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.   

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.  

Important Note: 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 complete the enrolment form on your application portal.  

• 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 the enrolment form is successfully completed, 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.  
• Please only pay the deposit using the link in the invoice. 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 5 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.
   

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. For more details, 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. Please submit this Study Permit Application Status Update Form to submit your refusal letter and initiate next steps.

• You will need to provide OGS Canada with a copy of your refusal letter from IRCC along with the Global Case Management System (GCMS) notes from the Immigration Officer.
  • OGS Canada can assist in obtaining the GCMS Notes with your consent, free of charge. Once you submit your refusal letter, you will receive an email with next steps on how to authorize us to request your notes for you.
  • If you received the Officer Decision Notes (ODN) with your refusal letter, you will be prompted to upload this when you submit your refusal letter using the above form.

• Your PAL deposit will be refunded upon providing the copy of your refusal letter. You do not need to take additional steps to request a refund.

• At this time, a new PAL cannot be issued for the same intake, so you will need to request to defer your program start date, if your program allows deferrals, and you have not exceeded the allowed deferral time period.

• Please work with OGS Canada to provide all the necessary documents to be considered for another PAL after study permit refusal.
• If you have any questions please reach out to OGS Canada through this inquiry form.

You will need to connect with the Admissions team using your application portal, to make request to defer to the next intake for your program. You can also discuss your options to select a different campus of study, if that is available to you.

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.
 

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

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, timelines vary. Please connect with the Admissions team if you do not get any updates. 

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?  

You will be notified by the Admissions team if you are not eligible for a PAL. You will have the option to request your program acceptance be transferred to a US Campus, or you may reapply for a future term to be considered again for a PAL. Contact the Admissions team to find out your options. 

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: https://enroll.northeastern.edu/register/campus_change 

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.   

You will need to send your refusal letter 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 issued study permit: https://service.northeastern.edu/ogs  

If I defer from Fall 2025 to the 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. 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.