Tuition fee exemptions

To be eligible for the exemption, you must also meet the following conditions:

• You must be accepted or enrolled full time in a technical program in order to obtain  a diploma of college studies (DEC);
• You must not be a citizen or a permanent resident of Canada;
• You must have a valid Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) for Studies issued by MIFI, ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration, as well as a study permit. Depending on your study program, you may also require a federal permit to work as a co-op student or intern. You must keep these documents current for the entire period covered by the tuition fee exemption.
• You must be able to prove that you have the minimum financial capacity set by MIFI. For a single student this is at least $14,000 for a 12-month period.

To be eligible, you must be considered an international student, meaning:

• You must come to Québec to study as your main activity;
• You do not hold the Canadian citizenship or the permanent resident status;
• You must meet the eligibility criteria of one of the quotas listed below (the list will be updated on a later date).

The Fédération des cégeps is mandated by the Quebec Ministry of Higher Education to ensure the management of 3 allowances of student fee exemptions for international students in career CEGEP programs. The Tuition Fee Exemption program is funded by the Quebec government.

No, this program is aimed exclusively at full-time students registered for a technical program leading to a Diploma of College Studies (DEC) at the end of cégep.

No, this program is aimed exclusively at full-time students registered for a technical program leading to a Diploma of College Studies (DEC) at the end of cégep.

No, this program is aimed exclusively at full-time students registered for a technical program leading to a Diploma of College Studies (DEC) at the end of cégep.

No, it is the cégeps that send student applications to the Fédération des cégeps. Speak with the head of your cégep’s international programs office to receive the form and deadline by which time you must submit your application, filled out and signed.

No, there is no fee for submitting an application to the cégep you have been admitted to. The cégep will invite candidates to apply and then send its applications to the Fédération des cégeps. For more information, contact the cégep international service manager where you have been admitted.

The first exemption quota is granted to applicants from any country in the world admitted to a technical program across the network.

The second exemption quota is to be assigned to international students that are enrolled in a technical program in a cégep outside of the Montreal Metropolitan Community. The students must also be from countries that are full members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie or from Algeria. The eligible countries are: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Comoros, Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti, Laos, Lebanon, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Moldova, Niger, Central African Republic, Mauritius, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.

No, all technical programs are eligible. Pre-university programs and Attestation of Collegial Studies (AEC) are not eligible.

The Fédération des cégeps will communicate the answers to the cégeps in spring 2023.

The cégep you were admitted to will send you the results of the call for applications.

No, you will not be eligible for coverage by the Régie de l’Assurance Maladie du Québec. You must join the group health and hospitalization insurance plan for international cégep students. More about mandatory health insurance.

Yes, you must submit original copies of your documents. If you do not submit them to your CEGEP’s guarantor, your tuition fee exemption will be revoked.

No, the exempted student will not receive a sum of money. Although the student is exempt from the tuition fees paid by international students, they must plan to have enough money to support themselves throughout their studies (living expenses). You must also pay the fees that apply to Quebec students, as well as the premium for the group health and hospitalization insurance plan for international cégep students.

In short, you must have sufficient financial resources for transport (to and from your country of origin), for the first year (CAN $500), and living expenses for the duration of your studies. Living expenses for students are estimated at CAN $14,349 CAN for the year 2023.

No requests for extension beyond the normal duration of the program of study is authorized, except in exceptional cases, for reasons outside of the student’s control.

If you change from one career program to another career program you may keep your exemption, but the change must not cause to extend the length of your training, which would exceed your exemption period (except for students in the alternating work-study (ATE) track).

No – a student automatically loses their exemption if they change schools.