Canada’s Designated Learning Institution (DLI)

Before you accept an offer from a Canadian school or pay a tuition deposit, you need to confirm one thing: the school is a designated learning institution. If it is not on Canada's official DLI list, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will refuse your study permit, no matter how good the offer letter looks. This page explains what a DLI is, how to verify one, how DLI status affects your right to work and stay in Canada after graduation, and what happens if a school loses its designation while you are enrolled.

Key Facts About Designated Learning Institutions

• A DLI is a school approved to host international students by a province or territory, and recognized by IRCC.
• You need one to get a study permit. An acceptance letter from a non-designated school leads to a refusal.
• All K-12 schools are automatically designated, so they do not appear on the list or carry a DLI number.
• Designation is not accreditation. A school can be recognized for domestic students yet not designated for international ones.
• Attending a DLI does not guarantee a PGWP. The school and your specific program must both be eligible.
• The list changes. Verify your school on canada.ca shortly before you submit, since schools can lose status.
• The DLI number is campus-specific. Confirm the campus you will actually attend is the one listed.

What Is a Designated Learning Institution?

A designated learning institution (DLI) is a school that a provincial or territorial government has approved to enrol international students. That provincial approval is recognized by IRCC, and the school is then added to the official designated learning institutions list published on canada.ca.

The designation is not automatic and it is not the same as accreditation. A school can be recognized by a provincial education body for domestic students and still not hold DLI status for international students. Two points are worth understanding from the start:

• Primary and secondary schools are already DLIs. Every kindergarten-to-grade-12 school in Canada is automatically designated, so these schools are not shown on the list and do not carry a separate DLI number.
• Post-secondary schools must apply and stay compliant. Colleges, universities, polytechnics, career colleges, and language schools must be designated by their province or territory and must meet ongoing obligations to keep that status.

Public and Private Designated Learning Institutions

Both public and private schools can hold DLI status, but the distinction affects your options after graduation. Public universities, colleges, and polytechnics tend to offer PGWP-eligible programs. Many private DLIs do not, or only some of their programs qualify. Choosing a private DLI without confirming PGWP eligibility is one of the more expensive mistakes an international student can make, because it can close off the work experience that later supports permanent residence.

If your goal is to settle in Canada, work experience gained on a PGWP can build eligibility for programs such as the Canadian Experience Class and Express Entry, as well as provincial pathways like the Provincial Nominee Program. Ontario, for example, runs streams aimed at graduates and skilled workers through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, including the Ontario Graduate Stream. Choosing the right DLI and program early keeps these doors open. You can get a rough sense of your standing using our CRS score calculator.

Why DLI Status Matters for Your Study Permit

You need a letter of acceptance (LOA) from a DLI to apply for a Canadian study permit. This is a legal requirement, not a formality. If you apply with an acceptance letter from a school that is not designated, the application is refused.

DLI status also affects what happens after you arrive. Post-secondary DLIs now carry real compliance duties: they must verify letters of acceptance and report on the enrolment status of their international students to IRCC. Schools that do not meet these obligations can face consequences, including suspension from accepting new international students. For you, that means the health of your school matters throughout your studies, not only on the day you apply.

The Provincial Attestation Letter and Your DLI

Since 2024, Canada has capped the number of study permits it processes each year, and most applicants now need a provincial attestation letter (PAL) or territorial attestation letter (TAL) before IRCC will process the application. Your DLI plays a central role here: in most provinces, the school requests the attestation letter on your behalf after you accept your offer and pay the required deposit or tuition. A school that is not a valid DLI cannot generate a valid PAL request, which is another reason DLI status matters before you pay anything.

Some applicants are exempt from the PAL or TAL requirement. As of January 1, 2026, students in degree-granting master's and doctoral programs at public DLIs do not need one. This exemption is narrow: it covers degree programs, not graduate certificates, diplomas, or microprograms, which still require a PAL or TAL. Primary and secondary students, certain exchange students, and some applicants extending a permit at the same school and level are also generally exempt. If you plan to study in Quebec, the Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) serves this role instead. IRCC's attestation letter page sets out who needs one.

When a Letter From a DLI Is Not Required

In a limited set of cases, a student may not need to provide a DLI number, or may be exempt from certain study permit requirements. These include:

• Primary and secondary students, because these schools are automatically designated and have no separate DLI number.
• Family members of a foreign national whose work permit or study permit application is approved in writing before they enter Canada, who may qualify for an open study permit.
• Certain Quebec institutions that are designated by the province but do not carry a unique DLI number in the same format.

These exemptions are narrow. When you are unsure whether one applies to you, confirm with IRCC's study permit document guide rather than assuming.

How to Check If a School Is a Designated Learning Institution

Verifying a school takes a few minutes and protects a decision that affects your study permit, your work rights, and your path to permanent residence. Use the government list directly rather than a copy on a third-party site, because the official version is the one IRCC keeps current.

1. Open the official DLI list on canada.ca. Search "designated learning institutions list" or use the link above, then choose the province or territory where the campus is physically located, not where the school is headquartered.
2. Search by school or city name. If the school does not appear at all, it is not a DLI. If it appears but your specific campus is missing, that campus may not be covered.
3. Record the DLI number exactly as shown. You will enter this number in the "Details of intended study in Canada" section of your study permit application. DLI numbers are unique identifiers, and in many provinces they appear with an "O" followed by digits.
4. Check the school's status again before you submit. IRCC updates the list regularly and without advance notice. Verifying close to your submission date is a sensible habit.

Reading the DLI List Correctly

The government list is organized into tabs, and each one answers a different question:

• Post-secondary DLIs: All public and private post-secondary schools approved to host international students, organized by province and territory.
• Schools with PGWP-eligible programs: DLIs that currently offer at least one program that can lead to a Post-Graduation Work Permit. Being on this tab does not mean every program at the school qualifies.
• Degree-granting graduate programs: Public DLIs offering master's and doctoral degrees. Students applying to these programs do not need a provincial or territorial attestation letter, a point explained further below.

Common Mistakes When Choosing a DLI

• Trusting a recruiter instead of the list. Verify the school yourself on canada.ca. A confident agent is not a substitute for the official record.
• Confusing accreditation with DLI status. A school can be accredited for domestic students yet not designated for international ones.
• Assuming every program is PGWP-eligible. Check both the school and the specific program on the DLI list before you enrol.
• Ignoring the campus location. The DLI number is tied to a specific campus. Make sure the campus you will physically attend is the one listed.
• Checking only once. The list changes. Confirm the school's status again shortly before you submit your application.

DLIs and the Post-Graduation Work Permit

For many students, the ability to work in Canada after graduation is the reason they study here in the first place. The Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) is an open work permit that lets eligible graduates work for almost any employer in Canada. Its length generally matches the length of your program, from a minimum of eight months up to a maximum of three years.

Here is the part that catches people out: graduating from a DLI does not automatically make you eligible for a PGWP. According to IRCC, only certain DLIs offer PGWP-eligible programs, and not every program at an eligible school qualifies. You need to confirm two things before you enrol, that the school offers PGWP-eligible programs and that your specific program is one of them. IRCC sets out the full rules on its PGWP eligibility page.

Field of Study and Language Requirements

Two newer requirements now apply to most new PGWP applicants and are worth planning around:

• Field of study: If you applied for your study permit on or after November 1, 2024, and your program is not a degree, your program generally must be linked to an occupation in long-term shortage to be PGWP-eligible. Graduates with a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree are exempt from the field-of-study requirement.
• Language: Most PGWP applicants must now show a valid language test result. University-level and bachelor's-degree graduates generally need Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7, while most college and other non-university graduates generally need CLB 5.

Because IRCC can add or remove eligible fields of study at any time based on labour-market needs, confirm the current requirements on canada.ca before you commit to a program.

Changing Your Designated Learning Institution After You Arrive

The rules for switching schools changed in late 2024. If you are a post-secondary student and you want to move to a different DLI, you generally must apply for a new study permit, usually as an extension, and receive approval before you begin studying at the new school. The temporary grace period that once let students start at a new DLI while their application was in progress ended on May 1, 2025. As of January 22, 2025, you also need a new PAL or TAL before you submit a study permit application when you change schools, unless you meet an exemption.

There are some exceptions. Students moving from a secondary school to a post-secondary DLI may generally begin their post-secondary studies while their application is being processed, provided they apply before their status expires. Whichever situation applies to you, confirm that your new school is on the DLI list before you commit, and review IRCC's guidance on changing your school or program. If you are already in Canada on a visitor visa and hoping to study, our page on changing a visitor visa to a study permit explains what is possible.

What Happens If Your School Loses DLI Status

Schools can and do lose their designation, whether through voluntary withdrawal, failure to meet compliance obligations, or suspension. What this means for you depends on the timing:

• Before you apply: If you apply with an acceptance letter from a school that is not a DLI, the application is refused.
• After you apply but before your permit is issued: If the school loses status while your application is pending, you generally can withdraw the application, submit a new letter of acceptance from a different DLI, or do nothing, in which case the application is likely to be refused.
• After your permit is issued: If the school loses status while you are studying, you may need to transfer to another DLI to continue on a valid basis. Continuing at a school that is no longer designated can affect your ability to renew your permit and can reduce the study time that counts toward a PGWP.

Because a delisting can affect your status quickly, it helps to watch for warning signs at a struggling school, such as delayed refunds, campus closures, or high staff turnover, and to research transfer options early.

Choosing a DLI is a decision with long consequences: it shapes your study permit, your work rights after graduation, and your options for permanent residence. SEP Immigration is a Toronto-based firm led by Sepehr Falahati, a licensed member of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) and the Immigration and Refugee Board (member number R533959).

This page is general information, not legal advice. Immigration rules change often. Confirm current requirements on canada.ca or with a licensed representative before you act.