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The following information was also sent by email to students, staff, and faculty on December 17, 2024.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced in January 2024 that they were putting restrictions in place to reduce the number of new international undergraduate students entering Canada.

As a result of these restrictions, post-secondary institutions must issue provincial attestation letters (PALs) from a Canadian province or territory to prospective international students to accompany their study permit applications submitted to IRCC. One way that universities and colleges ensure that they distribute PALs to international applicants who are committed to coming to their institution is through collecting an appropriate tuition deposit (please note: tuition deposits are not extra fees; they are applied directly to the balance owing on tuition).

In March 2024, the ¾«Í¯ÓûÅ® Board of Governors approved an increase to the tuition deposit for new international undergraduate students (including DVM and BEd) from $1,000 to $5,000 to ensure that those to whom the Government of PEI is extending attestation letters are very serious about coming to ¾«Í¯ÓûÅ®. This was a similar approach that other institutions in the region, including Holland College, took.

The IRCC since announced a further 10% reduction in the intake cap on international student study permits available in 2024 for the 2025 year, and extended intake restrictions to include international graduate students for 2025–2026.

Given these latest announcements, the Finance and Audit Committee of the ¾«Í¯ÓûÅ® Board of Governors recently reviewed the tuition deposits and recommended that a reduction for international undergraduate student deposits would act as less of a deterrent for applicants in what is a very competitive environment. Now that graduate students are included in the restrictions, the Committee also recommended an increase in international graduate (course-based) student deposits for consistency.

Therefore, the ¾«Í¯ÓûÅ® Board of Governors approved the following changes to the international student tuition deposits, as recommended by the Finance and Audit Committee, for students who apply to ¾«Í¯ÓûÅ® after December 3, 2024:

All international applicants who have paid a tuition deposit and whose student visa has not been approved by IRCC are eligible for a refund, less an administrative fee of $500. Applicants must provide proof of the government-issued visa rejection before the refund will be processed.

More information about tuition and fees can be found at /fees