clairemarie70

hi all, we are hopefully going to Canada on a WP we want to live in Ontario,Manitoba or Saskatchewan depends on job offer but ive read that if u go on a wp then some schools charge. can anyone suggest a website to tell me which provinces and areas that do charge.
thanx

Judy in Calgary

Here is a thread entitled school fees for non-landed kids that points to a specific clause in the Education Act of Ontario that states that children of work permit holders in that province are not charged the extra tuition that is charged to international students.

In post #78 of this thread entitled Living on $40,000 (canadian) in Toronto, there is a link to a Manitoba government website that states that children of work permit holders receive provincial funding for their education across that province.

I have just phoned Saskatchewan's Department of Learning at 1-888-775-3276. That's a toll free number within Canada. The guy with whom I spoke said that he was under the impression that children of work permit holders were treated as if they were local residents. That is, they were not charged international students' tuition. However, he said that you should contact the school board in the specific town to which you were interested in moving just to be sure. He also said that your kids should have student visas.

Hope that helps.

rabrol

Our kids received a free education in Alberta when they were just named on my work permit.

One thing to remember is that if they are named on the work permit, they do not require their own study permit (at least if they are young anyway - maybe they do at Uni age?).

Rob

Judy in Calgary

Technically what you have said is correct, Rob. If one searches the forum, one can find links to all kinds of information, including provincial legislation, that states that children of work permit holders do not need study permits to attend school in Alberta. My interpretation of the CIC website is that they don't need study permits to attend school in Canada, full stop.

However, there also are anecdotal reports on the forum of children of work permit holders not being allowed to enroll with the Calgary Board of Education until they obtained study permits (and I say this as someone who has phoned the CBE on at least three different occasions and spoken to different people at the reception centre that registers newly arrived children and been assured that children of work permit holders do not need study permits).

I am so frustrated at school board officials' confusion and the inconsistent application of the rules that I've come to the conclusion that it's simpler to bite the bullet and obtain those study permits from the get go.

clairemarie70

hi Judy, thanx for all your info and taking the trouble to make a phone call , i really appreciate it.....it can be very frustrating when u dont know who to call and what to do next
thanx again claire

burton bunch

Hi Claire Marie

When we went over in May I discussed this alot within the forum as I thought that we needed study permits for the kids - there was alot confusion about whether I did or not for Alberta as the law about WP holders kids had changed within the last 2 years.

I ended up so confused about the whole situation so as I knew where I was going to be living I rang the local School Board as Judy has reccommended that you did and spoke to one of the ladies there. I explained to her about the WP which Phil held and when it was due to expire and she confirmed that I didnt.

However, someone on this site has had their WP held up by London until they pay for a study permit for their 5 year old and are going to the same province as me - explain that !!!!

Maybe as I applied at POE they are more used to dealing with this London hasnt received the memo saying that the rules have changed maybe it is held up in the Postal Strike - who knows but one hand of this immigration business certainly doesnt know what the other hand is doing

We were told by our Immigration Lawyer that Study Permits are for mature students going to study in Canada (like Mrs Miggins) or for unaccompanied minors who are being educated in Canada ie parents in a different country.

Gaynor
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Edited to include :

Here is a link to CIC scroll down to minor child its states

"A study permit is not required for primary or secondary level courses if you are a minor child in Canada, except if you are accompanying your parents who are visitors in Canada "

As you are going on a WP you are not on a visitor visa so therefore this states that you shouldnt need one.

Then below this is states what information you need to submit with your application and from what it says those arent the sort of details you would submit for a child attending school - so confused again by this.

HTH

Gaynor
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rabrol

There are definitely different opinions from officials. At the POE (Pearson) we were told our son needed a Study Permit. So we bought one. When it came time for our daughter to start school, I called Immigration and they said as long as she is on the Work Permit as accompanying dependent she doesn't need one.

The school didn't care if she had her own permit or not - as long as she was listed on some official paper. So we didn't get her one, and there were no problems.

Doesn't matter for us anymore as we are now PR, but that is how it unfolded for us.

Gaynor, you must be getting more and more excited with every passing moment

Rob

burton bunch

Hiya Rob

You know I am not excited at all - think I am more relieved than anything else - it has been a long very long 6 months on my own and I would not do it again. Already told Phil that if he wants to be laid to rest anywhere other than Canada he will be doing it himself

Gaynor
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