CAQ Renewal Guide

Students whose program length is more than 6 months in total are required to have a valid CAQ for the entire duration of their studies. If your CAQ expires at any point during your program, you must renew it – even if it expires in your final semester of studies.

After you complete the online questionnaire portion of the CAQ application,

• You will have one hour to submit your payment
• You will have 15 days from the payment date to submit your supporting documents on Arrima

IMPORTANT: Applying for your CAQ before your current CAQ expires does not give you maintained status in Canada. In order to have valid immigration status as a student in Canada, you must have a valid study permit or maintained status (i.e., you applied to extend your study permit from inside Canada before it expired and you have remained in Canada since the expiration of your study permit).

Do you need help renewing your CAQ?

• View our short IG videos before getting started (below)
• View Immigration Quebec’s tutorial video (available in French only) that explains how to submit CAQ supporting documents electronically. There is also a webform that students can use to ask technical questions.​​
• Follow the CAQ application steps on our PDF tutorial 
• Read our Step-by-Step Guide (below)

• Once you pay the processing fee on Arrima, you will obtain a personalized checklist of the supporting documents, on your MIFI portal.
• You will have 15 days from the payment date to submit your supporting documents.
• Along with your document checklist, you will receive a Declaration, commitments and authorizations form that describes the obligations you must respect as a student in Quebec. This form must be signed by hand. Your name and signature must match the name and signature in your passport. Electronic signatures will not be accepted.
• 

  Follow these steps to apply for your CAQ
  Scan and save a copy of your documents for your records before submitting them to Immigration Quebec. 
• For proof of financial capacity, you and/or the person(s) supporting you must demonstrate that you/they have the funds to pay for one year of tuition and fees plus one year of living expenses. You can include a recent bank letter indicating the current balance in the account(s) of the person paying for your studies and/or bank statements for the last 3 months. If you are unable to demonstrate sufficient funds with either of these documents, see Immigration Quebec's Your proof of financial capacity webpage for examples of other documents to include.
• We suggest that you also include cover letter briefly explaining how you will be paying for the next year of studies and which financial capacity documents are you submitting as proof. The letter should clearly indicate the estimated cost of the next year of studies and the source and amount of funds available. We suggest putting some of this information in a table and/or using bullet points
• To calculate living expenses, see Immigration Quebec's Costs of studies and living webpage. The amount of living expenses expected by Immigration Quebec varies depending on the age and number of people included in your application (e.g. spouse and/or children).
• If someone other than yourself will be paying for your tuition and fees and/or living expenses (e.g. parents, legal guardian, other family member, etc.), they must sign and date, by hand, the Declaration of financial support letter. Electronic signatures will not be accepted.
• If you plan to pay for your studies with a scholarship, loan, or other financial aid (e.g. U.S. government aid), a copy of your application for aid will not be sufficient to demonstrate your financial capacity. You must include proof that the scholarship, loan, or other financial aid has been awarded.
• If you are a minor and under the age of 17, you will have to provide additional documents. If your custodian will be the Associate Dean of Students, please see the instructions on our website.
• Include your official electronic transcript (eTranscript) with your application. It is possible that the "COPY" watermark will appear on the eTranscript when the immigration agent opens the file. You should mention this possibility in a cover letter and also ensure that you view/save your eTranscript according to the instructions provided by MyCreds when you order your eTranscript.
• If you are an undergraduate student, include a Proof of Credits Completed To-Date letter that you can print from Minerva. If this letter does not accurately reflect the number of credits you have completed, or if you have already completed 120 or more credits, include a letter from your Academic Advisor explaining your situation (including your expected graduation date) and a Proof of Enrolment letter that you can print from Minerva. Your Proof of Enrolment letter should be for your most recent academic term and, if available, any upcoming term(s) for which you are already registered.
• If you are a graduate student, include a letter from your department stating your expected graduation date and any other relevant information (e.g. funding, expected dates for initial and final thesis submission, etc.) and a Proof of Enrolment letter that you can print from Minerva.
• Include scanned copies of original documents for all items listed on your personalized checklist. Any document not in English or French must be accompanied by a certified translation.

Step 3: Include a Letter of Explanation (Cover Letter)

• Include a letter of explanation with your application. Your cover letter should indicate: (1) Your program name, (2) Your expected date of graduation – i.e., indicate your expected final semester of studies (Fall/Winter/Summer and Year) and the month/year your degree will be granted, (3) The amount of tuition and fees for your next year of studies, and (4) How you will be paying for your tuition and fees and living expenses for your next year of studies.
• If you were not a full-time student in every academic semester (not including regularly scheduled breaks and your final semester of studies) explain your reason(s) for this in your letter of explanation. Where applicable, include supporting documents that help to confirm the explanations you have provided. Contact ISS if you have any questions about what documents to include. Examples of not maintaining a full-time student status include: taking less than 12 credits in a semester; starting off full-time but then withdrawing from a course (or courses) and attempting less than 12 credits; withdrawing from the university; being on a leave of absence (LOA); not being registered for a semester and then being re-admitted.
• If your transcript includes semesters where you earned less than 12 credits due to failed or abandoned courses (e.g. Fs, Ws, Js, Us, Ks, etc.), explain your reason(s) for this in your letter of explanation. Where applicable, include supporting documents that help to confirm the explanations you have provided.