International Students

Renewing the Québec Certificate of Acceptance (CAQ)

REMINDER

Your CAQ must remain valid your entire semester right from day one. The average application processing time is 20 working days (at least four weeks), not including postal mail times. Plan accordingly!

ATTENTION: The Certificat de sélection du Québec cannot usually be used to replace a CAQ for studies.  If you hold a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) and have not yet obtained your permanent residence, you will need to apply for a CAQ for studies as well, except if you are:

  • protected persons in Canada (including refugees) under Section 95 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
     or
  • a person residing in Québec whose spouse or de facto spouse is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident who has submitted a sponsorship application on your behalf.

ONLINE RENEWAL

You can renew your CAQ online using the electronic application form.

We strongly recommend you complete your application online.

Applying online allows you to:

  • access a personalized checklist indicating the documents to be included and mailed to complete your application;
  • track the status of your application online;
  • receive notification when a new message has been added to your file;
  • immediately download any correspondence pertaining to your file.
IMPORTANT: Remember the USERNAME and PASSWORD that you chose when you complete your application - you’ll need it every time you access your file.

To fill out the online application, you need an email address and a valid VISA or MasterCard (yours or someone else’s) to pay the processing fee.

APPLICATION FORM — PAPER VERSION

Complete the application form on your computer, sign and print it, and send it via registered mail along with the required documents.  

Supporting documents

Whether you fill out an online or paper application, you will need to send the following documents to the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) via registered mail:

  • CAQ application form;
  • A passport-sized photo;
  • A legible photocopy of the identity pages of your passport, those that contain your personal information, photo and passport expiry date;
  • A photocopy of your most recent CAQ and study permit;
  • An original of the Polytechnique Montréal confirmation of enrollment, specifying your status as a full- or part-time student (issued by the Registrar's office; can be obtained in person at the counter - not through your online student file);
  • An original transcript, for the entire valid duration of your preceding CAQ (issued by the Registrar's office, to be obtained in person at the counter, not the online version). If you have studied in more than one institution during the valid duration of your preceding CAQ, you will also need an original transcript from the other institution(s).
  • An original or photocopy of proof of financial capacity, applicable to your situation (Section 20 of your CAQ form); details about accepted documents and required financial sums are available on the following page: Financial capacity. Note that financial proof must be recent (dating back three months or less).
    Each individual that finances your studies and who presents proof(s) of financial capacity will need to fill out and sign a "Declaration of financial support" form.  This form is automatically generated when you indicate in the online application that someone else will be financially responsible for your stay in Québec. The format is one individual per form; if multiple individuals are financially supporting you, you will require multiple forms, all of which will be a part of the documents you send by postal mail. The form can be downloaded here
    Note that bank letters and statements presented as proofs of financial capacity must be based on information from personal accounts. Proofs from business accounts, or land or property ownership documents, are not accepted by the CAQ for the purposes of issuing a CAQ certificate.
  • Proof of payment for processing fees
  • Other documents, according to your particular situation (ex: letter of admission to a new program; a cycle change that requires you to request a new CAQ certificate).

Important:

We remind you that in order to comply with CAQ conditions, you needed to make studying your principal activity and maintain, for the duration of stay, health and hospitalization insurance for you and any members of your family accompanying you.* You will therefore need to provide explanations in a letter (dated and signed by you), if you find yourself in any of the following situations during your CAQ certificate validity period:

  • You have defered your admission and your CAQ therefore started one term earlier than the actual start of your program;
  • You have not been studying full-time; you have withdrawn from courses (an"R" in your transcript means that you have fewer credits than the minimal number to be considered full-time); or you have not been registered at all during one or more compulsory terms in your program;
  • You have had several failed classes in your transcript

Depending on circumstances, you might also have to provide medical proof, proof of absence from Canada (ex: plane tickets), or other documents. In such cases, we advise you to contact us so that we can guide you. The absence of proof and/or satisfactory explanations can lead to the issuance of an "intent of refusal" letter by the MIFI and generate further processing delays, and could even lead to a CAQ refusal.  

*Some categories of CAQ certificate holders are exempt from these conditions. Consult this page to see if you belong in one of these categories.