Overview and When to Apply

Overview:

1. The Certificat d'acceptation du Québec (CAQ), issued by Immigration Quebec, is a mandatory immigration document for all international students at McGill.
2. 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.
3. International students who fail to obtain a new CAQ before their current one expires may be deregistered from McGill.
4. Some students do not need a CAQ to study in Quebec. See Immigration Quebec’s website for a full list of students who are exempt from the CAQ requirement.

CAQ Conditions:

You must respect the conditions of your CAQ during your studies. These conditions include:

• Making your studies your main activity. You must be enrolled as a full-time student for the entire duration of your studies, with the exception of your final semester. International undergraduate and masters non-thesis students are considered full-time as long as they are registered for at least 12 credits. Thesis students (masters thesis and PhD students) are considered full-time in every term that they are registered in.
• Receiving the level of education that appears on your CAQ. The CAQ is level specific – i.e., your CAQ is only valid to use in the same level of studies it was issued for. If you change level of studies (e.g. Bachelors to Masters), you must obtain a new CAQ for your new level of studies, even if your current one is still valid.
• Receiving education at the designated learning institute (DLI) that appears on your CAQ. If your CAQ was issued to you for a different DLI on or after December 6^th 2024, you cannot use it for your studies at McGill, even if the CAQ is for the same level of studies as your new program at McGill. You must apply for and obtain a new CAQ with your Letter of acceptance from McGill before starting your studies.
• Holding valid health insurance for the entire duration of your studies.

When to Apply

You should apply to renew your CAQ approximately 6-9 months before your current CAQ expires. Applying to renew your CAQ before your current CAQ expires does not give you maintained status in Canada.

1. Ideally, you should provide proof of enrolment for a future term when applying renew your CAQ.
2. If you apply to renew your CAQ before course registration opens see our CAQ FAQs > Current Students for information on what additional documents to provide.
3. You must renew your CAQ first and then apply to renew your study permit.
4. In order to have the valid immigration status required to continue your studies, you must have a valid study permit or maintained status (i.e., you submitted an application to extend your study permit from inside Canada before it expired and you have remained in Canada since the expiration of your study permit).
5. If you are worried that you will not obtain your new CAQ before your study permit expires contact our office.

Processing times:

1. The standard processing time for the CAQ is 25 business days from the day Immigration Quebec confirms in your online portal that they have received your supporting documents.
2. Note that processing times may be longer. If the estimated processing time has passed, you may wish to contact Immigration Quebec by telephone to follow up on your application.
3. We do not recommend that you resubmit your supporting documents or start a new application

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