During your studies

CAQ and Study Permit Renewal Procedure

Throughout your studies at Bishop’s, you must have valid immigration documents in order to maintain your registration (passport, CAQ, study permit). It is important to understand that at Bishop’s, the end of your program is not until after the Senate meeting which follows the end of the semester. Your immigration documents must thus be valid up through the date of the Senate meeting following your last semester of study in order to maintain your registration. It is your responsibility to upload your immigration documents to the myBU portal.

• If your final semester of study is Fall, the Senate meeting will be Mid-January, so your documents must be valid through January 30.
• If your final semester of study is Winter, the Senate meeting will be Mid-May, so your documents must be valid through May 31.
• If your final semester of study is Spring or Summer, the Senate meeting will be Mid-September, so your documents must be valid through September 30.

Make sure your passport is valid, as you will not be able to renew your CAQ and study permit without a valid passport in hand.

If you have any questions about the order in which you need to renew your documents based on their expiration dates, do not hesitate to contact an Immigration Advisor at Bishop’s International and/or attend our webinar on renewing your documents.

CAQ

New! As of February 26, 2025, the Quebec government has placed an annual limit on the number of CAQ applications per institution. You will be asked as part of your application whether you are exempt from the application management rules. Please see the MIFI website for the table of exemptions. If you meet an exemption, you must provide proof when submitting your documents on the Arrima platform. Take note that programs offered at Bishop’s University are not considered vocational training and do not on their own merit an exemption from the management rules. Applying for temporary selection for studies | Gouvernement du Québec

It is important to remember that you cannot obtain a study permit without a valid CAQ. As indicated on the MIFI website, you should apply to renew your CAQ at least 3 months prior to your study permit’s expiration date. Study permit applications for institutions in Quebec that do not include a valid CAQ will be refused. Since processing times can fluctuate, Bishop’s International encourages you to consider applying to renew your CAQ 4 to 5 months prior to its expiration.

When applying to renew your CAQ, the MIFI will verify that you have always respected the conditions associated with your stay: maintaining full-time registration, succeeding in your courses and maintaining health and hospitalization insurance for yourself and any accompanying family members. Take note that as of December 6, 2024, the CAQ is institution-specific. If your CAQ is issued after this date and you subsequently change institutions, you will have to apply for a new CAQ. Additionally, regardless of your country of residence, all students’ financial capacity to continue studying in Quebec will be evaluated as part of a CAQ renewal. Your financial capacity must cover living expenses, health insurance, cost of returning to your country of residence and tuition fees. The MIFI updates the cost of living required in Quebec on an annual basis, and on the myBU portal you can access information regarding the tuition fees for your program as well as your personalized invoices demonstrating the tuition rate that you are billed. Tuition fees and cost of living | Gouvernement du Québec (quebec.ca)

We recommend that you include an explanation letter with your application in order to help the MIFI understand your situation. However, if anything is particular about your academic progression (ex: you failed a course, a semester without registration and health insurance, you took a leave of absence, you studied at another institution), you need to provide an explanation and supporting documents (ex: doctor’s note, proof that you were outside of the county, proof of insurance, official transcript from previous institution).

In your explanation letter, it is helpful to clearly indicate your expected program end date, keeping in mind that the end of your studies at Bishop’s is after the Senate meeting. You will likely be issued a CAQ valid for an additional 90 days past your program end date in order to facilitate the transition at the end of your program.

As part of your application, you will need two official documents available from the Registrar’s Office: your official transcript and verification of enrolment. Both of these documents are available free of charge in your myBU portal. Please ensure that you are registered for the upcoming semester in order to demonstrate to the MIFI that you will be continuing your studies. If you only need to extend your documents past the Senate meeting (ex : extension from August 31^st to September 30^th), you need to include an explanation letter with your application.

Additionally, graduate students should contact their chair or supervisor in order to obtain a support letter attesting to the estimated date of their program completion. This support letter must be signed and dated, written on university letterhead and provided in PDF format.

Make sure you dutifully provide all documents included on your personalized checklist. You may be asked to provide, for example, a copy of your study permit. Persons who are eligible for an exemption from the application management rules in place as of February 26, 2025, must provide proof (ex: refugee claimant).

If the MIFI agents have any questions about your application, or if documents are missing, you will receive an intent to refuse letter. You will have a set timeframe in which to provide an explanation and missing documents.

As of February 13, 2024, the CAQ also serves as the Provincial Attestation Letter required of study permit applicants (unless exempt). Please read below for details on this requirement.

If your CAQ is approved, you will receive an electronic PDF version in your MIFI online file. This is the document that you must include with your study permit extension application, and also provide the Registrar’s Office prior to your current CAQ’s expiration in order to update your file (myBU portal). Since March 15, 2023, the MIFI is no longer issuing paper versions of the CAQ.

Study Permit

When applying to renew your study permit online from within Canada, make sure you use the IRCC secure account and properly answer the questions regarding your status (ex: study permit holder) and where you are located (ex: within Canada) in order for your application to be correctly processed. If you have an intern work permit or need to obtain one (ex: students in Arts Administration, SAFS, and Bachelor of Education), you can apply for yours or apply to renew your permit at the same time free of charge.

Sign in to your IRCC secure account – Canada.ca

Provincial Attestation Letter

On January 22, 2024, IRCC began requiring certain study permit applicants to include a provincial attestation letter (PAL) with their application. As stated on the IRCC website, in the 2025 cap year, applications for study permit extensions for the same designated learning institution (DLI) and level of study as the current study permit submitted from within Canada do not require a PAL. When applying online from within Canada you should thus expect to have to answer some version of a question regarding whether you have a PAL or meet an exception. It is essential that you provide the proof that you meet this exception by submitting your CAQ/PAL, verification of enrolment documents and transcript as part of your study permit renewal application. You can also include a simple explanation letter outlining your situation.

Attention! If your CAQ was issued prior to February 13, 2024, but remains valid until the end of your program of study (ex: you only need to renew your study permit because your passport was expiring), please contact the MIFI customer service line (514-864-9191) to inquire whether your document remains valid for renewing your study permit since it does not include remarks related to the provincial attestation letter requirement.

Study permit: Get the right documents – Canada.ca

Unless your passport is expiring earlier, your study permit will be issued in accordance with the expiration date of your CAQ.

After completing your study permit renewal application, you will receive the IMM5739 document which states the date on which the application was received by IRCC. Make sure you upload this document to your myBU portal to update your file at Bishop’s and to prove that you renewed your study permit prior to its expiration. Read below for important information on maintained status.

In the case of a study permit renewal processed within Canada, the study permit will be mailed to you. If you move, make sure you update your address with IRCC and consider purchasing mail forwarding services from Canada Post to ensure that you do not miss this important document! Again, it is your responsibility to upload the new study permit to your myBU portal.

Please refer to the IRCC website for more details.

Questions? Please contact your Immigration Advisors at Bishop’s International and we will be happy to assist you!