Language Schools

The following are some language schools in Montreal who offer French courses:

• Academie Linguistique Internationale - ALI
• Centre Linguista Montréal
• GEOS Language Academy
• International Language Schools of Canada
• LSC Language Studies Canada
• McGill University, Centre for Continuing Studies English & French Language Programs
• YMCA du Grand Montréal, École internationale de langues
• Montreal Language School Canada: French English Language School
• Vanier College
• Université de Montréal - Prospective students
• UQAM Language School

For visitors

A visitor permit does not permit you to work in Canada (that is, earn money for work--volunteer work is permitted), but it does permit you to study in Canada for the duration of your permit. (This is different from the US visitor's visa, which does not permit visitors to study.) However, it is extremely difficult to switch from a visitor permit to a study permit (a regular student visa status) unless you first leave Canada. If your intention is to study while you are visiting and seeing the situation in Montreal, then please see the section below for students for more details. However, if that is not your original intention, Canada's immigration law does permit a visitor to take some classes while they are visiting, so it is OK and available as an afterthought.

For foreign students

• If you are not a Canadian citizen, or a landed immigrant, or a person authorized to apply for landed immigrant, you must apply for a student permit and CAQ (Québec Acceptance Certificate) in order to study in Montreal, Quebec
• Before applying for a student permit and CAQ , you must apply to a school and obtain a letter of acceptance from a school, college, university or other educational institution in Quebec
• To find out more how to apply for a student permit and CAQ, see the following link: Foreign students

N.B. Foreign students at any Quebec university (bachelor's, master's, PhD only) pay Quebec resident rates only for French university courses. This also means that if one’s major is French or something related, they do not get any discount for non-French courses that they might be required to take (e.g. math). You may click here for further details.

Landed immigrants and Canadian citizens

• One who has a permanent resident status (application processed abroad or on-site in Canada), a person authorized to apply for permanent residence on-site in Canada, a holder of a temporary stay permit issued with a view to the eventual granting of permanent residence or a naturalized Canadian citizen, are eligible to take free French courses with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (Immigration Quebec) or one of its partners.
• For more information on eligibility to apply for French courses offered by Immigration Quebec please see the following link: Admission
• Please refer to the following link for more information in applying for French classes offered by Immigration Quebec: Learning French in Québec

This page contains content modified from official Quebec Government sources.