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Immigration Essentials for International Students in Graduate Programs at
New Students
1. I need help with the Arrima payment. What do I do?
Please consult the Arrima payment instructionsprepared by the ISS immigration advising team.
2. Do I need to get a new CAQ if I am transferring to from another school in Quebec?
If your CAQ was issued to you for a different institution before December 6th 2024, you may still use it for your studies at if the CAQ is for the same level of studies as your new program at . For example, if your CAQ is for Université - premier cycle, you may use it to complete your undergraduate studies at . If it is for Université - deuxième or troisième cycle, you may not use it for your undergraduate studies as these are for Master’s and Doctorate studies, respectively.
If your CAQ was issued to you for a different institution on or after December 6th 2024, you may not use it for your studies at , even if the CAQ is for the same level of studies as your new program at . You must apply and obtain a new CAQ with Letter of acceptance from before starting your studies at .
3. More than five weeks have passed since I sent my supporting documents for CAQ and I have still not heard back from Immigration Quebec. Should I be worried?
Under normal circumstances, the for the CAQ is 25 business days from the day Immigration Quebec confirms in your online portal that they have received your supporting documents.
You should continue to monitor the information on your to verify if any updates have been made in your file.
If more than 8 weeks have passed, you may wish to to follow up on your application.
4. Can I take less than 12 credits per term and study part-time?
Under the , international students must make their studies their . This means that in order to respect your CAQ conditions, you must maintain full-time student status every term for the duration of your program, with the exception of your last term.
Under the current eligibility requirements to work and , international students must maintain full-time student status every term for the duration of their program, with the exception of their last term.
Under the current (PGWP), international students must maintain full-time student status every term for the duration of their program, with the exception of their last term.
We, therefore, recommend that all international students maintain full-time student status for the duration of their program with the exception of their last term, so as not to compromise their ability to extend their CAQ, maintain authorization to work on and off-campus or their eligibility for the PGWP.
If you must be part-time due to extenuating circumstances such as health issues or a family emergency, please contact us so that we may best advise you. You may also wish to review our part-time studies information sheet.
5. I am a dual US and French citizen. Does it matter which nationality I use when applying for my CAQ?
You can apply for your documents under either nationality, however there are certain advantages to applying under your French nationality for your CAQ and your US nationality for your study permit.
French citizens are exempt from the international tuition fee. Therefore, when applying for your immigration documents and providing proof of your financial capacity, you should include proof of your French citizenship in order to prove why you are exempt from the international tuition fee.
If you are a US citizen or US permanent resident, you can apply for your study permit directly at the port of entry (land or air border between Canada and the US) and therefore should apply for your study permit with your US passport or US permanent resident card.
While you may be applying under one nationality for your CAQ and another for your study permit, it is still recommended to include proof of your dual nationality in both applications for the reasons mentioned above.
6. I got my offer with certain conditions. Should I apply for CAQ with this or wait for a new admission letter once I demonstrate meeting the conditions?
The offer of admission letter that you will receive from is the official and only letter you will receive. As soon as you receive your admission letter you should apply for your CAQ right away. You do not have to wait until you have met the conditions in your admission letter to apply for your CAQ.
7. I am currently outside of Canada and I do not have a valid passport. Can I apply for my CAQ?
No. In order to apply for your CAQ, you must have a valid passport. If you have not yet applied for your passport, you should do so immediately and request expedited processing of your passport.
NOTE: When you apply for your CAQ, your passport must be valid at the time of submission but it does not have to be valid for the entire duration of your studies. As such, if your passport has not yet expired but will expire soon, you should apply for your CAQ before it does, as the expiry of your CAQ is not dependent on the expiry of your passport.
8. I am a newly admitted student and I would like to defer my studies. Will this impact the validity of my CAQ?
It depends.
If you are postponing the start date of your studies by one term only, you can use the CAQ you already have and do not need to obtain a new CAQ.
Examples of situations where you would not require a new CAQ:
- Deferring from the Fall to Winter term;
- Deferring from the Winter to following Fall term.
However, if you are deferring the start date of your studies by more than one term, you will need to apply for a new CAQ before you can begin your program.
As per :
“If you are postponing your studies for more than one semester, you will have to obtain a new CAQ for studies.”
9. I am currently outside Canada and both my CAQ and study permit are still valid. Can I return with thesedocuments to continue my studies?
Your CAQ and study permit both remain valid until their expiry date and you may use them to enter Canada to resume your studies.
In order to enter Canada, you must have a valid CAQ, study permit and Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or eTA.
*Important: Please review our Travel FAQsbefore making any plans to travel to Canada.
10. My parents will support me financially using their joint bank account. For CAQ, do they each need to sign a separate Declaration of Financial Support letter?
YES. If submitting financial capacity documents from a joint bank account, both account holders (in this case, your parents) each need to complete and sign a separate letter.
As a general rule, when submitting proof of financial capacity, each person who will be supporting you needs to individually sign and date a letter and provide supporting documents that clearly demonstrate their financial capacity to provide for you during your studies.
NOTE: If you will be receiving funding from your department, you should indicate that you are supporting yourself; your department does not need to sign the Declaration of financial support form.
11. Do I have to apply for a new CAQ if I change programs at ?
You do not have to apply for a new CAQ if you change programs at as long as you meet the following conditions:
- Your program of studies is the same length as your original program;
- Your original CAQ was issued for university studies;
- You do not change the level of study(e.g. Bachelor to Masters).
NOTE: You can find information on when to submit a new application for a CAQ for studies on the .
*Please note that the information is only available in French.
12. What does "proof of financial capacity" mean and how do I demonstrate it?
If your checklist includes a request for , you - or whoever is supporting you - should provide a confirmation that you/they can cover tuition and fees plus .
Current Students
1. My CAQ is expiring on or before August 31, 2025 but registration for the 2025-2026 academic year only opens on May 28th 2025. Should I apply to renew my CAQ before I register for the Fall 2025/Winter 2026 terms?
It depends. Ideally, you should include proof of registration for a future term(s) with your CAQ renewal application. However, 2025-2026 registration for returning students only opens on May 28, 2025. The CAQ processing times are currently longer than 25 business days.
Documents to include if you apply to renew your CAQ before Fall 2025/Winter 2026 registration opens (i.e., before May 28th, 2025):
When applying to renew your CAQ, you should include the following documents instead of proof of registration for upcoming term(s):
Undergraduate students:
- Proof of Credits Completed To-Date letter from Minerva for Winter 2025. If this letter is not accurate (e.g. does not correctly show the number of credits remaining), please contact to request a revised letter.
- Registration Dates Letter Fall 2025-Winter 2026.
- Your official transcript
- Cover letter (signed and dated) that explains why you are applying to renew your CAQ before obtaining proof of registration for the 2025-2026 academic year
- If possible, a letter from your academic advisor confirming your expected graduation date
Graduate students:
- Proof of Enrolment letter for the Winter 2025 and Summer 2025 terms.
- If possible, a letter from your department confirming your expected graduation date – you must include this letter if you are a thesis student.
- Your official transcript
- Registration Dates Letter Fall 2025-Winter 2026.
- Cover letter (signed and dated) that explains why you are applying to renew your CAQ and/or study permit before obtaining proof of registration for the 2025-2026 academic year.
NOTE FOR CAQ:
- If you receive an intention of refusal notice from Immigration Quebec requesting additional documents for your CAQ application, please contact our office right away.
NOTE FOR STUDY PERMIT:
- Please refer to the Study Permit FAQ’s Under Current Students for more information on how to renew your study permit without Fall 2025/Winter 2026 registration.
- Applying before Fall 2025/Winter 2026 registration: When applying to renew your study permit, follow the instructions mentioned above. Then, once you are registered for Fall 2025/Winter 2026, make sure to submit your proof of enrolment letter(s) via the and request that it be added to your pending study permit application.
- If you do not submit proof of enrolment to IRCC for the Fall 2025/Winter 2026 term(s), your study permit application may be refused.
2. I need help with the Arrima payment. What do I do?
Please consult the Arrima payment instructions prepared by the ISS immigration advising team.
3. I'm applying to extend my CAQ. For electronic document submission through Arrima, how do I ensure my official transcript is “official”?
You can upload a copy of your official eTranscript (order an electronic official transcript)
For theofficial eTranscript, please ensure that you view/save your eTranscript according to the instructions provided by MyCreds when ordering. It is possible that a "COPY" watermark will appear on the eTranscript when you combine the eTranscript with other documents into one PDF, when you save the eTranscript to your computer, and/or when the immigration agent opens the file. We therefore recommend that you include a signed cover letter with your official eTranscript that explains this possibility.
NOTE: When submitting your documents to MIFI electronically through Arrima, you should combine and save your signed Cover Letter and official e-transcriptinto a single PDF and upload the PDF file in the transcript section of the checklist.
Please contact us if you receive an Intention of refusal letter from MIFI requesting that you provide them with additional documents.
4. More than five weeks have passed since I sent my supporting documents for CAQ and I have still not heard back from Immigration Quebec. Should I be worried?
Under normal circumstances, the for the CAQ is 25 business days from the day Immigration Quebec confirms in your online portal that they have received your supporting documents.
You should continue to monitor the information on your to verify if any updates have been made in your file.
If more than 8 weeks have passed, you may wish to to follow up on your application.
5. Can I take less than 12 credits per term and study part-time?
Under the , international students must make their studies their . This means that in order to respect your CAQ conditions, you must maintain full-time student status every term for the duration of your program, with the exception of your last term.
Under the current eligibility requirements to work and , international students must maintain full-time student status every term for the duration of their program, with the exception of their last term.
Under the current (PGWP), international students must maintain full-time student status every term for the duration of their program, with the exception of their last term.
We, therefore, recommend that all international students maintain full-time student status for the duration of their program with the exception of their last term, so as not to compromise their ability to extend their CAQ, maintain authorization to work on and off-campus or their eligibility for the PGWP.
If you must be part-time due to extenuating circumstances such as health issues or a family emergency, please contact us so that we may best advise you. You may also wish to review our part-time studies information sheet.
6. I am a dual US and French citizen. Does it matter which nationality I use when applying for my CAQ?
You can apply for your documents under either nationality, however there are certain advantages to applying under your French nationality for your CAQ and your US nationality for your study permit.
French citizens are exempt from the international tuition fee. Therefore, when applying for your immigration documents and providing proof of your financial capacity, you should include proof of your French citizenship in order to prove why you are exempt from the international tuition fee.
If you are a US citizen or US permanent resident, you can apply for your study permit directly at the port of entry (land or air border between Canada and the US) and therefore should apply for your study permit with your US passport or US permanent resident card.
While you may be applying under one nationality for your CAQ and another for your study permit, it is still recommended to include proof of your dual nationality in both applications for the reasons mentioned above.
7. I recently completed my undergraduate degree at and will be starting a graduate program in the upcoming academic term. My CAQ will only expire in a year. Do I need to apply for a new CAQ?
Your CAQ is level specific which means you will need a different CAQ for undergraduate, master and doctoral studies. You will therefore need to apply for and obtain a new CAQ before starting your graduate studies in the Fall. When applying for your new CAQ, please follow the CAQ renewal guide as your application will be considered an extension and not a first CAQ application.
Your study permit on the other hand is not level specific. If it is valid, you may use it to begin your studies in the Fall, right up until its expiry. You will have to renew it before it expires as you must have a valid study permit for the entire duration of your studies in Canada.
8. I am currently outside Canada and both my CAQ and study permit are still valid. Can I return with thesedocuments to continue my studies?
Your CAQ and study permit both remain valid until their expiry date and you may use them to enter Canada to resume your studies.
In order to enter Canada, you must have a valid CAQ, study permit and Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or eTA.
*Important: Please review our Travel FAQs and Travelling to and from Canada page before making any plans to travel to Canada.
9. My parents will support me financially using their joint bank account. For CAQ, do they each need to sign a separate Declaration of Financial Support letter?
YES. If submitting financial capacity documents from a joint bank account, both account holders (in this case, your parents) each need to complete and sign a separate letter.
As a general rule, when submitting proof of financial capacity, each person who will be supporting you needs to individually sign and date a letter and provide supporting documents that clearly demonstrate their financial capacity to provide for you during your studies.
NOTE: If you will be receiving funding from your department, you should indicate that you are supporting yourself; your department does not need to sign the Declaration of financial support form.
10. Do I have to apply for a new CAQ if I change programs at ?
You do not have to apply for a new CAQ if you change programs at as long as you meet the following conditions:
- Your program of studies is the same length as your original program;
- Your original CAQ was issued for university studies;
- You do not change the level of study(e.g. Bachelor to Masters).
NOTE: You can find information on when to submit a new application for a CAQ for studies on the .
*Please note that the information is only available in French.
11. What does "proof of financial capacity" mean and how do I demonstrate it?
If your checklist includes a request for , you - or whoever is supporting you - should provide a confirmation that you/they can cover tuition and fees plus .