Reimbursement of fees for French language courses

Since April 1, 2009, the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles is reimbursing up to C$1500 to immigrants holding a Certificat de selection du Québec (CSQ – Quebec selection certificate) who took French language courses abroad after October 22, 2008.

Reimbursement

The amount you can claim (up to a maximum of C$1,500) is the sum you paid and that was recorded on an official receipt issued by the educational institution where you took your course. The conversion into Canadian currency of the sum you paid for your course will be calculated on the date on which the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (MICC) received your request for reimbursement.

*Conditions of eligibility for reimbursement

To be eligible for a reimbursement, you must:

• Hold a Québec selection certificate (CSQ) before beginning the French course;
• Have taken your course with a Ministère partner;
• Have completed the course after October 22, 2008;
• Be at least 16 years of age when the course began.

* All these conditions are mandatory.

The MICC has signed agreements with over 70 educational institutions around the world. Most of these institutions belong to the Alliance française network. At the time of your registration, the institution must confirm to you that it is a signatory of a francization agreement with the MICC.

Other conditions

You can take beginners, intermediate or advanced French courses. Advanced level C courses under the Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECR) (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) are not eligible. To be eligible for a reimbursement, you must have completed the entire course. At the end of the course, the institution will provide you with a certificate of study confirming that you completed the required number of hours. Only original documents will be accepted as supporting documents.

Reimbursement request form

The reimbursement request form (in French - PDF, 65 Kb) includes a section to be completed by the student and a section to be completed by the educational institution. Before leaving your country of origin, ask the educational institution where you took your course to provide all of the information requested on the form, to sign it and to stamp it with the institution’s seal.

Note: Be sure to keep this document in a safe place as the MICC only accepts originals (form and supporting documents).

You cannot send your form from your country of origin because it requires certain information that you can only obtain once you have arrived in Québec.

	AN EXAMPLE
	Evelyne obtained an intermediate French language diploma from an Alliance française school and would like to have her course fees reimbursed. Her training included three 90-hour courses, one of which ended before October 22, 2008. Only the fees for the two other courses are eligible, since they were completed after October 22, 2008. Evelyne must ask her school to fill out section 2 of the reimbursement form. For each of the courses she took after October 22, 2008, the school must: provide the information requested on lines 10 to 16 of the form; provide a certificate confirming that the course was completed; provide the receipt for the course fees, confirming that the fees were paid.

Explanatory guide

Take the time to carefully read the explanatory guide (in French - PDF, 58 Kb) that accompanies the form. It provides instructions on how to complete the form properly and will ensure that you submit a complete file.

Pay special attention to the documents that must be enclosed with your request. They are listed in point 6 on the form.

Submitting your request

Please send your reimbursement request to the following address:

Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles
Registraire et services à la clientèle
800, boulevard De Maisonneuve Est, 3^e étage, bureau 301
Montréal (Québec)  H2L 4L8

Or

You can submit your request in person to the service Immigration-Québec (SIQ – Québec immigration service) located near your place of residence. The deadline for submitting your request is one year after obtaining the permanent residence.

Information

Montréal region: 514 864-9191
Elsewhere in Québec (toll free): 1 877 864-9191