Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations (SOR/95-329)

PART IIStudent Loans Made to Part-Time Students

Obtaining an Initial Student Loan

• 12 (1) Subject to section 15, a qualifying student to whom a certificate of eligibility as a part-time student has been issued and who has no outstanding student loan or guaranteed student loan made to them as a part-time student is entitled to obtain a student loan if

  • (a) they have entered into a direct student loan agreement with the Minister;

  • (b) an officer of the designated educational institution or the appropriate authority, as the case may be, has submitted a confirmation of enrolment to the Minister and to the branch of any lender to which the student is indebted under a full-time risk-shared loan agreement or guaranteed student loan agreement; and

  • (c) the appropriate authority has submitted a certificate of eligibility to the Minister and to the branch of any lender to which the student is indebted under a full-time risk-shared loan agreement or guaranteed student loan agreement.

• (2) When the requirements set out in subsection (1) have been met, a qualifying student becomes a part-time student.

Obtaining a Further Student Loan

• 12.1 (1) Subject to section 15, a qualifying student to whom a certificate of eligibility as a part-time student has been issued and who has an outstanding student loan or guaranteed student loan made to them as a part-time student is entitled to obtain a student loan if

  • (a) they have entered into a direct student loan agreement with the Minister;

  • (b) an officer of the designated educational institution or the appropriate authority, as the case may be, has submitted a confirmation of enrolment to the Minister and to the branch of any lender to which the student is indebted under a risk-shared loan agreement or guaranteed student loan agreement;

  • (c) the appropriate authority has submitted a certificate of eligibility to the Minister and to the branch of any lender to which the student is indebted under a risk-shared loan agreement or guaranteed student loan agreement; and

  • (d) the student has, on request, paid the Minister or any lender to which the student is indebted any interest payable on any outstanding loan, to the day before the first day of the confirmed period.

• (2) When the requirements set out in subsection (1) have been met, the qualifying student

  • (a) again becomes a part-time student on the day on which those requirements are met, if more than six months have elapsed between the last day of the previous confirmed period and the first day of the current confirmed period; and

  • (b) continues to be a part-time student on and after the day following the last day of the previous confirmed period, where not more than six months have elapsed between the last day of that period and the first day of the current confirmed period.

• (3) If a student is indebted to the Minister under a direct student loan agreement, a further direct loan made to that student in accordance with this section must be a revision to, and form a part of, that agreement.

Continuation and Reinstatement

• 12.2 (1) Subject to sections 12.1 and 15, a borrower continues to be or again becomes a part-time student if

  • (a) they have entered into a direct student loan agreement with the Minister;

  • (b) an officer of the designated educational institution or the appropriate authority, as the case may be, has submitted a confirmation of enrolment to the Minister and to the branch of any lender to which they are indebted under a risk shared loan agreement or guaranteed student loan agreement;

  • (c) the appropriate authority has submitted a certificate of eligibility to the Minister and to the branch of any lender to which the borrower is indebted under a risk-shared loan agreement or guaranteed student loan agreement; and

  • (d) the borrower has, on request, paid to the Minister or any lender, as the case may be, any interest payable on any outstanding loan, to the day before the first day of the confirmed period.

• (2) When the requirements set out in subsection (1) have been met, the borrower

  • (a) again becomes a part-time student on the day on which those requirements have been met, if more than six months have elapsed between the last day of the previous confirmed period and the first day of the current confirmed period; and

  • (b) continues to be a part-time student on and after the day following the last day of the previous confirmed period, where not more than six months have elapsed between the last day of that period and the first day of the current confirmed period.

Medical Leave and Parental Leave

• 12.21 (1) The Minister may, on application, grant a borrower who ceases to be a part-time student on or after October 1, 2020 a period of postponement of repayment by reason of medical leave or parental leave, if the borrower submits the application in the form and manner specified by the Minister in the six months following the end of the borrower’s most recent period of studies, but no later than 12 months after

  • (a) in the case of a medical leave, the date specified by the medical professional; or

  • (b) in the case of a parental leave, the date of the birth or adoption of a child or the date the borrower becomes the guardian or tutor of a child.

• (2) If the Minister grants the borrower’s application, the borrower is deemed to continue to be a part-time student despite section 12.3 for a six-month period beginning on the first day of the month after the month in which they would otherwise have ceased to be a part-time student.

• (3) If the borrower’s medical leave or parental leave must be extended or the borrower is entitled to a new medical leave or a new parental leave, the borrower may, no earlier than 30 days before the end of the six-month period referred to in subsection (2) and no later than 30 days after that period, submit a request to the Minister to extend the length of the period of postponement of repayment to 12 months.

• (4) If the borrower’s medical leave or parental leave must be further extended or the borrower is entitled to a new medical leave or a new parental leave, the borrower may, no earlier than 30 days before the end of the 12-month period referred to in subsection (3) and no later than 30 days after that period, submit a request to the Minister to extend the length of the period of postponement of repayment to 18 months.

• (5) A borrower who has been granted a period of postponement of repayment cannot submit a new application for postponement of repayment by reason of a new medical leave or a new parental leave for 30 days after the first day of the current confirmed period.

Ceasing to be a Part-time Student

12.3 Subject to paragraphs 12.1(2)(b) and 12.2(2)(b) and subsection 12.21(2), a borrower ceases to be a part-time student on the earliest of

• (a) the last day of the last confirmed period,

• (b) the last day of the month in which the borrower no longer meets the applicable minimum percentage referred to in the definition part-time student in subsection 2(1), and

• (c) the applicable day on which the period during which no amount on account of principal or interest is required to be paid by the borrower is terminated in accordance with section 15.

Application of Section 11 of the Act

12.4 Section 11 of the Act applies in respect of risk-shared loans made to part-time students.

Student Loan Limit

12.5 The maximum amount, for any province, for the purposes of subsection 12(6) of the Act is $10,000 less the aggregate principal amount of any outstanding student loans or guaranteed student loans made to that student as a part-time student.

Payment of Principal and Interest

12.6 The principal amount of a student loan made to the borrower as a part-time student, and any interest, commence to be payable by the borrower on the last day of the seventh month after the day on which the borrower most recently ceased to be a full-time student under section 8 or a part-time student under section 12.3, as the case may be.

PART IIIAssignments and Transfers

Assignment of Agreements

• 13 (1) In this section and section 14,

  assignee lender

  assignee lender means a lender to which a borrower’s outstanding risk-shared loan agreements are assigned in accordance with this section; (prêteur cessionnaire)

  assignor lender

  assignor lender means a lender that assigns a borrower’s outstanding risk-shared loan agreements in accordance with this section. (prêteur cédant)

• (2) Subject to section 14, a borrower may request the assignment of all of that borrower’s outstanding risk-shared loan agreements if the following conditions are met:

  • (a) the borrower completes the prescribed form to request an assignment of risk-shared loan agreements,

  • (b) the borrower submits the completed form to the assignor lender, and

  • (c) the assignee lender accepts the agreements to be assigned.

• (3) Where subsection (2) is complied with, the assignor lender shall sign the assignment agreement and forthwith send to the assignee lender the borrower’s risk-shared loan agreements and all other documentation in respect of those agreements.

• (4) Subject to subsection 14(3), on receipt of the agreements and other documentation referred to in subsection (3) and on verification that subsection 14(1) has been complied with, the assignee lender shall pay to the assignor lender an amount equal to the aggregate of the outstanding balance of the principal of the risk-shared loans as of the day referred to in subsection (5) and any unpaid interest accrued on those loans to that day, less five per cent of the outstanding principal amount of any risk-shared loans made to the borrower for which a risk premium was paid to a lender pursuant to subparagraph 5(a)(v) of the Act.

• (5) An assignment made in accordance with this section shall take effect on the day before the day of the payment referred to in subsection (4).

• 14 (1) No assignment of risk-shared loan agreements shall be made unless the borrower has

  • (a) complied with subparagraphs 6(1)(d)(i) and (e)(i) or 7(1)(d)(i) and (e)(i) or 12.1(1)(d)(i) or 12.2(1)(d)(i), where applicable to the borrower, or

  • (b) paid to the assignor lender all instalments required from the borrower in accordance with that borrower’s risk-shared loan agreements to the date of the request to assign, where none of the provisions referred to in paragraph (a) apply to the borrower.

• (2) A risk-shared loan agreement in respect of which a judgment has been obtained shall not be assigned.

• (3) An assignee lender may require that the borrower enter into new agreements with the lender in the form approved by the Minister for that lender and, where such a requirement is imposed, the assignment shall take effect on the day those agreements are entered into.

Transfer of Agreements

• 14.1 (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this section.

  transferee branch

  transferee branch means a branch of the lender to which a borrower’s outstanding risk-shared loan agreements are transferred in accordance with this section; (destinataire du transfert)

  transferor branch

  transferor branch means a branch of the lender that transfers a borrower’s outstanding risk-shared loan agreements in accordance with this section. (auteur du transfert)

• (2) Subject to subsection (5) a borrower may request the transfer of all of the borrower’s outstanding risk-shared loan agreements if the following conditions are met:

  • (a) the borrower completes the prescribed form to request a transfer of risk-shared loan agreements,

  • (b) the borrower submits the completed form to the transferor branch, and

  • (c) the transferee branch accepts the agreements to be transferred.

• (3) Where subsection (2) is complied with and subject to subsection (5), the transferor branch shall forthwith send to the transferee branch the borrower’s risk-shared loan agreements and all other documentation in respect of those agreements.

• (4) The lender shall send to the borrower notice of completion of the transfer.

• (5) No transfer of risk-shared loan agreements shall be made unless the borrower has

  • (a) complied with subparagraphs 6(1)(d)(i) and (e)(i) or 7(1)(d)(i) and (e)(i) or 12.1(1)(d)(i) or 12.2(1)(d)(i), where applicable to the borrower, or

  • (b) paid to the transferor branch all instalments required from the borrower in accordance with that borrower’s risk-shared loan agreements to the date of the request to transfer, where none of the provisions referred to in paragraph (a) apply to the borrower.

14.2 A branch of a lender shall not, on its own initiative, transfer a borrower’s risk-shared loan agreements unless written notice of the transfer has been provided to the borrower.

PART IVRestrictions on Financial Assistance

Denial and Termination

• 14.3 (1) A certificate of eligibility is to be denied to a qualifying student

  • (a) who

    • (i) is 22 years of age or more when applying for the first time for financial assistance,

    • (ii) in the 36 months before making the application, has had at least three instances when an instalment on three or more loans or other debts each of which is higher than $1,000 was more than 90 days overdue, and

    • (iii) had control over the circumstances that led to the overdue instalments; or

  • (b) who is qualified for enrolment or is enrolled as a part-time student and who has a family income that is more than the applicable annual income threshold for their family size in accordance with Table 1 of Schedule 4.

• (2) Paragraph (1)(a) does not apply in respect of the loan year commencing on August 1, 2023.

• 15 (1) For the purposes of this section, applicable day means

  • (a) if the Minister is informed that the borrower has failed to consolidate risk-shared loans or guaranteed student loans made to them as a full-time student within six months after the month in which they ceased to be a full-time student and they do not fulfil the requirements of subsection 5(1) or 7(1) before a judgment is obtained against them and such that the beginning of the last confirmed period is on or before the last day of that six-month period, the day following the last day of that confirmed period;

  • (b) if the Minister is informed that the borrower has failed to make a required payment within the two-month period after the payment was required under their loan agreement, guaranteed student loan agreement, these Regulations or the Canada Student Loans Regulations and they do not fulfil the requirements of subsection 5(1), 7(1), 12.1(1) or 12.2(1), as the case may be, within that period, the day following the last day of that period;

  • (c) where the borrower makes an assignment under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act that is filed and not cancelled, is deemed under that Act to have made an assignment, or is the subject of a receiving order, the earlier of the day on which a receiving order is made or the assignment is filed with the official receiver;

  • (d) where the borrower makes a proposal under Division I of Part III the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act that is approved by a court under that Act, the day on which that proposal is approved;

  • (e) where the borrower makes a consumer proposal under Division II of Part III of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act that is approved or deemed approved by a court under that Act, the date on which the consumer proposal is approved or deemed approved;

  • (f) where the borrower applies for a consolidation order under Part X of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act that includes a student loan or guaranteed student loan, the date on which that order is issued;

  • (g) where the borrower seeks relief under a provincial law relating to the orderly payment of debts that includes a student loan or guaranteed student loan, the day on which the document seeking relief is filed;

  • (h) where the borrower is, by reason of the borrower’s conduct in obtaining or repaying a student loan or guaranteed student loan, found guilty of an offence under any Act of Parliament, the day of the finding of guilt;

  • (i) if the borrower fails to comply with subsection 19.1(1) or 20.1(1), section 20.3 or subsection 24(3), the 30th day after the end of the applicable repayment assistance period or after the day of the notice, as the case may be;

  • (j) the last day of the confirmed period during which the borrower has been a full-time student for

    • (i) in the case of a full-time student with either a permanent disability or a persistent or prolonged disability or in the case of a full-time student to whom a guaranteed student loan has been made as a full-time student, whether or not that loan is outstanding, 520 weeks,

    • (ii) in the case of a student enrolled in a doctoral program of studies, 400 weeks, or

    • (iii) in any other case, 340 weeks;

  • (k) if the borrower has been granted repayment assistance under subparagraph 20(1)(b)(ii), the day on which the repayment assistance begins; or

  • (l) the day on which, as the case may be, the obligations referred to in section 11 of the Act or the rights referred to in section 11.1 of the Act or section 13 of the Canada Student Loans Act, are terminated.

• (1.1) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(j), the number of weeks is the aggregate of the number of weeks corresponding to the borrower’s confirmed periods as a full-time student, or the equivalent, under the Act and the Canada Student Loans Act, less the number of weeks determined by the Minister for which the designated educational institution has provided that the borrower, despite subsections 7.1(3) and 8(2), was no longer a full-time student.

• (2) Subject to subsections (5), (6) and (9),

  • (a) if an event referred to in any of paragraphs (1)(a) to (l) occurs the Minister shall, effective on the applicable day referred to in that paragraph,

    • (i) deny a borrower a new certificate of eligibility for any student loan, and

    • (ii) if a certificate of eligibility has been issued to a borrower, deny the borrower a new student loan; and

  • (b) if an event referred to in any of paragraphs (1)(a) to (j) occurs, the Minister shall terminate, effective on the applicable day referred to in that paragraph,

    • (i) in respect of all outstanding student loans made to the borrower as a full-time student, an interest-free period, and

    • (ii) in respect of an outstanding student loan made to the borrower as a part-time student, the period during which no amount on account of principal or interest is required to be paid by the borrower.

• (3) If an event referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) occurs, the Minister shall refuse to grant to the borrower

  • (a) any repayment assistance under section 19 or 20 if the Minister pays a claim for loss in respect of the borrower’s guaranteed student loan; and

  • (b) the loan forgiveness referred to in subsection 9.2(1) of the Act.

• (4) If an event referred to in paragraph (1)(h) or (i) occurs, the Minister shall terminate any repayment assistance granted under section 19 or 20 and refuse to grant to the borrower further repayment assistance or the loan forgiveness referred to in subsection 9.2(1) of the Act.

• (5) If an event referred to in paragraph (1)(b) occurs in respect of either a student loan or a guaranteed student loan made to a borrower as a part-time student, an event referred to in any of paragraphs (1)(h) to (k) has not occurred subsequent to the event referred to in paragraph (1)(b) and a judgment has not been obtained against the borrower in respect of an outstanding student loan or guaranteed student loan,

  • (a) the borrower shall be entitled to a new student loan, if a certificate of eligibility has been issued to the borrower as a full-time student in respect of that loan before the day referred to in paragraph (1)(b); and

  • (b) the measure referred to in paragraph (2)(b) shall take effect on the last day of the period of studies for which the certificate of eligibility was issued.

• (6) Where an event referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) occurs in respect of a student loan made to a borrower as a full-time student and, subsequent to that event, the borrower erroneously receives a certificate of eligibility and at least one disbursement authorized by that certificate of eligibility,

  • (a) the borrower shall be entitled to a new student loan authorized by that certificate of eligibility; and

  • (b) the measure referred to in paragraph (2)(b) shall take effect at the end of the period of studies for which the certificate of eligibility was issued.

• (7) Subsection (2) applies to a borrower who, on the day on which the Act comes into force, is denied a new guaranteed student loan or further interest-free status on a guaranteed student loan in accordance with subsection 9(3) of the Canada Student Loans Regulations.

• (8) If an event referred to in any of paragraphs (1)(c) to (g) occurs in respect of either a student loan or a guaranteed student loan made to a borrower as a full-time student, before the last day of the last confirmed period of the program of studies in which the borrower is enrolled at the time the event occurs, the borrower is entitled, if otherwise eligible, to a new student loan or an interest-free period for that program of studies.

• (9) If the borrower receives a new student loan or an interest- free period to which the borrower is entitled under subsection (8), the measures referred to in subsection (2) take effect on the earliest of

  • (a) the last day of the last confirmed period of the program of studies in which the borrower was enrolled at the time the event occurred,

  • (b) the day that is three years after the occurrence of the event or, if that day occurs during a confirmed period, the last day of that period, and

  • (c) the last day of the month in which the borrower no longer meets the applicable minimum percentage referred to in the definition full-time student in subsection 2(1).

• (10) Student loans and guaranteed student loans shall be denied and the interest-free period shall be terminated if

  • (a) the borrower is subject to an event under paragraph 6(2)(a) or (h) of the Apprentice Loans Regulations;

  • (b) the borrower is subject to a bankruptcy-related event referred to in any of paragraphs 6(2)(b) to (f) of the Apprentice Loans Regulations;

  • (c) the borrower has been found guilty of an offence under the Apprentice Loans Act; or

  • (d) the Minister has taken a measure under subsection 20(1) of the Apprentice Loans Act.