Eligibility for instruction in English

French is the only official language in Québec. French is the language of instruction in preschool, elementary school and secondary school, except where the Charter of the French language allows otherwise.

Children residing in Québec permanently

A child who resides in Québec permanently and whose mother or father is a Canadian citizen may be eligible to receive instruction in English if they are in one of the following situations:

• They received the major part of their elementary or secondary instruction in English in Canada.
• Their brother or sister received the major part of their elementary or secondary instruction in English in Canada.
• One of their parents is a Canadian citizen and attended an English-language elementary school in Canada.
• Their father or mother attended school in Québec after August 26, 1977, and could have been declared eligible to receive instruction in English at that time.

Children who come to Québec for a temporary stay

Children may receive temporary authorization to receive instruction in English if they fall into one of the following three categories:

• Children living temporarily in Québec on their own to study or the dependent children of persons living in Québec temporarily to study or work. More specifically, this includes:
  • children of a foreign national who holds a certificate, a permit or the necessary exemptions ^{Read the content of the note 1}
  • dependent children of Canadian citizens or permanent residents of another Canadian province or territory
• Dependent children of persons who are not Canadian citizens and who are posted in Québec temporarily as representatives or officers of a country other than Canada or of an international organization.
• Dependent children of members of the Canadian Armed Forces who are posted in Québec temporarily.

Children exempt from receiving instruction in French owing to particular circumstances

A child may be exempt from receiving instruction in French owing to particular circumstances:

• When they have serious learning disabilities as defined in the Charter of the French language and its related regulation.
• When justified for serious family or humanitarian reasons.

If your child falls into one of the categories or situations listed above, you can apply for eligibility for instruction in English.

To do this, you need to contact the educational organization where you want to enrol your child. The educational organization will inform you of the procedure to follow and will then take charge of your application, submitting it to the Ministère along with all the required documents. The Ministère will analyze your application and send you its decision in writing.

Once received by the Ministère, completed applications are generally processed within 15 working days for the current school year and 20 working days for the following school year, in accordance with the Déclaration de services aux citoyennes et citoyens du ministère de l'Éducation (in French only).

For any general questions about eligibility for instruction in English, please use the contact information below.