Gouvernement du Québec — Aide financière aux études · Provincial
AFE Loan for Studies Abroad (Prêt pour études à l'étranger)
About this award
AFE's loan stream for Quebec residents studying outside Quebec — including in other Canadian provinces and recognized international programs. Lets you keep your Quebec student-aid file open while pursuing a degree at McMaster, Dalhousie, NYU, or any host institution AFE recognizes.
If you're a Quebec resident pursuing post-secondary study at an institution outside Quebec — whether that's the University of Toronto, Dalhousie, a US university, or a recognized European program — the Prêt pour études à l'étranger lets you keep your AFE student-aid eligibility while you're abroad. Without this program, leaving Quebec for school normally means leaving AFE behind (no other provincial aid system covers Quebec residents, since Quebec is opted out of federal Canada Student Loans). The program is loan-only in most cases — the bursary portion of standard AFE may or may not extend to the abroad program depending on whether the host institution is recognized as equivalent. The Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur maintains a list of pre-approved foreign institutions and exchange programs; if your destination isn't on the list, AFE will review your specific program for recognition (this adds processing time, which is why studies-abroad applications run longer than standard domestic AFE). Common use cases include CEGEP graduates accepted to anglophone universities outside Quebec (UofT, McGill via formal exchange, Dalhousie, Memorial), Quebec graduate students taking up named PhD positions at US/UK universities, and Quebec students on formal exchange programs at recognized partner institutions.
Can you get it?
- Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident or Protected Person — citizenship requirement
- College, Undergraduate, Graduate — study level
- Resident of QC — provincial eligibility
How to apply
Review eligibility and gather your documents~1 hour
Read the official award page end-to-end. Confirm you meet every requirement before you start.
Collect reference letters2 weeks
Give your referees at least two weeks' notice and share your résumé.
Submit by No deadline~1 hour
Double-check every field, save a copy, and submit at least 24 hours early.
More details
Start the application early — at least 8 to 12 weeks before your program begins, ideally more.
The host-institution recognition review adds processing time beyond the standard 4-6 week AFE turnaround.
Before you commit to a host institution outside Quebec, check AFE's recognized-institution list (linked from afe.gouv.qc.ca) — picking a pre-approved school avoids the equivalency review entirely.
If you're going on a formal exchange organized by your Quebec university (McGill, UdeM, UQAM, Laval, etc.), your home institution's international office often coordinates the AFE paperwork on your behalf — ask before you start your own application.
The bursary portion of standard AFE may not transfer in all cases; talk to your AFE advisor at your home Quebec institution before assuming the full need-based award amount.
Currency-conversion costs and foreign-bank fees are not covered, so plan for those out of pocket.