COVID-19 FAQ for international students
Fall 2020 term
Concordia’s fall 2020 term will be delivered almost entirely online. The university is committed to providing you with a smooth transition and the support you need to succeed in an online environment. Read the notice.
As long as your Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ) and study permit are valid through December 31, 2020, you are fully eligible to continue your studies at Concordia this fall, from wherever you reside. Student services will continue to support you and will be offered remotely.
We understand that some returning students are no longer residing in Canada. Students should be aware that there is a risk of not being able to return to Montreal as a result of both the current health and immigration measures in place.
Currently, in order to come to Canada you must meet the following three criteria:
- You must have a valid Study Permit or been approved for a Study Permit prior prior to March 18, 2020
- You must have a strong 14 day isolation plan
- You must also convince the Canadian immigration agent that it is ESSENTIAL that you be in Montreal to study. Given that fall term courses are being offered online, the agent could determine that it is NOT essential to be here in Montreal and that the work could be completed online from home. The immigration agent will make the final decision to grant or deny your entry to Canada.
The University has a very limited number of students who are required on campus in order to complete their studies (mainly those in teaching labs, studios or those conducting experiments).
The COVID-19 situation has brought many uncertainties. We want to be as flexible as possible at Concordia. If you do not want to start your degree with remote learning, you will be allowed to defer your admission.
Undergraduate students:
Please refer to the COVID-19 FAQs for prospective and newly admitted undergraduate students
Graduate students:
Please refer to the School of Graduate Studies' COVID page.
We encourage you to register for courses and proceed with applying for your immigration documents immediately. We will communicate with you directly as the situation develops. You will be informed before September so that you have time to de-register for your courses, if applicable.
If you are planning on travelling to Canada: You must demonstrate the purpose of their travel and meet conditions for entry to Canada. The final decision to permit entry to Canada will be made by the Canadian Border Service Agent. Please be aware of these risks should you choose to travel to Canada.
In order to complete your permanent code application, you can upload (via your Student Service Centre) a copy of your birth certificate showing your name and your parents names in English or French. If your original birth certificate is not in English or French, you will need to also upload a certified or notarized translation into English or French.
Immigration
International students who were already enrolled at a designated learning institution (DLI) in Canada or had been accepted by a DLI and made arrangements to come to Canada to study before the travel restrictions were put in place (March 18, 2020) may travel to Canada.
These foreign nationals can let airlines know at the point of boarding that they are exempt under this provision by presenting
- a valid study permit, or
- a letter of introduction from IRCC dated on or before March 18, 2020.
You will also need a valid Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to enter Canada.
If you have to transit through other countries, please check their travel restrictions because they may be different from Canada’s.
Remember that you will need to self-isolate for 14 days upon your arrival to Canada, independent of any previous self-isolation you may have done in another country.
If your initial study permit application was approved after March 18, 2020, you are not exempt from the air travel restrictions and your travel to Canada will not be considered essential. You must wait until the Canadian government approves non-essential travel before coming to Canada.
You can apply to extend your immigration documents in Canada and should make sure to maintain your status in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) has come up with new guidelines that allow international students whose Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ) expires after April 30, 2020, and before December 31, 2020, to be extended to December 31, 2020
If you need help with your renewal process, send an email including your student ID to iso@concordia.ca.
The sooner the better! Immigration has experienced some delays in application times. However, both the provincial and federal government offices remain operational, and continue to process files. A CAQ is taking, on average, six to eight weeks to process and the study permit is currently taking more than 120 days.
IMPORTANT: Those whose study permits have not yet expired can renew them and continue their studies. However, those whose study permits have expired must apply to restore their status in Canada before returning to Canada.
Immigration Canada states, “Foreign nationals applying for restoration have lost their status and may not continue to work or attend school until their status has been restored and a new work or study permit has been issued.”
If you are unable to gather the required documents (CAQ, financial proof, etc.) on time to apply for a study permit, please contact the International Students Office (ISO) for assistance BEFORE your study permit expires. Do not let your immigration status expire.
You can now apply online for your CAQ. To do so, you must have on hand your file number for the Application for temporary selection for studies, which is provided online in the section “Access my file.”
Candidates who have not yet mailed their supporting documents for the online application for temporary selection for studies or in response to a request for additional documents (letter of intent to reject or refuse) can submit their documents on Arrima.
To do so, you must have on hand your file number for the Application for temporary selection for studies, which is either provided in the section “Access my file,” if you submitted your application online, or when you receive a response in the mail.
If you defer your admission from fall 2020 to winter 2021, your immigration documents will remain valid. However, if you defer to a new academic year (for ex., summer 2021) you must apply for new immigration documents.
The International Students Office is available to advise. International students with questions about work-study permits or other immigration-related issues should contact them at iso@concordia.ca.
This is great news for students who plan to complete their studies by December 31, 2020. However, if your studies will continue after fall 2020 term or you plan to extend your immigration documents beyond December 31, 2020, you will need to extend your CAQ as normal. Visit Immigration Quebec’s website under ‘Foreign Students’ for more information.
Note that the extension only applies to the CAQ and not the Study Permit; be sure to renew your Study Permit on time as per the expiration date indicated on your current Study Permit. Contact the ISO at iso@concordia.ca should you have concerns or require assistance in renewing your immigration documents.
Employment and income
IRCC will take the effects of COVID-19 under consideration when assessing PGWP program eligibility.
Under normal circumstances, in order to be eligible for the PGWP program, international students must maintain their full-time student status during each academic session of the program or programs of study they complete, and submit proof. However, if an international student is unable to meet these criteria due to reasons related to COVID-19, they will still be considered eligible for the PGWP provided they meet all other program criteria, under Canadian Bureau for International Education guidelines.
The usual regulations apply. Learn more.
Undergraduate students:
You are not required to register for the summer 2020 term. If you do not register, you are welcome to work full-time as long as you were registered full-time in the winter 2020 term and will be registered full-time for the upcoming fall 2020 term.
Graduate students:
As a graduate student in a master’s or PhD program, if you do not have any courses available, then it is recommended to maintain a “Continuing in program (CIP)” notation and not request a “leave of absence (LOA)” for the summer term. If you are in a graduate diploma, certificate or qualifying program, the undergraduate rule applies. If you need more clarification, please email an ISO advisor at iso@concordia.ca.
Some Service Canada locations are gradually re-opening. Please click here to find out which ones.
The deadline to submit both your provincial and federal taxes for 2019 has been extended to June 1, 2020.
The ISO is working on offering a webinar in early May to explain how to file your taxes as an international student.
In the meantime, Revenu Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency have useful information on their sites to help you.
You may qualify for the CERB if you have stopped working because of reasons related to COVID-19. Visit the CERB website for more information.
The International Students Office is available to advise. International students with questions about work-study permits or other immigration-related issues should contact them at iso@concordia.ca.
Health insurance
In some cases, the ISO can sell you an additional four months of health insurance. To find out if this applies to you, please contact iso@concordia.ca.
International students who are covered by Concordia international health insurance through Blue Cross can sign up for telemedicine services through getmaple.ca/medavie. This service allows users to meet doctors, nurses or other health professionals online.
Although the RAMQ offices are still processing RAMQ requests, the offices themselves are not open to the public. Find out how to submit your RAMQ request.
From August 15 until September 21, 2020, students who remain outside Canada this Fall may request a refund of the Fall Term Insurance fees. You will be required to complete a waiver and any previously paid fees will be refunded to your Student Account.
It is important to note that Immigration Quebec regulations require that all international students be covered by a health insurance plan that meets government standards, while studying in Quebec. If you arrive in Canada during the Fall Term, you will be required to re-enroll in the Concordia issued International Health Insurance Plan - personal health insurance plans will not be accepted.
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