study permit from Nepal
Canada's process has more moving parts than most — a permit, a travel visa, an attestation letter, and a physical document you only receive at the border. Here is the whole sequence.
A point that confuses almost everyone, and matters at the airport: the study permit is not your entry visa.
The study permit: authorises you to study, but is not an entry visa
The Temporary Resident Visa (TRV): normally granted automatically alongside study-permit approval — this is what physically lets you enter
Where you actually receive the permit: at the Canadian port of entry, valid for your programme length plus 90 days
So you travel on the TRV in your passport, carrying a Letter of Introduction, and a Border Services Officer issues the physical study permit when you land. If you arrive without the right documents in hand, that officer is the person who decides what happens next.
Get your LOA from a DLI
A Letter of Acceptance from a Designated Learning Institution, plus the required deposit. Check PGWP eligibility before you pay.
Obtain your PAL or TAL
The provincial or territorial attestation letter — unless you are a master's or PhD student at a public DLI, exempt from 2026. Quebec applicants need a CAQ first.
Get the MoEST NOC and arrange funds
Nepal's approval letter, plus your proof of funds and any GIC, before remitting through NRB channels.
Apply online through IRCC
Upload the LOA, PAL, proof of funds, study plan, passport and test scores; pay CAD 150 plus CAD 85 biometrics.
Upfront medical exam
With an IRCC-approved panel physician in Kathmandu. Nepali applicants generally complete this before or at submission.
Give biometrics at VFS Kathmandu
Within about 30 days of your biometrics instruction letter. The Kathmandu centre relocated on 1 September 2025 — confirm the current address on the official VFS site.
Passport request and TRV stamping
On approval, IRCC issues a Passport Request Letter. Submit your passport to VFS for TRV stamping, returned in roughly 5–7 business days.
Travel and collect your permit
Present the Letter of Introduction, passport with TRV, LOA and proof of funds at the port of entry.
Standard processing: commonly ~8–12 weeks from a complete application
PhD applicants: a 14-day processing service standard, and cap-exempt
Government fees: CAD 150 permit + CAD 85 biometrics = CAD 235, plus VFS service charges.
VFS Global adds a service charge at the Kathmandu centre, with optional premium and lounge services on top. Those are genuinely optional — paying for them does not improve your outcome.
Living funds, single applicant outside Quebec: CAD 22,895/year, plus first-year tuition, plus travel.
Acceptable evidence: bank statements covering roughly the last 4 months, a GIC, an education-loan approval letter, proof of paid tuition or housing, or a sponsor's funds
An unexplained jump in your bank balance shortly before applying is one of the most reliable ways to be refused.
These are documented patterns from Nepali applications specifically. Every one of them is preventable.
Weak or unexplained finances — sudden deposits, untraceable sources, or amounts that do not cover the requirement
A generic study plan — an SOP that could have been written by anyone, about any course
Weak ties to Nepal — no convincing reason you would leave at the end of authorised stay
Choosing the wrong institution — a non-DLI, or a college whose programme is not PGWP-eligible
IRCC must be satisfied you have a genuine study purpose, credibly-sourced finances, and reasons to leave at the end of your studies. That last one sits awkwardly beside Canada's PR pathway, and applicants tie themselves in knots over it. The resolution is simple: your application is for studying, and it should be truthful and coherent on its own terms.
The MoEST Foreign Study Approval Letter: online at noc.moest.gov.np, NPR 2,000, issued in ~1–5 working days, valid 6 months
Tuition and any GIC deposit are remitted through Nepali banks under NRB rules, and the NOC gates that transfer. Start it early — the NOC is fast, but it sits on the critical path.