From 1 September 2026, a single study permit applicant must show $23,448 in living costs — excluding tuition and airfare — up from $22,895. Here is what the number covers, why it is indexed to Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-off, and the outdated figures still circulating online.
IRCC says it will not add or remove a single eligible field of study for the post-graduation work permit in 2026, leaving the list at the 920 fields set on July 4, 2025. Here is who the rule catches, who is exempt, and the two places people lose a PGWP they thought they had.
IRCC finalized 860,415 study permit applications in 2023 and 281,865 in 2025, a 67% fall. The decline is concentrated by country: India is down 84% while France and Ghana are rising — and there is no published IRCC refusal rate by country at all.
Canada will issue 408,000 study permits in 2026, 7% below 2025. The provincial allocations total 309,670 application spaces for 180,000 PAL-required permits — and that gap tells you what to expect.
Canada’s study permit proof of funds rises to $23,448 for a single applicant on September 1, 2026. Here is the full official table by family size, what it does not cover, and who is affected.