Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ)
Key points
- You must have an official Offer of Admission from Concordia University before applying for immigration documents.
- You must apply for a CAQ if the duration of your studies is longer than 6 months, i.e., two terms or longer.
- You must create accounts in two Quebec government portals to complete your application and pay the processing fee.
- It takes 8–10 weeks for the Government of Quebec to process a complete CAQ application.
- You will use your CAQ to apply for your study permit from the Government of Canada.
- If you do not receive your CAQ and your study permit by the beginning of the study term, you will have to defer your acceptance.
Important: Coming to Concordia for a short exchange (less than six months)? You do not need a CAQ or a study permit.
How to apply for your CAQ
Important: Before you apply for your CAQ, check to see if you fall under one of the exemption categories.
Once you receive your Offer of Admission (even if it is a Conditional Offer), apply for your CAQ.
You must be authorized to study in Quebec. Immigration Quebec grants that authorization in the form of a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ).
The CAQ is issued for the level of study and duration of the length of your program, for example:
- Three or four years for a Bachelor's program
- Three or four years for a PhD program
- Two years for a Master’s program
How to complete your CAQ application
Arrima is the Quebec government’s immigration portal.
Good preparation is essential. Prepare the following documents so they are ready when you create your CAQ application.
- Biographical information: a photocopy/scan of the identity pages of your passport
- Your academic information (details from your Offer of Admission)
- Your proof of financial capacity (see below)
You must show proof of proof of financial capacity. You must show that you have enough funds for one year of tuition fees and personal expenses.
If you are applying from any of the following countries, you must present your proof of financial capacity with your CAQ application.
- Austria
- Canada (for international students already living in Canada, independent of nationality)
- France (including Réunion)
- Greenland
- Hong Kong
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
- United States of America
Important: If you are applying from any other country you must present your proof of financial capacity to the Canadian visa office, which will process your study permit application.
To obtain a CAQ, you must submit an application for temporary selection for studies online.
Follow the instructions on the application form.
Academic information from your Offer of Admission
The CAQ is level specific. Select the option that reflects your level of study:
- Université 1er cycle refers to undergraduate level (Bachelors, undergraduate certificate, undergraduate independent or exchange or visiting student)
- Université 2ième cycle refers to graduate level (Masters, Grad Diploma, Certificate, graduate independent or exchange or visiting student)
- Université 3ième cycle refers to a PhD student
Start and end date of your program: go to page 2 of your Offer of Admission and look for:
- Session: this is the start date of your program (the full date is indicated in your Offer of Admission)
- Expected Graduation term: this is the expected end date of your program.
- For Fall: use December 31
- For Winter: use April 30
- For Summer: use August 31
When your application has been created, the portal will give you a file number. Use this number to pay the fee in the Arrima platform.
Important: You you must pay the application fee on the Arrima portal within one hour.
You you must pay the application fee on the Arrima portal within one hour of creating your CAQ application.
The current fee to apply for a CAQ is $132.00 CAD.
This fee is updated annually on January 1.
After you have paid the fee, review your CAQ application to ensure it is complete.
- Within 48 hours of payment, you will receive a file number in the section Consult your file
- Log into Arrima and use this file number when you submit the documents for your application.
Print, sign and scan all applicable documents to upload to Arrima. Save them in PDF format.
- All pages from your Offer of Admission
- Biographical page of your valid passport
- Declaration commitment form (signed by hand)
- Declaration of financial support from your sponsor, if applicable
CAQ approval
When your application is approved, the Government of Quebec will notifiy you. Below is a sample of the new CAQ approval letter (issued as of mid-March 2023).
Next steps–after you have applied for the CAQ
You must upload your documents to your Student Centre by the first day of classes, otherwise you risk being de-registered as a Concordia student.
Special cases
This only applies to students who are not yet 17 (if you are 17, this does not apply to you).
On top of the documents mentioned above, you will also need to upload:
However, please note that Arrima often erroneously requests a Declaration of guardianship for those who are under age 18. If this occurs to you, note that it is an administrative error and that as per the policy, students only require a guardian in Quebec if they are under 17 years old. If you are erroneously instructed to provide a guardian, in lieu thereof provide a letter where you explain that you are 17 years old and as per the policy you do not require a guardian. For good measure include and refer to a proof of date of birth.
If you don’t have your required immigration documents by the beginning of the term, you must defer your acceptance. Without the required immigration documents, it is unlawful for you to remain enrolled.
Important: Contact the admissions officer or graduate program coordinator/admissions advisor listed in your letter of admission to request a deferral.
