Minors who are under 17 years of age

The age of majority in Quebec is 18. However, only minors under 17 are required to have a legal custodian. Therefore, If you will not be 17 years old by the time you travel to Canada, you must have a legal custodian in Montreal before starting immigration procedures to study at McGill. A custodian is a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada who is at least 18 years old and resides with you or within a reasonable distance from you.

If you DO have a custodian in Montreal, please follow the instructions provided in the CAQ application by Immigration Quebec.

If you DO NOT have a custodian in Montreal - and you will be living in McGill Student Residences - you can request to have the Associate Dean of Students act as your custodian by following the instructions below:

Instructions:

1. Apply online for your Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) through Immigration Quebec’s website.

2. Once your online CAQ application has been submitted, you will receive a CAQ personalized checklist with a CAQ application number (6 digit number) found on the top right-hand corner of the checklist.

3. Complete the Custodian Acknowledgement Letter and Passport Confidentiality Form. You must fill out all fields in the letter and include your CAQ application number. Incomplete letters and forms will not be processed.

4. The Custodianship Request Letter must be signed by both parents. The Passport Confidentiality Form must be signed by the student.

5. Once completed, please scan and send (in PDF format) your Custodianship Request Letter with both parents’ original signatures and your Passport Confidentiality Form to our office by submitting a request through our myISS Request Form. Important: make sure to write in the Please provide details section: “Custodianship Request Letter”.  

6. Once we receive your Custodianship Request Letter and Passport Confidentiality Form, we will process it and send you the Custodianship Acknowledgement Letter signed by the Dean of Students as well as the Associate Dean of Students' passport within 10 business days. Only once you have received the signed Custodianship Acknowledgement Letter and Associate Dean of Students' passport, please ensure that you complete the mandatory Next of Kin Information Sheet (online webform).

7. You may then submit the original Custodianship Request Letter and the Custodianship Acknowledgement Letter as well as the Dean of Students' passport with the supporting documents for your CAQ application. Please make sure to keep a copy of these documents for your Study Permit Application. 

Important Information:

• If you are emancipated or will be almost 17 at the time that your program starts, please refer to the information provided on the Immigration Quebec Website. 
• Student under the age of 18 are eligible for Quebec’s Health Insurance Plan - Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec(RAMQ). Please refer to our International Health Insurance page for more information.