Study Permits for Tunisian Students

The money changed, and by a lot

**From 1 January 2026, Quebec requires international students to demonstrate roughly $24,617 in available funds** — up from about $15,508 the previous year. That is close to a sixty percent increase in a single step, and it applies to selection and study permit applications filed from that date.

This is Quebec's own threshold, and it is separate from the federal figure that applies elsewhere in Canada. Guides quoting a number around $20,635 are citing the old federal requirement, which is neither current nor the right jurisdiction for a Quebec application. We have seen that figure on Tunisian-facing pages as recently as this year.

The amount is reviewed, so confirm the current figure on quebec.ca before planning around it. The direction of travel, though, is what matters for planning: Quebec has raised this requirement sharply and shows no sign of reversing it.

Practically, this is the single biggest obstacle now facing Tunisian families. A sum that was manageable for many households in 2024 is considerably less so today, and the funds must be genuinely available and traceable rather than assembled shortly before filing.

The tuition exemption door has closed to new students

This correction matters more than any other on this page, because the opposite is still being advertised.

Quebec historically granted exemptions from the supplementary tuition fees charged to international students, and Francophone students — including Tunisians — were among the beneficiaries. Those exemptions were a genuine reason to choose Quebec, and a great deal of Tunisian-facing advice still presents them as available.

**No new supplementary tuition exemptions are being granted from the autumn 2026 session.** Students who already hold one keep it for the normal duration of their program. New applicants do not receive one.

A second clarification, because Tunisians reasonably assume otherwise: **the France-Quebec arrangement that lets French citizens pay Quebec resident rates does not extend to Tunisia.** It is a bilateral agreement with France, based on nationality rather than language. Being Francophone does not qualify you for it. Budget on international rates unless an institution tells you otherwise in writing.

This does not make Quebec a bad choice. It makes it a more expensive one than the advice you are reading probably assumes, and that belongs in your planning rather than in a surprise at enrolment.

The CAQ, and the cap behind it

Quebec runs its own selection step before the federal one, and the order is not optional.

You first need an admission letter from a designated institution. You then apply to the Ministère de l'Immigration for a **Certificat d'acceptation du Québec**, submitted through the Arrima portal. Only once you hold the CAQ do you apply to IRCC for the study permit, with the CAQ serving as Quebec's equivalent of the provincial attestation letter other provinces issue.

Government fees for the CAQ application were removed in 2025, which is one piece of genuinely good news in this section.

**Quebec has capped the number of study CAQs it issues**, with a stated objective of reducing international student numbers by around twenty percent. Renewals within the same program and students already holding a valid CAQ are generally exempt from the cap. For a new applicant this means admission to a program does not guarantee a CAQ, which was effectively true before and is explicitly true now.

Published processing expectations conflict — an official service target of around twenty-five business days for complete applications sits alongside reported waits of four to six weeks. Treat the longer figure as your planning assumption and confirm current timelines on quebec.ca. Whatever the number, the CAQ sits in front of the federal application, so it is weeks added to the start of your timeline, not the end.

Francophone Canada outside Quebec

Quebec is the default for Tunisian students, and for many it remains right. But the changes above have narrowed its advantage, and the alternatives deserve a genuine look rather than a dismissal.

**New Brunswick** is Canada's only officially bilingual province, and the Université de Moncton is a long-established French-language institution. **Ontario** has French-language and bilingual institutions, and **Manitoba** maintains a Francophone post-secondary sector.

Two structural advantages follow. These provinces apply the federal financial requirement rather than Quebec's higher one, and they issue provincial attestation letters under the federal system rather than requiring a separate selection certificate — one step fewer.

The more important advantage comes later. Graduates of these institutions remain inside the federal system throughout, so their Canadian study and work experience feeds directly into Express Entry, where the French-language category already works in a Tunisian candidate's favour. Quebec graduates follow Quebec's own route to permanent residence instead — a different system with its own rules.

That choice is effectively made when you choose where to study, not afterwards. It is worth making deliberately.

From student to permanent resident

For most Tunisian students the degree is a means rather than the objective, and the route differs sharply depending on where you studied.

**Outside Quebec**, you may qualify for a Post-Graduation Work Permit after an eligible program. Eligibility rules have tightened and now depend on your field of study, so confirm your intended program qualifies **before** enrolling — students have completed programs that led to no work permit at all. Canadian work experience on that permit then counts toward the Canadian Experience Class within Express Entry.

**In Quebec**, graduates follow the province's own programs. These have historically been among the faster routes to permanent residence in Canada for French-speaking graduates, but the criteria have been revised repeatedly in recent years, including on French-language requirements. Verify the current rules rather than relying on a description of how the route worked for someone who arrived five years ago.

Either way, keep your French results current and consider adding English. Candidates with both receive bilingual points in the federal system, and Tunisian students frequently leave those unclaimed.

Where Tunisian applicants lose time

• **Budgeting from a stale figure.** The Quebec requirement is now roughly $24,617, not the older numbers still circulating.
• **Counting on a tuition exemption.** New supplementary-fee exemptions stopped from autumn 2026.
• **Assuming the French arrangement applies.** It is based on nationality, not language, and Tunisia is not party to it.
• **Starting the CAQ late.** It precedes the federal application and adds weeks, and a cap means admission does not guarantee it.
• **Enrolling before confirming work permit eligibility**, outside Quebec. Not every program leads to one.
• **Attempting the online bulletin n°3 with a non-blank record.** The portal issues blank bulletins only — see our Tunisia guide.
• **Assembling funds suddenly.** Proof of funds must look like money you have, not money that appeared for the application.

A note on accuracy

Quebec changed the financial requirement, capped CAQ issuance and ended new tuition-supplement exemptions within roughly a year. Figures on this page carry their effective dates precisely so that a stale reading is evident — verify current amounts, caps and timelines on quebec.ca and with your institution before acting. Where sources conflict, as they do on CAQ processing times, we have said so rather than picking one.

This is general information, not legal advice. Whether you qualify, and whether Quebec or another province serves your longer-term plan, depends on details requiring individual assessment by a licensed representative — Mila Lugovska, RCIC R515234, member in good standing of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.