International students will need an additional $10,000 in their bank account to study in Quebec

The Quebec government is requiring international students to have nearly $10,000 more in the bank in order to study in the province.

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, international students will require at least $24,617 in their bank accounts for one single person, be it a minor or an adult over 18. That’s up from $15,508 for a single student over 18, and $7,756 for a student aged 18 and under.

“The regulatory amendments were developed to better reflect the rapidly changing cost of living, to avoid situations that would leave students without the means to continue their stay, and in general, to better prepare students for the realities of Quebec,” Émilie Vézina, a spokesperson for Quebec’s Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration, wrote in a statement Tuesday.

It’s the latest Legault government restriction on the province’s higher education system, after imposing tuition hikes for out-of-province and international students, French-language proficiency requirements for non-Quebec undergraduates, and caps on international student admissions. Admission rates have plummeted at Quebec universities in light of the strict regulations, pushing institutions to financial precarity, which has forced layoffs and budget cuts.

Vézina adds the government’s assessment of basic needs is determined by the “mesure du panier de consommation” or market basket measure in English, calculated by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.

She said it’s one of the “most widely used and recommended measures by the government of Quebec” to determine the financial capacity for international students.

The goal, she said, is “to prevent as much as possible from welcoming foreign students who could find themselves in a very vulnerable situation.”

The amounts are determined by calculating the goods and services considered necessary for a family to meet its basic needs, which she says are revised annually by the government.

The Gazette contacted McGill University, Concordia University, and the student unions at both institutions regarding the new regulation. McGill declined to comment, while the others did not respond by the publication deadline.

lschertzer@postmedia.com

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