A person who has reason to fear persecution in his or her country of origin due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion can be designated as a protected person by the Immigration and Refugee Board and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Since 2003, protected persons-including convention refugees-have been eligible to receive Canada Student Loans and Grants.

What’s available?

As a protected person, you may apply for loans and grants.

Your province or territory of permanent residence also offers financial assistance programs. For information about provincial and territorial student loans and grants, visit the student financial assistance Web site of your province of permanent residence.

Government assistance also includes measures to help you repay your student loans when you’re having difficulty making your payments.

Before you apply

If you are a protected person and wish to apply for a loan, here is what you need to do:

1. Get an application from your provincial or territorial student financial assistance office or from the school you plan to attend.
2. Make sure that all your required documents are up-to-date. They also have to be valid for your entire period of study. Applications without the proper documents cannot be processed
3. Be sure that the school you plan to attend is a designated educational institution. To confirm this, contact the school or your provincial or territorial student financial assistance office, or browse through the list of designated educational institutions.
4. Find out how government student loans and grants work and what your responsibilities and commitments are before filling out an application form.

Required documents

You will need up-to-date copies of:

1. Your Protected Persons Status Document (PPSD). It must be valid for the entire period of study. For example, if your school year ends in April 2010, your PPSD must be valid until at least the end of April 2010. You can apply online for a PPSD.
2. Your temporary Social Insurance Number (SIN) card showing a number that begins with "9". It must be valid for the entire period of study. If you don’t have a temporary SIN card, or if you have a SIN card that is going to expire during your period of study, call 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232) to find out how to obtain a card, or visit a Service Canada Centre near you.

How do I apply?

When you have received your required papers, send copies of them, along with a copy of your loan application, to your provincial or territorial student financial assistance office as soon as possible. Check for deadline information for your area. Your province or territory of permanent residence will determine if you are eligible for financial assistance and how much money you will receive.