how to apply from Nepal
Applications go directly to each institution — no national portal, no agent required. Here's the timeline, the English routes after SDS ended, and the two Canada-specific gates that trip people up.
For a September start, begin 8–12 months ahead. Canada's study-permit step alone runs 8–12 weeks, so the back end of this timeline is not compressible — leaving it late is how people miss intakes.
Shortlist DLIs
Only a Designated Learning Institution can host you. If post-study work matters, check PGWP eligibility at the same time — for college programmes this is decisive.
English: test or MOI
Sit IELTS or PTE, or confirm your institution accepts a Medium-of-Instruction letter. These are institution requirements now, not visa ones.
Apply and receive offers
Directly to each institution. Ontario undergraduates use OUAC. Two to four applications is typical.
Pay the deposit, arrange funds
First-year tuition or a deposit confirms your seat — and strengthens the visa file. Arrange proof of funds and any GIC now.
Get your PAL or TAL
Your province issues it after you accept. Master's and PhD students at public DLIs are exempt from 2026. Quebec needs a CAQ instead, and first.
MoEST NOC
After the offer, before remitting tuition.
Lodge the study permit
Then the medical and biometrics. Budget 8–12 weeks for a decision.
Give yourself 8–12 months from first research to departure.
Admissions: directly to each institution — there is no single national portal
Applying to 2–4 DLIs is typical.
There is no single national portal like the UK's UCAS. Ontario undergraduate applicants use the provincial OUAC portal; everywhere else it is institution by institution. All of it is doable directly from Nepal.
This changed materially and a lot of advice has not caught up.
The Student Direct Stream ended on 8 November 2024. All applications now go through the regular stream.
So the visa no longer imposes one fixed English score. But institutions still set their own requirements, and IRCC still weighs language in the genuine-student assessment — so this is a change in where the bar sits, not the removal of a bar.
IELTS Academic, undergraduate and diploma: broadly 6.0–6.5 overall
Postgraduate: 6.5–7.0, higher for competitive programmes
The MOI route: many DLIs accept an MOI letter on official letterhead, signed by the registrar, in place of a test
The MOI waiver is a real differentiator for Nepali students whose +2 or bachelor's was English-medium. It is more common at colleges and for certain programmes, and it must be on official letterhead signed by the registrar. Confirm per institution — never assume.
This is the Canada-specific step with no equivalent anywhere else on this site, and it exists because of the national cap.
The Provincial or Territorial Attestation Letter: confirms your province has allocated you a spot under its share of the national cap
Timing: your institution or province issues it after you accept, and it must be issued within the same cap year you apply in
The 2026 exemption: master's and doctoral students at public DLIs are exempt from the PAL/TAL requirement, and from the cap, from 1 January 2026
Studying in Quebec requires a CAQ — Certificat d'acceptation du Québec — issued by the province BEFORE the federal study permit.
Indicative academic minimums: around 55–60% or GPA ~3.0 for undergraduate and college; GPA ~3.0–3.3 or 60%+ for master's
GRE and GMAT are usually not required — some graduate programmes and MBAs ask for them.
Those figures come from Nepali consultancy guideposts rather than official institutional tables, which is why they carry an amber dot. Treat them as orientation and confirm the real number on each programme page.
Transcripts & certificates
From NEB, TU or your institution, with verification or equivalence arranged early.
Statement of purpose
Your study plan. This carries real weight in the permit decision — not a formality.
Letters of recommendation
As the programme requires.
CV
Especially for postgraduate applications.
English evidence
Test scores, or a registrar-signed MOI letter.
WES ECA
An Educational Credential Assessment, where the institution or a later PR application needs one.
Arrange certified translation for any document not issued in English or Nepali, and do the credential work early — a WES assessment is slow, and you may want it later for permanent residency anyway.
Institutions issue a Letter of Acceptance — conditional or unconditional. Conditional LOAs are now accepted from Nepali applicants, though unconditional remains preferable.
Most institutions require first-year tuition or a deposit to confirm the seat, and paying it also strengthens your visa file. Then the Nepal-specific step:
Nepal step — get the MoEST NOC before remitting any tuition→