Run province by province, with colleges sitting alongside universities and taken just as seriously by employers. Engineering, health sciences and co-op programmes are the strengths — co-op alternates semesters of study with paid work terms in industry. The Post-Graduation Work Permit runs up to three years, and provincial nominee programmes make Canada the clearest route from a student visa to permanent residence.
Living there
Multicultural and welcoming, with large Indian communities in Toronto, Brampton, Surrey and Winnipeg. Study permits allow part-time work during term, and post-study work permits are among the most generous available. Housing shortages near the big city colleges are the main practical problem.
Work rights
24 hours per week off-campus
After the course
PGWP — up to 3 years depending on programme length
Processing time
4–12 weeks
Not sure where you fit?
Tell us your marks and your budget and we will shortlist the courses in Canada you actually qualify for.
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Verified DLI institutions
Designated Learning Institutions from IRCC’s own DLI data feed (pulled 17 September 2026), shown here only once a real official website has been individually checked and confirmed for it — so every link below goes exactly where it says, never a guess. IRCC’s full DLI list runs to 1439institutions in total, and we’re working through the rest — this list keeps growing as each one gets verified. The 80well-known public universities among these also carry hand-checked PGWP status (double-checked against IRCC’s own tool) and practical notes, and have an “Ask about this one” button below.
506 verified institutions shown — each with a checked official-site link. IRCC’s full DLI list runs to 1439; more appear here as each one gets verified.
Source: canada.ca, IRCC’s Designated Learning Institutions list, pulled 17 September 2026. This list changes as IRCC adds, removes or updates institutions — it should be re-pulled periodically rather than treated as permanent, the same rule as every other figure on this page.
The application process, step by step
The order things actually happen in — from submitting documents to the institution through to holding the physical study permit. Researched directly from IRCC (canada.ca), not written from memory.
1. Apply to the institution
Submit transcripts, English-test result (if the institution asks for one), statement of purpose and any financial documents the institution wants, directly to its admissions office.
2. Institution checks documents, issues an offer
If the application qualifies, the institution issues a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) — the document IRCC needs to see with the study permit application. Some institutions issue a conditional offer first, pending a deposit or one missing document.
3. Pay the institution
Pay whatever the LOA requires before it's finalised — a partial deposit, a full first year, or occasionally nothing upfront. This is entirely each institution's own policy; nothing here is set by IRCC.
4. Arrange proof of funds
Show enough money to cover a year's living costs (plus any tuition still unpaid) in a form IRCC accepts — a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) from a Canadian bank, bank statements, an approved education loan, or a scholarship letter. See the GIC note below — a GIC is one option among these, not a separate visa route.
5. Apply for the study permit
Submit the study permit application with the LOA and proof of funds, pay the CAD $150 permit fee and the CAD $85 biometrics fee, and complete biometrics at a visa application centre.
6. Get a decision, then travel
Approval brings a Port of Entry (POE) Letter of Introduction — not a physical permit yet. Indian applicants also need a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV, CAD $100) placed in their passport to travel, since India doesn't qualify for the eTA some other visa-required countries can use instead.
7. Get the physical study permit at the border
A Canada Border Services Agency officer checks the POE letter, passport, TRV and proof of funds on arrival, and issues the actual study permit at that point — not before.
SDS vs. non-SDS — no longer a live choice
Indian applicants used to have a choice: the Student Direct Stream (SDS) — faster processing, in exchange for meeting stricter upfront conditions (a GIC, the full first year's tuition paid, a recent secondary or post-secondary transcript, and usually a CLB 7 / IELTS 6.0-per-band English result) — or the regular stream (often called "non-SDS"), open to everyone, with more flexible proof of funds and no guaranteed faster processing. IRCC discontinued SDS, and the parallel Nigeria Student Express, on 8 November 2024 at 2:00 p.m. ET, citing program integrity and equal access for all applicants. Applications received before that moment finished processing under SDS; everything since — including every application today — goes through the single regular study permit stream. So there's no SDS/non-SDS decision left to make: it's one process for every country now. A GIC is still one accepted way to prove funds under that single stream, just no longer a fast-track requirement.
How the fees and study-permit funds work
Canada doesn’t use the UK’s CAS-style mechanism — there’s no fixed rule tying a deposit amount to what you must show the visa office. Instead, most institutions ask for some deposit before issuing the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) a study permit application needs, and IRCC separately wants proof you can cover tuition and living costs — using an example first-year fee of $20,000, the real deposit comes from the institution, not this page.
Pay now
Deposit to the institution, to receive the LOA (example): $5,000
Study permit application fee: $150
Biometrics fee: $85
$5,235 in this example
Prove you can cover
Living costs for one year, single applicant, outside Quebec: $23,448
Plus whatever’s still unpaid on the first year’s tuition (example, after the deposit): $15,000
$38,448 in this example
Common ways to prove this: bank statements, a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) from a Canadian bank, or an approved education loan letter. Unlike the UK, there’s no fixed number of days the money must sit in the account beforehand — it has to be sufficient and demonstrable at the time you apply. Quebec sets its own cost-of-living figure for the Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ), separately from the federal amount above — a Quebec-bound student needs both documents and both financial tests. Confirm the current CAQ amount with Quebec's immigration ministry (MIFI) directly.
GIC — how it actually works
IRCC’s official one-year living-cost figure: $23,448 (as of September 2026, IRCC (canada.ca)) — this changes periodically, so it should always be checked fresh at the time someone applies, not quoted from memory months later. Banks then size their own GIC program minimums to comfortably clear that figure — they don’t all charge the same amount.
A GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) from a Canadian bank is one accepted way to prove funds for a study permit — not a separate visa route, and not compulsory. There is no single IRCC-mandated GIC amount any more; that was specific to the discontinued SDS stream (see above). In practice, banks size their own program minimums to comfortably clear IRCC's current one-year living-cost figure — CAD $23,448 as of 1 September 2026 — so always confirm the bank's current minimum at the time of applying rather than trusting an old number, since both IRCC's figure and each bank's program change periodically. The money is never handed over as one lump sum on arrival: each bank spreads the release across the student's first year on its own schedule (see the providers above), and it comes back to the student, with interest, over that year — it never stays with the bank or the government.
Scotiabank (StartRight): Minimum wire transfer CAD $5,200 (CAD $5,000 invested + a $200 processing fee), up to $50,200. On arrival, split across an immediate chequing deposit, a 12-month equal-instalment GIC (min $5,000), and/or a one-year cashable GIC (min $2,000) — mix and match.
CIBC: No processing fee on transfers up to $50,000. Part of the transfer goes straight into a chequing account when the student visits a branch; the rest sits in a GIC Program Account and comes back in 11 equal monthly instalments over a year, with interest.
ICICI Bank Canada: Runs its own Student GIC Program for the same purpose. Confirm its current minimum amount and release schedule directly with the bank before quoting a figure to anyone — it wasn't independently verified this session.
This is a worked example, not a quote. How much an institution asks for before issuing an LOA is that institution’s own decision and varies widely — confirm the real payment schedule with the institution before relying on it. Figures as of September 2026, IRCC (canada.ca).
Short courses — programmes of 6 months or less
A study permit isn't required for a program or course that lasts 6 months or less and is completed within a single authorised stay — IRCC's own rule, plainly stated: "You don't need a study permit if your program or course is less than 6 months." What's still required: a valid travel document to enter Canada — for an Indian applicant, that's a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV, CAD $100), since India doesn't qualify for the eTA some other visa-required countries can use — plus enough funds and ties to India to satisfy a visitor-visa officer, which is a more general test than IRCC's fixed study-permit living-cost figure. Worth knowing before recommending this route: no study permit means no right to work off-campus, no Post-Graduation Work Permit afterwards (PGWP needs a completed programme of 8+ months on an actual study permit), and no simple way to continue straight into a longer programme without leaving Canada and applying for a full study permit from outside first. IRCC's own guidance notes it can still be worth getting a study permit even for an exempt short course, for exactly these downstream reasons.
Bringing family
Spouse or partner
Only if the student is in: a master's degree of 16+ months, a doctoral degree, an eligible pilot programme, or a specific professional bachelor's — medicine, dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, law (LLB/JD/BCL), pharmacy, nursing (BScN/BSN/BN/BNSc), education, or engineering.
General undergraduate degrees, college diplomas and certificate programmes no longer qualify a spouse or common-law partner for an open work permit — this narrowed on 21 January 2025.
Children
A minor child can attend Canadian preschool, primary or secondary school without their own study permit, as long as they're accompanied by a parent who holds a valid study or work permit.
Cost of bringing a family member
No fixed per-dependant visa fee the way the UK charges one — but each additional accompanying family member raises the required proof-of-funds by CAD $6,318 on the 2026 living-cost table.
Scholarships — a starting list
A starter list, not the full picture — most Canadian universities also run their own entrance scholarships for strong applicants, awarded automatically or by separate application. Scholarships administered per-university (all three above included) run on that university's own calendar and quota, not a national one — confirm current amounts and deadlines with the university before advising a student to count on one.
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)
Provincial (Ontario)GrantVaries by university
Master's / PhD · CAD $5,000 per session, up to $15,000/year
≈ ₹10 lakh/year
Eligible: International students on a valid study permit are eligible for a set quota of awards at each Ontario university, alongside citizens and permanent residents. Needs at least an A- average in the last two completed years of study.
Administered per-university — confirm amount and current eligibility on the official site before advising anyone.
Deadline: Set by each graduate unit — apply through the university, not centrally.Official site
Ontario Trillium Scholarship (OTS)
Provincial (Ontario)GrantVaries by university
PhD · CAD $40,000/year, renewable up to 4 years
≈ ₹27 lakh/year
Eligible: International PhD students admitted to a participating Ontario university, with a first-class average in each of the last two years of study. Each university nominates its own candidates and sets its own quota.
Administered per-university — confirm amount and current eligibility on the official site before advising anyone.
Deadline: Set by each university — confirm with the graduate programme directly.Official site
Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship
University of TorontoGrantOPEN NOW
Undergraduate · Full tuition, books, incidental fees and residence for 4 years
≈ ₹35–45 lakh/year, depending on programme
Eligible: International students entering first year at the University of Toronto, nominated by their own secondary school — each school may nominate only one student per year. Around 37 awarded annually.
Deadline: Nomination-based — through the applicant's secondary school, ahead of the September intake.Official site