Exemptions for international students
Exemptions for international students
If you have dual citizenship including Canadian citizenship, see the page Exemptions for persons residing in Canada.
Depending on your situation and your study program, you could be eligible for a lower tuition rate based on the exemption categories below. To receive these rates, you must have legal status in Canada.
You can receive a lower tuition rate if you are a citizen of France or Belgium. If you are Belgian, you must also have Francophone status.
You must be enrolled as a full-time student during the fall and winter quarters in order to be granted the exemption.
You can receive the Quebec tuition rate in one of the following situations:
- You are enrolled in a graduate or PhD program, excluding short programs.
- You live in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
You can receive the Canadian tuition rate without a supplemental increase in one of the following situations:
- You are enrolled in an undergraduate program, excluding short program.
- You are enrolled in independent studies or are taking non-program courses and are taking courses from your program (regardless of level) at the same term.
Exclusions
Does not apply to:
- short programs;
- students enrolled only in independent studies or taking only non‑program courses.
Documents to provide
- A valid passport
- A birth certificate if you have never studied in Quebec
- A valid Québec Acceptance Certificate
- A valid study permit
- A valid passport
- A birth certificate if you have never studied in Quebec
- A valid Québec Acceptance Certificate
- A valid study permit
- An ID card proving your status as a Francophone Belgian or another document specified in the Agreement with Belgium (PDF, 167 KB – in French only).
- A valid passport
- A birth certificate if you have never studied in Quebec
- A valid Québec Acceptance Certificate
- A valid study permit
- An official attestation proving your permanent residence in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon for over 5 years.
Clientele
You can receive a lower tuition rate if you are a citizen of a country (PDF, 353 KB) that has signed an agreement with the Quebec government.
You must be enrolled as a full-time student during the fall and winter quarters in order to be granted the exemption.
You can receive the Quebec tuition rate if you are enrolled in one of the following programs:
- Bachelor’s degree (except citizens of China);
- Master’s degree;
- MBA;
- PhD.
You can receive the Canadian tuition rate without a supplemental increase if you are studying in a bachelor’s degree program and you have Chinese citizenship.
Exclusions
Does not apply to independent studies, non-program courses, short undergraduate and graduate programs, certificates, or specialized graduate diplomas. In some cases, language courses are considered non-program courses. Please contact Zone Info to check.
Documents to provide
- Documents proving your legal status.
- Take the necessary steps. The Ministère will send its decision to HEC Montréal’s Registrar’s Office if you are granted an exemption.
Clientele
You can receive a lower tuition rate if you are a refugee, protected person, or person in need of protection in Canada.
You can receive the Quebec tuition rate in any of the following situations:
- You hold a Québec Selection Certificate.
- You are enrolled in a French study program and the course is part of one of these programs:
- Certificates
- Short Graduate Programs (D.E.S.S.)
- Short Undergraduate Programs
- Short Graduate Programs
- Master’s degrees offered in French excluding the following specializations:
- International Business
- Social Innovation Management
- Private and Public Sectors
- Management of Cultural Enterprises (before fall 2024)
- You are the spouse or dependent child (up to age 22) of a temporary worker who has a work permit.
You can receive the Canadian tuition rate without a supplemental increase if you do not have a Québec Selection Certificate and are in one of the following situations:
- You are studying in a program held in French (excluding independent studies and courses outside your program).
- You are studying in the MSc thesis stream.
- You are studying at the doctoral level.
You can receive the Canadian tuition rate with a supplemental increase if you do not have a Québec Selection Certificate and are in one of the following situations:
- You are an independent student or are taking courses outside your program (excluding doctoral level).
- You are studying in a program held in English (excluding MSc thesis stream and doctoral level).
Documents to provide
- Documents proving your legal status.
- Québec Selection Certificate.
- Documents proving your legal status.
- Valid proof of residence in Canada, including any of the following:
- A health insurance card issued by the Quebec government, another Canadian province, or a Canadian territory;
- Certificate or statement of home or car insurance (max. one year ago);
- Mail received from the government (max. one year ago);
- A municipal or school tax bill (max. one year ago);
- A valid driver’s licence or learner’s licence for Quebec, another Canadian province, or a Canadian territory;
- Record of employment or pay slip (max. three months ago);
- Transcripts issued by a school in Canada (max. one year ago).
- Documents proving your legal status.
- A document establishing your family relation to the temporary worker.
- A valid temporary worker work permit with one of the following conditions:
- “closed” indicating a place of employment (and an employer if applicable) in Quebec;
- “open” with the note 56 or “post-graduation”;
- “open” with the note 27, along with the Québec Selection Certificate for the temporary worker.
Documents proving your legal status.
Clientele
You can receive the Quebec tuition rate if you are personnel on a diplomatic mission, their spouse, or their child (up to age 25).
Documents to provide
- Documents proving your legal status.
- An attestation bearing the seal of Protocole du gouvernement du Québec.
For more information
Clientele
You can receive the Quebec tuition rate if you are personnel or the spouse or child (up to age 25) of personnel from an international organization recognized by the Quebec government.
Documents to provide
- Documents proving your legal status.
- An attestation bearing the seal of Protocole du gouvernement du Québec.
For more information
Clientele
You can receive the Quebec tuition rate if you are recipient of a merit scholarship for international students and are studying in a PhD program or an MSc program thesis stream.
Documents to provide
Documents proving your legal status.
For more information
Clientele
You can receive the Quebec tuition rate if you are the spouse or dependent child (up to age 22) of a clergyperson or person who holds a work permit.
Documents to provide
- Documents proving your legal status.
- A document establishing your family relation to the temporary worker.
- A valid temporary worker work permit with one of the following conditions:
- “closed” indicating a place of employment (and an employer if applicable) in Quebec
- “open” with the note 56 or “post-graduation”
- “open” with the note 27, along with the Québec Selection Certificate for the temporary worker.
- Documents proving your legal status.
- Document establishing your family relation to the clergyperson.
- Letter from a religious organization located in Quebec confirming the duties of the clergyperson.
For more information
Clientele
You can receive the Quebec tuition rate if you are a person authorized in Canada to submit an application for permanent residence and hold a Québec Selection Certificate under the category “Family reunification,” “Refugee family member,” or “Humanitarian case.”
Documents to provide
- Documents proving your legal status.
- A Québec Selection Certificate under the category “Family reunification,” “Refugee family member,” or “Humanitarian case”.
- A letter issued by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada indicating that the application for permanent residence in Canada is being processed.
For more information
Clientele
You can receive the Quebec tuition rate for French language courses that you take at HEC Montréal or for “French language and literature” courses offered at other Quebec universities.
You must meet the following conditions:
- Study full time during the term in which you are registered for the language course. If you are not studying full-time during the summer term, you must have studied full-time during the previous winter term.
- Be enrolled in a bachelor’s, master’s, MBA, or PhD program.
- If the language course is not recognized in your program structure, you must take another course that does contribute to your program.
Exclusions
Documents to provide
Documents proving your legal status.
If you are a resident of Quebec according to the criteria in the Residence in Quebec category, you are not eligible for this exemption.
Clientele
You can receive the Quebec tuition rate if professional order or organization overseeing a regulated profession in Quebec has issued a request for you to take a course.
Documents to provide
- Documents proving your legal status.
- A request issued by a professional order.
Clientele
You can receive the Quebec rate if you are studying in a PhD program or an MSc program thesis stream.
Exemption quotas are administered and issued by HEC Montréal. The academic program office will contact those selected.
Documents to provide
Documents proving your legal status.
For more information
- PhD program: Guide to financing (PDF, 217 KB)
- MSc program thesis stream: Differential tuition fee exemptions
You must submit the required documents at HEC en ligne > Documents > Documents upload, before the end of the term. You will not be able to make retroactive changes.
Questions?
This page is a summary of the applicable rules. For details, see the Budgetary rules and calculation of operating grants to Quebec universities (in French).