#2 destination for Nepali students
Canada
Still the largest English-speaking destination for Nepali students, but a much harder one than it was two years ago. The attestation letter cap, the closure of the Student Direct Stream and tighter post-study work rules have all landed since 2024, and the refusal rate has moved with them.
Odds
48 in 100 applications from Nepal are granted
Just over half of study permit applications are refused. Since the provincial attestation letter cap came in, the number of permits available is fixed, so a strong application can still be refused on volume.
What gets through
Applicants who picked the college before they picked the country. The single biggest lever in Canada is choosing a programme on the PGWP eligible field-of-study list at an institution with an attestation letter in hand, in a province that is not Ontario or BC. Do that with clean funds and the refusal rate stops describing you.
Of every ten who apply
5 refused, 5 granted.
Money
What it costs, in rupees
Before you fly
2.3 lakh
Tests, papers, government fees and the flight.
Must be in the bank
25.7 lakh
Living expenses for a single applicant, raised on 1 September 2026. Tuition and travel are on top of it, not inside it. A GIC is a well-regarded way to show this and has not been compulsory since the Student Direct Stream closed in November 2024: bank statements, a paid tuition receipt, an education loan or documented sponsor support are all accepted.
Everything, year one
45.4 lakh
Including tuition at the lower end and twelve months of living costs.
At NPR 109.80 per CAD, Nepal Rastra Bank, 2026-09-20.
Life there
What Canada is actually like once you land
Wages, rent, the first job you will realistically get, and whether staying is a plan or a hope. All of it in the local currency, because that is what you will be thinking in by month two.
What you can earn
CAD 17.6 /hourest
Ontario, 2026. Minimum wage is provincial: British Columbia and Alberta differ.
Legal hours
24 hours a week off campus during term, reverting to 20 from September 2026, and full time in scheduled breaks.
Which comes to, per month
CAD 1,830
Working the full legal hours at the minimum rate, before tax.
Against living costs of
CAD 1,700 /month
Work covers your living costs with about 8 percent to spare. It does not touch tuition.
A room costs
CAD 700–1100est
a shared room in Toronto or Vancouver.
A room to yourself in either city is closer to CAD 1,200 to 1,600. Brampton, Surrey and Winnipeg are materially cheaper and are where most Nepali students actually live.
Twenty-four hours at Ontario minimum is roughly CAD 1,830 a month before tax, and rent in Toronto or Vancouver will take most of it. Students who make Canada work financially are usually the ones who chose a college outside the big two cities.
The first job
What people actually get in the first six months
- Tim Hortons, Subway and fast food, which is where most Nepali students start
- Warehouse and Amazon fulfilment, better paid and night shifts
- Retail and grocery
- Security guard, once you have the provincial licence
- Personal support work, if your programme is in health
Who is already there
The Nepali community
29,554
Nepalis in Canada, as of 2024.
Where. Toronto and Brampton above all, then Calgary, Surrey and Winnipeg.
Small but growing fast and overwhelmingly recent, which cuts both ways: plenty of people who arrived last year and understand exactly what you are going through, and very few who are settled enough to give you a job.
Afterwards
Can you stay?
Post-study work. Post-Graduation Work Permit, up to three years, but only if your programme is on the eligible field-of-study list. Check that list before you accept an offer.
The route to residency. Express Entry, or a Provincial Nominee Program if a province wants your occupation.
Well mapped, and it rewards planning. General Express Entry draws sit around 480 to 520 CRS points, which a fresh graduate reaches with strong English, a year or two of Canadian work and usually a provincial nomination. Category draws for healthcare, STEM and the trades come in lower, so the field you study in moves this more than anything else you control. People do this every year; almost nobody does it by accident.
Staying is what families are really paying for, so it is the line most worth being straight about. What is above is the route and what actually moves it, and it changes on this page when the rules change.
Worth knowing before you go
The PGWP field-of-study list decides everything
Two colleges can offer the same-sounding diploma and only one leads to a work permit. This is the single most expensive mistake being made by Nepali students in Canada right now.
Winter is a real cost
Boots, a proper coat and gloves are two hundred dollars you did not budget, in your first November, before your first pay.
The permit cap means a good application can still fail
Provincial attestation letters are rationed. You can be a strong candidate and be refused because a province has run out, which is an argument for applying early and outside Ontario and British Columbia.
Three years of work afterwards is the longest on this list
A PGWP at degree level runs to three years, against 18 months in the UK. That is the reason Canada still works for people who plan the programme properly.
Requirements
What it asks for
IELTS 6.0 overall with no band below 5.5 is the common floor. SDS is closed.
IRCC cost-of-living requirement for a single applicant outside Quebec, raised from CAD 22,895 on 1 September 2026.
Study permit application. Biometrics CAD 85 on top.
Provincial or private, varies by province.
Work
During study. 24 hours a week off campus during term, full time in scheduled breaks.
Afterwards. Post-Graduation Work Permit, up to 3 years, with field-of-study conditions.
Work rights are what you may do once you are there. No country on this site will grant a visa on the strength of money you have not earned yet, so the first year has to be funded without them.
Intakes
When to apply
May 2027
83 days
Teaching starts May 2027. Offer in hand by 12 December 2026.
September 2027main intake
192 days
Teaching starts Sep 2027. Offer in hand by 31 March 2027.
January 2028main intake
314 days
Teaching starts Jan 2028. Offer in hand by 31 July 2027.
Before the NOC
The No Objection Certificate cannot be applied for until the offer exists. It costs NPR 2,000, is paid through ConnectIPS, eSewa or Khalti, and takes three to seven working days. Since 2024 the whole thing is online and the certificate comes back as a signed PDF with a QR code on it.
Other destinations