Custodianship in Ontario

Custodianship in Ontario

Ontario is one of the most famous provinces in Canada due to Niagara Falls, more than 250,000 lakes, and high-quality education. Indeed, every year about 50,000 international students decide to study in Ontario, and one-third of them are less than 18 years old. Hence, parents should know that in Ontario, students under 18 years are called minors. If parents do not accompany minors during the study, they must arrange a custodianship in Ontario for international students. But before discussing the peculiarities of custodianship, it is worth discovering the province and its educational institutions.

Overview of Ontario & Custodianship

Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the most populous and the second-biggest province in the country. Its total area is 1,076,395 km2, and its total population is 14,223,942 residents. Ontario is home to the country’s capital city, Ottawa, and the most populous city, Toronto, which is also the capital of the province.

Most of the population lives in Southern Ontario since Northern Ontario has cold winters and heavy forestation. Most Ontarians are of English and other European descent, such as Irish, Italian, and Scottish. However, a recent census demonstrates growing communities of East Asians, South Asians, Caribbeans, Latin Americans, and Africans. Apart from English and French, the other most spoken languages are Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, Punjabi, Cantonese, Arabic, Italian, and Urdu.

Ontario borders Manitoba, Quebec, and the US states of Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Almost all of the province’s 2,700 km border with the US follows inland waterways, including Lake of the Woods, the Great Lakes, and the Saint Lawrence River. The actual land border of about 1 km is made up of portages, such as the Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border.

Ontario is the leading manufacturing province in the country due to the abundance of natural resources, transportation links to North America, and ocean access via the inland Great Lakes. Important products are iron, steel, motor vehicles, machinery, electrical appliances, and chemicals. The forest products industry, such as pulp and paper, is also vital to the economy of Ontario. Moreover, tourism contributes to the economy of Ontario, owing to the numerous water recreation and wilderness. The best thing is that minor international students will have the opportunity to discover all tourist attractions during custodianship in Ontario.

Secondary and Post-Secondary Schools in Ontario

Ontario Ministry of Education divides compulsory education into two categories: elementary, from Grade 1 to Grade 8 and secondary, from Grade 9 to Grade 12. Custodianship in Ontario is required for minor international students who attend secondary schools since, as a rule, they are not accepted to elementary schools. Moreover, the school administration can ask to arrange custodianship in Ontario if minor international students travel with their parents. Still, each school has its rules and guidance for minor international students.

In Ontario, there are 76 public school boards: 34 English secular, four French secular, 29 English Roman Catholics, eight French Catholic, and one Protestant separate school board.

The best public schools with English as a medium of instruction are Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute, Darcel Ave. Sr. Public School, Bayview Secondary School, Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School and Regional Arts Centre, and Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School.

International students can also consider public schools with French as a medium of instruction, such as École secondaire publique Louis-Riel, École secondaire Gabriel-Dumont, École secondaire catholique Thériault, École secondaire catholique Béatrice-Desloges, and École secondaire catholique Monseigneur-de-Charbonnel.

Additionally, Ontario has numerous top-ranked private schools, such as Lakefield College School, Albert College, Pickering College, York School, and Crestwood Preparatory College.

Minor international students under 18 years old who apply to post-secondary educational institutions are not required to arrange custodianship in Ontario. Still, the decision on the necessity of custodianship is at the discretion of the immigration officer. Ontario hosts 22 public universities, 24 public colleges, 17 privately funded religious universities, and nearly 500 private career colleges.

The most renowned public post-secondary schools are the University of Toronto, York University, Carleton University, University of Waterloo, and the University of Windsor. International students can also consider high-quality colleges, including Humber College, George Brown College, Fanshawe College, Centennial College, and Lambton College.

Overview of Custodianship in Ontario

Before confirming admission to the school, parents must learn more about custodianship in Ontario. Parents need to find a custodian who agrees to have custody of the minor international students and represent the minor’s interests during their study in Canada. It must be a weighted decision of both parties. Moreover, the person who wants to become a custodian needs to fulfill five requirements.

1. It is worth mentioning, they must be citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
2. Prospective custodians need to be over 21 years old.
3. They should speak English, French, or both languages.
4. Prospective custodians ought to live within a reasonable distance of the school and the place of the student’s residence.
5. They must be available to minors 24 hours, seven days a week.

Parents of minor international students who need help with custodianship in Ontario have two options. The first option is to contact their relatives, close friends, and business associates who permanently live in Canada. Still, they must meet the requirements of custodianship in Ontario. The second option is to hire a local provider of custodianship services to help find a custodian for their children. However, parents who consider the second option ought to agree on this issue with the school administration.

Responsibilities of Custodians and Minor International Students

Under the custodianship in Ontario, custodians have several responsibilities.

1. They must help minors in scheduling the school’s assessments and admission interviews.
2. Custodians ought to sign the school-related documents on behalf of the minors’ parents.
3. They should be mediators between the students, parents, host families, and schools.
4. Custodians need to attend parents’ evenings and know about the achievements of the minor students.
5. They must help international students with study permit renewals.
6. Custodians ought to submit copies of renewed documents to the school and inform the school about all contact information updates.
7. They should check whether minor international students are properly treated by the school community.
8. Custodians need to help minors with applications to post-secondary schools.
9. They must make sure students have valid health insurance.
10. Custodians ought to help minor international students open a bank account and purchase sim cards.

Minors also have several responsibilities under the custodianship in Ontario.

1. They should have a valid study permit and health insurance while studying in Canada.
2. International students ought to come to Canada two weeks in advance to finish school registration.
3. They must attend all their classes and have satisfactory academic progress.
4. Minor students need to meet the behavior expectations of the school and community.
5. They should inform the custodian and the school about any problems or challenges during their study in Canada.

Declaration of Custodianship in Ontario

Once parents find the custodian for the minor student, they ought to sign a Declaration of Custodianship in Ontario. The appointed custodian fills out and notarizes the first page of the document in Canada, while parents complete and notarize the second page in their home country. Then, the minor international student submits the completed document with the study permit application. Interestingly, Canadian educational institutions admit minors without the appointed custodian, but Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada does not issue study permits without the Declaration of Custodianship in Ontario.

Types of the Declaration of Custodianship in Ontario

There are two types of Declaration of Custodianship in Ontario, which depend on the age of the international students. Mandatory custodianship is applied to minors who are less than 17 years old. It means that they must have an appointed custodian during their study in Canada. Minor international students obtain a study permit when the officer in charge concludes that the arranged custodianship in Ontario acts in the interests of the student.

In its turn, the custodianship in Ontario for international students 17 to 18 years old is called discretionary since it is determined on a case-by-case basis. The decision is made after the officer in charge gets additional documents and interviews international students and their parents.

 

In case, if you need help with Custodianship and Homestay in Ontario or other provinces and cities, please fill in application below or contact us directly.