Students Studying in Canada POA, PAL, and Deposit Process

Starting in 2024, the Government of Canada introduced the Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL). For more details, visit the Government of Canada website.    

If you are applying to study at one of Northeastern University’s Canadian campuses, you will need to submit a PAL along with your Proof of Acceptance (POA) when applying for a study permit. 

Students who applied for their study permit using an offer from a Northeastern University Canadian campus before January 22, 2025 whose study permit application is still in process, are exempt from the PAL requirement. Students who successfully received their Study Permit for the January 2026 term but have deferred to Fall 2026, are exempt from the PAL requirement. 

Northeastern University is a private, non-profit US institution with campuses located in Canada. We do not fall into the category of a public institution and currently a PAL will be required when applying for a study permit. 

Important Note: You can only use each PAL once. If your study permit application is refused, you cannot reuse the same PAL. You must apply for your study permit before the expiration date on your PAL. 

You will receive updates about your admission and PAL offer at the personal email address you used when applying to Northeastern. If you are selected for a PAL, the deposit instructions will be sent to your Northeastern student email.    

To be considered for a PAL, you must submit your application in its entirety. 

• All updates regarding your admission offer will be sent to your personal email (the one you used to apply) from the NU Admissions/Enrolment team and will be available on your application portal.   

• Once your application is submitted  successfully, your application will be reviewed to determine eligibility for a PAL.   

• If you are selected for a PAL, you will be advised in your application portal and you will be issued an invoice for the PAL deposit.  

• The PAL confirmation letter in your application portal is NOT YOUR PAL letter. The PAL will only be issued after you have paid the deposit and have cleared your Foreign Credential Evaluation (FCE).   

• Please only pay the deposit using the link in the invoice that will be sent to your Northeastern email address. DO NOT MAKE ANY OTHER PAYMENT using any other payment method or portal. If you do, your deposit may not be credited correctly to your account and your PAL will not be issued.   

• Your PAL should be available within 10 business days of your deposit being received by the school. Please note that it can take a few days for your payment to be forwarded to the school by the third-party payment company. For international students who reside within Canada, you must confirm your existing permit status with OGS team before a PAL can be issued. Please monitor your email for communications from OGS after you have submitted your application. 

Review the information in this article: When Will I Be Considered for a PAL? 

Once Your PAL is Issued 

Please ensure you download BOTH your POA and your PAL before applying for your study permit! You need BOTH documents for your application.  

Find the instructions for applying for your study permit on the Applying for a Study Permit page.   

To help with the application, the Office of Global Services (OGS) offers virtual preparation sessions. It’s recommended you attend one before submitting your study permit application. We will re-start these sessions in March/April, 2026. For more details and updates, visit the OGS Canada Information Sessions webpage.   

Ensure that you have set up your Northeastern student account and you have your Northeastern Student email set up in Outlook. You will need to monitor this email as all further information from the Office of Global Services will be sent to your Northeastern student email.  

Questions about your study permit application? Contact OGS Canada using the inquiry form.  

Study Permit Refusals 

• If you were given a PAL and were refused your study permit application with that PAL, you will need to inform OGS Canada of your refusal and we will provide the next steps to initiate your PAL deposit refund.
• *Update: At this time we are working on some technical issues with our e-forms. If you need to submit a refusal to OGS Canada between March 6th – March 9th, 2026, please submit a ticket to us through this inquiry form with your attached refusal letters.

• You will need to provide OGS Canada with a copy of your refusal letter from IRCC along with the Officer Decision Notes (ODN) or Global Case Management System (GCMS) notes that you received from the Immigration Officer.  

• Your PAL deposit refund request will be forwarded to the Student Accounts Canada team for processing upon the approval of your refusal letters submitted to OGS Canada. You do not need to take additional steps to request a refund. 

• If you have any questions please reach out to OGS Canada through this inquiry form. 

Study Permit Approvals 

If you have received an approval of your study permit application using a PAL and POA given to you by Northeastern University, please submit the Study Permit Application Status Update Form* to let OGS Canada know the decision on your application and get information about next steps. 

*Update: At this time we are working on some technical issues with our e-forms. If you need to submit a study permit approval to OGS Canada between March 6th – March 9th, 2026, please submit a ticket to us through this inquiry form with your attached letter of introduction.
  

If you have any questions please reach out to OGS Canada through this inquiry form. 

Enrolment/Confirmation

Enrolment/Confirmation 

How do I know if I filled out the Enrolment Intention Form? Is there any way to see this in my portal?   

If you have already confirmed your offer, you do not need to reconfirm. If you have not yet confirmed your offer, you will be prompted to indicate if you wish to request a PAL, acknowledging that, if you are selected to receive a PAL, you will need to make your deposit before the PAL can be issued.  

What is the timeline to receive a decision about if I am eligible for a PAL?     

You will receive a letter regarding your PAL eligibility in your application portal after your eligibility review is complete, timelines vary.  

If I am not selected to receive a PAL, when and how will I be notified of this? What will be my next steps? Can I appeal the decision?   

Decision appeals will not be reviewed. You will be notified by the Admissions team if you are not eligible for a PAL. Students who are not made PAL eligible will not be able to defer their application to a future term at a Canadian campus. Students must reapply for a Canadian campus to be reconsidered.  

If you are admissible to Northeastern University and are made PAL not Eligible, the admissions team may also offer you a spot at one of our US based campuses as an alternative option.  

If I want to switch to a US campus, what do I do?    

To update your application for a US campus, please complete this form. 

Invoices/Payments/Refunds 

Where can you find the deposit link? An email with payment instructions will be sent to your Northeastern student email.  

How to set up my Northeastern Student account?  

How do I claim my student account?  

Questions about the deposit? Reach out to the Student Accounts Canada team through the inquiry form.   

Will the PAL deposit go towards my tuition?    

Yes, the deposit will be credited to your first term fees.    

I have been approved for a loan from MPower, am I still required to pay the PAL deposit? Can I use this loan to pay the PAL deposit?    

You are still required to make the PAL deposit to secure your PAL. Your MPower loan is not paid out until you are inside Canada engaged in your studies.    

I already paid the first-year tuition fees via SDS however my visa was refused. Will I get a full refund of the tuition fees? Would I still need to pay the PAL deposit to get a PAL?   

Students who did not apply for a study permit on or before January 21, 2025, or had received a study permit refusal for Fall 2025, will be automatically refunded their SDS amounts. If you are selected to receive a PAL, you will be invoiced the PAL deposit.    

Is the PAL deposit refundable?    

The PAL deposit is refundable upon showing proof of a study permit refusal, by decision of the IRCC officer. The deposit will not be refunded once the PAL is issued, except for a study permit refusal or failure to pass the Foreign Credential Evaluation (FCE). 

If study permit refused, you will need to send your refusal letters from IRCC to OGS Canada by submitting this form. Once your refusal letter has been verified by the OGS Canada team, Student Accounts Canada (SAC) will be notified to process your refund.  

Can I get an extension to pay the PAL deposit?   

No, unfortunately we cannot give extensions to pay the deposit.  

PAL Issued or PAL Exempt Students 

What are my next steps if I already have an approved study permit? Do I need any documents from NU? Do I still need to pay the PAL deposit?    

Please submit an inquiry through the OGS Canada portal and let us know more information about your approved study permit: https://service.northeastern.edu/ogs   

If I defer from Fall 2025 another intake in 2026, what does it mean for my PAL eligibility?  

Applicants applying for a Northeastern Canada campus that are PAL eligible and then request a deferral will need to be re-reviewed for PAL eligibility. As your new term gets closer, you will receive communications on your PAL eligibility status for the updated term.  

Applicants enrolling for January will receive their PAL information beginning in July. Reminder that applicants eligible for a PAL for Fall and then defer to Winter/Spring are not guaranteed a PAL.  

Will Northeastern still give PALs to students who were previously refused a study permit? What are my chances of getting a PAL?    

Please refer to the information above regarding a study permit refusal with PAL.   

Proof of Acceptance (POA)

POA letters will be generated in your application portal for download once you are eligible for the PAL and you have paid the PAL deposit.

Your admission decision letter is NOT your Proof of Acceptance, and it should NOT be used to apply for your study permit. 

OGS Canada does not directly issue POAs. The are located in your admissions portal. 

The POA contains information you have provided in your application to Northeastern University. If there is an error, such as your name is misspelled, or your date of birth is incorrect, then please connect back to the admissions team to correct this information:

• You can submit an inquiry form from your application portal. To login to your portal click here: http://enroll.northeastern.edu/apply/status
• At the top of the page, you will see a tab called Manage Your Application
• Here you will click on Make a request and then click on the the available link to Submit an Inquiry/Submit a Request. 

Deposits

Deposit instructions are sent via email from the Student Accounts Canada team to your Northeastern student email. All payments should be made through the CIBC portal. You must ensure that you have claimed your Northeastern student account and you’ve proceeded to set up your Northeastern student email and you have access to Outlook to monitor your emails. If you’re not sure about how to claim your account, please find the instructions here.

For more information about deposits and billing, please see the Student Accounts Canada webpage here.

For information about payments, please see here.

Refunds

Northeastern University’s refund policies can be found on the Student Accounts Canada webpage or on the Student Financial Services page.

Other Questions?

For other questions related to payments, deposit and refund policies, submit an inquiry to Student Accounts Canada here.