your permit expires you can continue to study under the same conditions as your current study permit until a decision is made, but only while you stay in Canada.

If your permit is about to expire

The 30-day line matters most when your permit is short. A student whose permit runs out in six weeks has very little room. Another page on the same IRCC site explains how to restore status after expiry, but restoration costs more and is not something to plan around. We keep that route for emergencies only.

If you finish early

IRCC’s extension page says that if you finish your program early, your permit expires on the printed date or 90 days after you complete your studies, whichever comes first. That is a reason to plan any move to a new program before you finish the old one.

Do you need a new PAL or TAL?

As of 18 October 2026, the IRCC changing-schools page says you need a new, valid PAL or TAL before you submit your application, which it describes as a requirement as of 22 January 2025, and the IRCC attestation letter page gives the same date. The IRCC attestation page adds that if you extend at the same DLI and level of study, you do not need a new PAL or TAL, while extending at a different DLI or level generally does need one.

The attestation letter page also says that, from 1 January 2026, you do not need a PAL or TAL for a degree-granting master’s or doctoral program at a public DLI, which we could confirm only on that page, so check your own case before relying on it.

Our guide to the provincial attestation letter for Pakistani students explains how to get one. The practical problem is that PAL allocations are limited by province and school. A new college may not have an allocation to give you, and a PAL from your old school is not transferable. Ask the new school, in writing, whether it can issue a PAL for your intake before you pay any deposit.

What a returned application looks like

Guide 5552 says that in most cases, if you apply without a PAL or TAL, your application will be returned with fees. That is a weeks-long delay at the worst moment, and it can leave you short of time before your current permit expires.

Which documents does IRCC expect?

The IRCC changing-schools page lists a letter explaining why you are changing schools, a new valid PAL or TAL unless you are exempt, and proof that you meet the start-early criteria if you rely on them. Your extension application also needs the usual supporting items. These are the ones we ask Pakistani students to prepare:

• The letter of acceptance from the new DLI. Our guide on letter of acceptance verification explains why a genuine letter matters.
• The new PAL or TAL, or the document that shows your exemption.
• Your current study permit and passport.
• A transcript or letter from your current school showing your standing.
• Proof of funds for the new program, with tuition and living costs.
• A letter of explanation, in your own words.

Check that the new school appears on the DLI list. Use our walkthrough on checking a designated learning institution, and confirm the exact campus code, since a college may have campuses with different status.

How to write the letter of explanation

Keep it to a page. Say why you are leaving the first school, why the second school fits your career plan and how the change affects your timeline. Avoid blaming the old school in harsh terms. An officer reads dozens of these, and a calm, factual letter reads best. Reasons that tend to be straightforward include a program that was cancelled, a move to a degree that matches your earlier diploma, or a program that your first school did not deliver as described. Do not invent a reason.

What does it cost?

As of 18 October 2026, the IRCC fee list shows the study permit fee, including extensions, at CAD 150 per person, and Guide 5552 shows the same figure. Biometrics may be an extra charge if you need to give them again, and Guide 5552 notes that biometrics fees apply, so read the instructions for your situation. The bigger costs are usually at the schools.

Protect your money first

Do not pay a non-refundable deposit at the new school until you know its PAL position and its refund terms. A student who pays, withdraws from the old school and then receives a refusal is exposed on both sides. Keep your first school enrolment until the extension is approved, unless an adviser tells you otherwise for a specific reason.

How long does the 60-day route take?

As of 18 October 2026, the IRCC changing-schools page says an extension for a student changing to a new post-secondary DLI can be processed in 60 days if you answer yes to the online changing-DLI question. The condition is important. You must answer the online question about changing DLI correctly, and the new school must be a post-secondary institution. Gaps in the application, such as a missing PAL, can break the faster route.

Treat the 60 days as the target IRCC states on its page, not a promise. Processing times move with volumes and with the checks an officer decides to make. Build your plan around the longer end of your own tolerance, and do not buy a non-refundable flight for the start date.

What to do while you wait

• Keep attending your current school if your permit and enrolment allow.
• Respond quickly to any IRCC email asking you to confirm enrolment. IRCC says such messages come from an address ending in @cic.gc.ca, and you must reply by the stated date.
• Do not book travel that takes you out of Canada.
• Keep every receipt, email and letter in one folder.

Can you start at the new school before approval?

Normally no. IRCC describes a narrow exception for students whose old school has a serious problem. IRCC allows you to start at the new school while your extension is pending only if you have not left Canada since receiving the new letter of acceptance, you still meet your previous permit conditions, and your old school closed, dropped your program, was suspended or lost its designated status before you finished, which is stated on one IRCC page only.

If you do not meet all three conditions, IRCC says to plan to apply for and receive your extended permit for the new DLI before you finish at your current one. For most Pakistani students, who change schools by choice rather than because a school closed, that is the route to follow.

What students often get wrong

Some students read a social media post that says you can transfer and start early. The exception is narrow and tied to the old school’s status. Starting classes at the new school without approval risks breaking your permit conditions.

What is different for Quebec?

For Quebec, the IRCC page says moving to a Quebec school generally means submitting an attestation of issuance of your CAQ with your permit application, and Guide 5552 says the CAQ serves as the PAL for Quebec studies. The IRCC page also says that if you are changing between vocational training centres in Quebec, you do not need a new study permit but you do need a new CAQ.

The Quebec rules sit alongside the federal ones, and they involve the provincial ministry. Read our guide to the Quebec Acceptance Certificate for Pakistani students before you apply, and leave extra time because two authorities are involved.

What if you change without telling IRCC?

The changing-schools page warns that if you change without telling IRCC your old school may report you as not enrolled, with possible consequences that include breaking your permit conditions, cancellation, removal and refusal of future study or work permits, and a 2024 IRCC briefing note likewise says a previous DLI may report a student as noncompliant.

IRCC adds that it may email you to confirm your enrolment, and you must respond by the date stated. A student who has moved on, changed email addresses or ignored the message can be treated as non-compliant even if the move was innocent.

The safest rule is simple. Do not enrol at a different DLI until the permit says you can. If you have already done so, speak to a regulated adviser quickly, because the longer the gap lasts, the harder it is to explain. Our broader guide on changing university abroad after you start covers the same issue across countries.

How do you choose a new school safely?

Do the checking before you apply, not after. These are the questions we ask.

• Is the school and campus on the current DLI list, and not on the suspension list?
• Can it issue a PAL for your intake, in writing?
• Does the program lead to the credential and, if you plan it, the work permit you want afterwards?
• What are the refund terms if the permit is refused?
• Does it recognise credits from your first school?
• Is the letter of acceptance genuine, and can it be verified?

IRCC’s page notes that you may attend a school on the suspension list only to complete a program you had already started. A student who moves into a suspended school in a new program is outside that rule.

What does a realistic transfer look like?

This is an illustration with invented dates. A student from Lahore is in the second semester of a two-year college diploma in Ontario. Her permit runs for another eleven months. She wants to move to a university degree in another province that starts in September.

Notice that she applies long before her permit nears expiry, never leaves the old school before approval and has the PAL position in writing. Nothing here is unusual. It is just done in the right order. We cannot promise a decision on any date, and an officer can ask for more documents.

Frequently asked questions