Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions, organized by topic area.

About PALs and Caps

How long is the PAL valid for?

The current expiry date for attestation letters issued within the 2024 allotment is January 21, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST. For details, see Attestation Letter Requirements.

Note: The expiry date isn’t enforced or validated by OCAS or IRCC. It’s a "soft" recommendation to encourage applicants to use their PAL in a timely manner.

How does the attestation letter limit / cap work?

The MCU will allocate the maximum number of attestation letters they will approve in a year.

• For 2024, the timeframe is from January 22, 2024, to December 31, 2024.

• For 2025, the PAL allocation limit and timeframe are not yet set.

DLIs should request attestation letters from the MCU when applicants are ready to apply for a study permit. Attestation letter limits (caps) are defined based on the calendar year (with some variance) and when the DLI requests them from the province.

The cap is independent of when the applicant starts their program and when they submit their study permit application to IRCC. The following table includes some examples.

*Given study permit processing times, it’s assumed that DLIs will not issue PALs in early January for programs that start in January.

**For programs starting in May 2025 and September 2025, it's common for applicants to start their study permit application six months or more before the start date. DLIs should be aware that requesting a PAL in the 2024 calendar year will count toward your 2024 allocation. PAL requests made during the 2025 calendar year will count toward your 2025 allocation.

Exact dates are to be confirmed, however, the attestation letter will have an expiry date.

What details are available for 2025 caps?

Details for 2025 attestation letter caps are to be confirmed.

Will the cap for 2024 be adjusted?

Details are to be confirmed. IRCC has indicated that they may adjust the provincewide PAL maximum as they process study permits in the coming months and track the conversion rates.

Will IRCC verify the attestation letter maximum / allocated per DLI?

Details are to be confirmed. After the initial limits are assigned for each DLI, the MCU will be responsible for ensuring that each DLI isn’t issued more attestation letters than they’re allocated.

The Ontario Attestation Letter Service will manage and enforce available cap per DLI when new PALs are requested. When a DLI has reached their limit, they will not be able to request any additional PALs for 2024. We assume that IRCC may periodically request information from the MCU on provincewide attestation letter maximum and usage.

What happens if an applicant applies to other DLIs in Ontario or Canada? Do they require a PAL from each DLI in each province?

Yes, the applicant will require a PAL from each institution, whether in Ontario or elsewhere in Canada. Currently, there’s no process to check if an applicant has requested more than one PAL. Given the expected financial commitment applicants must make to a DLI to secure a PAL, the assumption is that the frequency of this occurring may be low.

Submitting Requests

How do I get access to the portal?

Contact your OCAS Partner Success Manager for support.

How do I add, remove, or change users linked to my college?

Contact your OCAS Partner Success Manager for support.

When should a DLI request PALs?

This is at the discretion of each DLI. When you deem that an applicant is ready to start their study permit application (they've met all your conditions and criteria), you should request a PAL. This may vary depending on the applicant and type of study permit application.

For example:

• For applicants from India, you may require them to make the necessary tuition deposit. If it's an SDS application, you may require further payments.

• To optimize conversion, you may further require applicants to meet all remaining conditions on their offer.

• For applicants from other countries such as those in Africa, traditionally the payment may occur after they have their study permit or once they’re in Canada. Given that some countries typically have low approval rates for study permit applications, you may want to consider what changes can be made to optimize conversion and the best use of the issued PAL, such as requiring a financial commitment.

Who should submit the PAL request: the applicant or the post-secondary institution (DLI)?

The PAL request must be submitted by the institution (DLI). When the letter is approved by the MCU, it’s posted in the portal and available for download and distribution to the applicant or agent.

Which students should be included in the Excel file?

Only include students who need and are eligible for a PAL. You shouldn’t include students who don’t require a PAL (i.e., those who are exempt).

The Ontario Attestation Letter Service doesn’t check if students meet any of the exemption criteria (such as Status in Canada), and the MCU doesn’t have a way to verify this. We’re unable to skip and ignore those students.

The MCU will approve and generate a PAL for each student in the list you provide, whether the student requires a letter or not.

Is there a limit on how many PALs a DLI can request per day?

DLIs can request PALs for multiple groups of students per day. Each Excel file can have a maximum of 250 students.

The system assumes that the DLI will send a batch of requests either once or a few times per day (at the start or end of the day). There are no limits on how many files can be processed.

In the future, an API solution will allow DLIs to request PALs for students by sending information in near real-time (individually), as status changes or events are triggered in the DLI’s SIS. More details will be provided in the future.

What happens if the Excel file I’m submitting has an error?

If your Excel file contains errors, you cannot submit it until the errors are corrected. For details, see Submitting the Request.

Is an API available?

An API is being considered for future phases of the Ontario Attestation Letter Service.

Processing Requests

Why is the MCU required to approve attestation letter requests?

This requirement was requested by IRCC. The MCU must ensure DLIs have available attestation letter cap space before approving requests.

Can a DLI generate their own attestation letters if there’s adequate cap space?

No, IRCC specifies that the province (MCU) is responsible for providing and generating attestation letters.

How long does it take for the MCU to approve, generate, and return the letters?

The estimated processing time is one to two business days.

Will IRCC verify the PAL document for fraud prevention?

While IRCC isn’t necessarily verifying every letter, they may reach out to the DLI if necessary.

IRCC can track study permit approvals at the DLI level and may know if a DLI is over their cap. Ideally, each attestation letter is correlated to a study permit application.

What happens if the applicant’s study permit application is declined and they want to try again in the future (i.e., request a deferral)?

If an applicant’s study permit application is declined and they request a deferral, then decide to apply for a study permit again later (regardless of the year), they will require a new PAL since it’s a new study permit application. Generally, a PAL is required for each study permit application.

If an applicant’s study permit application isn’t processed (i.e., is returned to the applicant) and they decide to update and resubmit the application, a new PAL isn’t required.

What happens if the applicant requests a refund or their study plans change (e.g., they no longer want to study at the DLI)?

Once an attestation letter is used / allocated, it can’t be reimbursed, regardless of what the student does with the letter or the outcome of their study permit application.

Note: This policy is from IRCC.

What happens if the information on a letter is incorrect after it has been generated?

Institutions must ensure all information is accurate before requesting a PAL for a student. The assumption should be that once the MCU approves the generation of a letter, it’s final and no changes will be needed.

IRCC’s proposed PAL verification process would make it difficult to allow changes to a PAL after it has been generated with a unique ID number. We don't want to call into question the legitimacy of the process should multiple versions of a letter (or a version that doesn’t match our most recent record) end up with IRCC.

In cases where corrections must be made after a PAL is generated, a new PAL with a new unique ID number will be generated. This will mean that the student is counted twice against the institution’s cap.

Institutions and OCAS should track this to make it possible for the MCU and IRCC to discuss a way to avoid counting students twice should they have the opportunity to do so. Please contact OCAS at [email protected] for assistance.

What languages are attestation letters available in?

Attestation letters for English-language DLIs will be generated in English only. Letters for French-language DLI's will be generated in French only.

How do I see how many letters have been issued or are pending?

You can view a report in Excel file format in the portal. For details, see Viewing Reports.

What else should the DLI consider with this process?

You may want to provide information on your website and training information for your agents. You may also want to provide details on the Letter of Acceptance so applicants know they must have a PAL before starting their study permit application.

What is the naming convention of the attestation letter file?

The naming convention of the attestation letter file is StudentID_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.pdf (Student ID, Date, and Time).

Where can I find a list of PAL requests that haven’t been approved by the MCU?

The Excel file you upload contains the list of approved students (as determined by your DLI's business processes) for which you’re requesting PALs. The MCU will not reject requests for a PAL. If you exceed your cap, this will be caught when you attempt to upload a batch. An error message is displayed that the cap has been exceeded. You can review what space you have left and reduce the requests for PALs in the submission, if applicable.