Students must present supporting documents to InfoService to pay the equivalent of Canadian fees.
International tuition fee exemptions
Some international students pay Canadian tuition fees. This page explains who’s eligible, how to apply, what are the deadlines and what supporting documentation to submit in the application process.
International tuition fees exemption process
Who may apply for an exemption from international fees?
- Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and their dependants
- Members of the diplomatic corps and their dependants
- Refugees accepted by the Government of Canada and their dependants: Canada only recognizes UN convention refugees after the second phase of the refugee claim assessment. You must present a letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada confirming that this department has received your application for permanent residence.
- Visitors admitted to Canada for work and their dependants holding a valid work permit which names a Canadian employer situated in Ontario (provided they are also eligible to study in Canada).
The following students are excluded from this category:
- A visitor who is a graduate teaching assistant
- An international student who holds a work permit to complete a co-op term, an internship or medical residency employment
- An international student who holds an open work permit for post-graduate work (usually for up to three years of work opportunities upon graduation)
- An international student whose spouse or common-law partner has received a work permit as a result of the international student holding a valid study permit
- An international student with a work permit allowing them to work off campus
What kind of supporting documents are required?
Students must present supporting documents to InfoService to pay the equivalent of Canadian fees.
Definitions
Dependants
The term dependant includes your partner (married or common-law) and your, or your partner’s, unmarried children. Dependant status must be fully documented.
- Marriage: A marriage license is required to confirm spousal status.
- Common law union: A common law union must be confirmed through an affidavit signed by the two partners, as well as by a legal authority (lawyer, notary or commissioner). This relationship must have lasted at least three years unless the partners live with one or more children of which they are the birth or adoptive parents.
- Unmarried children: Dependants must be under age 22 and not be in a conjugal relationship (married or common law) when they begin their studies. Unmarried children can also be persons with a disability who have been financially supported substantially by their parents and are unable to be self-supporting because of the disability.