Study in Canada: Costs, Visa, Universities and Scholarships for Pakistani Students

Canada has long attracted Pakistani students with good universities, a safe and welcoming society, a large Pakistani community in cities like Toronto, Mississauga and Calgary, and a clear path from study to work. Since 2024, though, the government has capped the number of study permits and raised the proof-of-funds amount, so it is harder than it used to be, especially for undergraduate and college applicants.

The good news for postgraduates: from 1 January 2026, master's and PhD students at public universities no longer need a provincial attestation letter and are not counted under the cap. Canada is now strongest as a master's and funded-PhD destination.

All PKR figures use C$1 ≈ PKR 202 (approx., derived from open-market rates in September to October 2026). Recalculate before you transfer money.

Quick facts	Canada
Language of teaching	English (French in Quebec and some bilingual universities)
Academic year and intakes	September (main); January; some programmes in May
Typical tuition (international)	Undergraduate approx. C$25,000 to C$60,000 a year (PKR 5 to 12.1 million); master's approx. C$15,000 to C$45,000 a year (PKR 3 to 9.1 million); funded PhDs often cost little or nothing
Monthly living costs	Approx. C$1,500 to C$2,000 in smaller cities; C$2,200 to C$3,000 in Toronto or Vancouver
Part-time work	Up to 24 hours a week off campus during term; unlimited in scheduled breaks
Post-study work	Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP): up to 3 years, depending on programme length

Budget options: what you can do on every budget

Budget	Route	What it looks like
Fully funded (little or no family money)	Funded research master's and PhDs (RA/TA plus scholarships); Lester B. Pearson (Toronto) and UBC International Scholars for undergraduates; Ontario Trillium Scholarships for PhD students	Research-based MSc/MASc/PhD students are usually offered a funding package: tuition support plus a stipend, often C$20,000 to C$35,000 a year (changes by university). You find this by contacting supervisors. Full undergraduate scholarships exist but are very few.
Low fees plus partial funding (approx. PKR 6 to 9 million a year)	Lower-fee provinces and universities (e.g. Memorial University in Newfoundland, some universities in the Prairies and Atlantic Canada); entrance scholarships	Tuition near the lower end of the range, smaller cities with cheaper rent. You must still show C$23,448 for living costs plus your first year's tuition.
Self-funded, mid-range (approx. PKR 10 to 13 million a year)	Course-based master's at a mid-sized university	One- or two-year professional master's (e.g. MEng, MBA, MDS). Little funding, but leads to a PGWP.
Self-funded, premium (approx. PKR 14 million a year and above)	Toronto, UBC, McGill, Waterloo; undergraduate degrees in big cities	Tuition C$45,000 to C$70,000+ a year for some undergraduate programmes plus high rents. Plan for four years of fees for a bachelor's.

The key point: a thesis-based master's or PhD with a supervisor's funding is the most affordable way into Canada. Course-based master's and undergraduate degrees are mostly self-funded.

University costs

Public vs private. Almost all Canadian universities are public, but each sets its own international fees. Private career colleges exist; be careful, as their graduates are usually not exempt from the cap and many programmes are not PGWP eligible.

Typical international tuition (2026/27, approx., changes yearly):

• Bachelor's: C$25,000 to C$60,000 a year; engineering and computer science at top universities can exceed C$65,000.
• Master's: course-based C$20,000 to C$50,000 a year; thesis-based often lower, and frequently covered by funding.
• PhD: many universities charge international PhD students domestic-level fees or cover tuition through funding packages (for example, the University of Toronto charges domestic fees to most international PhD students).

Application fees. Usually C$100 to C$185 per university (Ontario undergraduate applications go through OUAC). Some universities waive fees for applicants from lower-income countries; ask.

Quebec. Universities in Quebec need a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) in addition to the study permit.

Living costs

Approximate monthly costs for one student in shared accommodation (2026, changes yearly):

City	Rent (room)	Food	Transport	Total per month
Toronto	C$1,100 to C$1,600	C$400 to C$500	C$128 (TTC) or campus U-Pass	C$2,000 to C$2,700 (PKR 404,000 to 545,000)
Vancouver	C$1,100 to C$1,700	C$400 to C$500	U-Pass included in fees	C$2,000 to C$2,700 (PKR 404,000 to 545,000)
Montreal	C$700 to C$1,100	C$350 to C$450	C$60 (student pass)	C$1,400 to C$1,900 (PKR 283,000 to 384,000)
Halifax / Winnipeg	C$700 to C$1,000	C$350 to C$450	C$50 to C$90	C$1,400 to C$1,800 (PKR 283,000 to 364,000)

Budget for winter clothing (C$300 to C$500) and provincial health insurance or the university health plan.

Scholarships and need-based funding

Graduate funding packages. Most thesis-based master's and PhD offers in science, engineering and many social sciences come with a minimum funding guarantee built from research assistantships, teaching assistantships and internal scholarships. The key is to email potential supervisors with a short CV and research interest 8 to 12 months before the intake.

University scholarships for undergraduates:

• Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship (University of Toronto): covers tuition, books, fees and residence for four years. Schools must nominate you; nomination is usually due in early November and the application in January.
• UBC International Scholars (Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow Award): need-based, can cover full cost. Apply by the early UBC deadline (usually November/December).
• Many universities (York, Carleton, Waterloo, Calgary, Alberta and others) offer automatic entrance scholarships from C$1,000 to C$20,000+.

Provincial and federal awards. Ontario Trillium Scholarships fund international PhD students at Ontario universities (nominated by the university). Federal graduate awards such as Vanier have been opened to some international PhD students in the past, but the federal research scholarship system has been restructured; check NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR pages for the current programme.

Need-based help. There is no national need-based grant for international students. Some universities have bursaries for enrolled international students in financial difficulty, but these are small. Do not count on them for your visa.

Current listings: /scholarships?country=Canada.

Student visa: steps, documents and fees

1. Get a letter of acceptance from a Designated Learning Institution (DLI).
2. Get a Provincial or Territorial Attestation Letter (PAL/TAL), unless exempt. Bachelor's, diploma and college students need one; your institution applies for it on your behalf. Since 1 January 2026, students in master's or doctoral degree programmes at a public DLI do not need a PAL/TAL. A PAL is generally valid until 31 December of the year it is issued for.
3. Prepare proof of funds. For applications on or after 1 September 2026, a single student outside Quebec must show C$23,448 a year for living costs (approx. PKR 4.74 million) plus first-year tuition and travel. Most Pakistani applicants use a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) from a participating Canadian bank for the living-cost portion, plus paid tuition receipts and family bank statements. Before 1 September 2026 the amount was C$22,895.
4. Medical exam with an IRCC panel physician (IOM clinics in Pakistan), if requested.
5. Apply online through your IRCC account. Fees: study permit C$150 plus biometrics C$85 (approx. PKR 47,500 total).
6. Give biometrics at a VFS Global centre in Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi.
7. Wait for a decision. Check the IRCC processing-time tool; Pakistan applications often take several weeks or longer. PhD applicants may be eligible for faster (around 14 days) processing.

Caps. For 2026, IRCC planned up to 408,000 study permits in total (155,000 for new students), with 180,000 PAL-required permits shared between provinces. Master's and PhD students at public DLIs have a separate target. The 2027 allocations had not been announced at the time of writing; check before you apply.

Documents: passport, acceptance letter, PAL (if needed), GIC certificate and tuition receipt, bank statements and sponsor letters, academic transcripts and degrees, IELTS/TOEFL/PTE/Duolingo result, a study plan explaining why this programme and how it fits your career, and police certificate if asked. See our document checklist and HEC attestation guide. Note that the fast-track Student Direct Stream (SDS) ended in November 2024; all Pakistani applicants now use the regular stream.

Working while studying and after graduating

During studies: up to 24 hours a week off campus during regular terms and unlimited hours in scheduled breaks such as summer. On-campus work and TA/RA jobs have their own rules. Minimum wages are around C$16 to C$18 an hour depending on the province (changes yearly).

After graduating: the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) lets you work for any employer. Bachelor's, master's and PhD graduates have no field-of-study restriction; college graduates must be in an eligible field. You must show language ability of CLB 7 (university graduates) or CLB 5 (college graduates). Programmes of 8 months to under 2 years generally get a PGWP of matching length, while 2-year-plus programmes and most master's degrees can get up to 3 years. Apply within 180 days of finishing.

Canadian work experience can help with permanent residence through Express Entry and provincial nominee programmes, but these change often and are not guaranteed.

Month-by-month timeline (September 2027 intake)

When	What to do
Oct to Nov 2026	Shortlist universities; email potential supervisors (graduate); Lester B. Pearson school nomination
Nov 2026 to Jan 2027	Submit applications; UBC and Toronto scholarship deadlines; take IELTS/TOEFL
Jan to Mar 2027	Graduate deadlines (many close December to February); interviews with supervisors
Mar to May 2027	Offers and funding letters; accept offer; pay deposit; request PAL if undergraduate
Apr to Jun 2027	Buy GIC; medical exam; apply for study permit; biometrics at VFS
Jun to Aug 2027	Permit decision; book housing and flights
Late Aug 2027	Travel and orientation

Common mistakes Pakistani applicants make

• Weak study plan. Refusals often cite doubt that you will leave Canada or that the programme fits your background. Explain clearly why this course, this university and your career plan in Pakistan or abroad.
• Choosing private colleges that are not PGWP eligible or need a scarce PAL.
• Showing only the GIC. You must also show first-year tuition and travel money.
• Applying for graduate admission without contacting supervisors for thesis-based programmes, then missing out on funding.
• Using an outdated proof-of-funds figure (C$22,895 changed to C$23,448 on 1 September 2026).
• Paying agents for "guaranteed" admission or visas. See avoiding scholarship scams.

Official links

• Study permit: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/study-permit.html
• Proof of financial support: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/study-permit/get-documents/financial-support.html
• Provincial attestation letter: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/study-permit/get-documents/provincial-attestation-letter.html
• Working off campus: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/work-off-campus.html
• PGWP eligibility: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/after-graduation/eligibility.html
• EduCanada scholarships: https://www.educanada.ca/scholarships-bourses/index.aspx
• Lester B. Pearson Scholarship: https://future.utoronto.ca/pearson/
• VFS Global Canada (Pakistan): https://visa.vfsglobal.com/pak/en/can/

Figures checked on 10 October 2026. Always confirm on the official sites before applying.