Eligibility

Eligibility to English Education

In order to qualify for English instruction in Québec public schools, students must meet certain eligibility criteria under the Charter of the French Language as set out by the Québec government.

Certificate of Eligibility

If your child has already obtained a certificate of eligibility and you wish to register your child in a Central Québec School Board school, please go directly to the school your child will be attending with the child's original birth certificate on which the parents' names appear.

If your child has never been granted an Eligibility Certificate, an official request will need to be made to the Ministry of Education in order for your child to be allowed to attend an English school. Depending on the situation, parents will need to fill in a request form and will have to provide the school with all necessary documents. Parents are invited to contact the school associated with their territory to get the request form and to be informed about the documents needed.

How to Obtain a Long Version Birth Certificate?

In order to be allowed to register your child in a Central Québec School Board’s school, an original of your child’s birth certificate bearing the parents’ names is required by the Ministry of Education. 

In the Province of Québec
For more information on how to obtain a birth certificate in the province of Québec, or to order a birth certificate, consult the website of the Directeur de l'état civil:
https://www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/en/certificate-copy/three_ways_order.html

Other Canadian provinces/territories
If your child is born in a Canadian province or territory other than the province of Québec, it’s possible to order a birth certificate online. 

Foreign Countries
If your child is born outside of Canada, an original of the birth certificate is requested. If the certificate is written in another language than French or English, an official translation must also be provided either in French or in English. 

Important Notice – Temporary eligibility – Immigration

According to the modifications to the Charter of the French Language by law 96 adopted in Quebec in 2022, article 84.1 of the Charter now stipulates:

“A child who is a foreign national and who stays in Québec temporarily may, at the request of one of his parents, be exempted from the application of the first paragraph of section 72 and receive instruction in English in the following cases: […]

(2) he is a dependent child of a foreign national authorized to work or study in Canada under such a permit;[…]

The exemption is valid for a period of up to three (3) years and may not be renewed.”

Therefore, after the expiration of the certificate of eligibility, should your child be continuing their elementary or secondary studies in Québec, unfortunately they will no longer be able to attend a public English school and they will need to be registered in a French school.

Important Notice – Temporary eligibility – Military

According to the Charter of the French Language, children of CAF members are allowed to attend English school with a temporary certificate:

“A child who stays in Québec temporarily because he is a dependent child of a member of the Canadian Armed Forces who is assigned to Québec temporarily shall be exempted from the application of the first paragraph of section 72 of the Charter if an affidavit by the employer certifying that the parent is a member of the Canadian Armed Forces and that he is assigned to Québec temporarily and a document demonstrating that the child is a dependent child of that Armed Forces member are filed. ”

Therefore, it means that once the member retires, the temporary eligibility cannot be renewed. The children of the member will then have to attend a French school for the rest of their schooling.

More Questions About the English School Eligibility Process?

For more information on the eligibility request process for English schools, please contact the school associated with your territory.