Financial Assistance

International students are required to provide proof of financial support in order to satisfy study permit requirements. Therefore international students are expected to have sufficient financial resources in place while attending TMU. The Emergency Bursary for International Students is intended to provide one-time only, non-repayable financial assistance for students facing unforeseen emergencies. It is intended to assist international students who encounter sudden financial challenges that jeopardize their ability to cover personal and educational expenses during their academic pursuits. Due to limited funds, we are unable to guarantee that all requests will be approved nor that the maximum requested amount will be approved.  

Examples of Eligible Emergency Situations:

• Sudden natural disasters that lead to financial strain on an international student
• International students facing risk of insecure housing or food insecurity
• Financial strain caused by fire, theft, or accident
• Other extreme circumstances not foreseen by the student such as sudden family breakdown because of mental, physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse
• Falling victim to a scam or phishing scheme

Examples of Situations Not Covered:

• Financial shortfalls due to poor budgeting or lack of good financial management
• Routine medical expenses not covered by health insurance 
• International student paying domestic fees or on an open work permit
• Large outstanding tuition balances with no clear payment plan
• Require assistance with the payment of tuition or arrears from a prior academic session
• Recently enrolled new international students who are seeking general financial aid to support their studies.
• Have completed their degree requirements
• Repayment of personal loans and credit card repayments 
• Financial support for family members of international students such as their medical bills
• Financial support for pet care or veterinary bills
• Ongoing or anticipated future hardship; international student must presently be in an emergency situation at the time of application
• Costs related to being a post-secondary student including commuting

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, students must:

• Provide appropriate documentation to substantiate the emergency situation that has occurred. (E.g., police reports, email communication, banking documents, etc.)
• Demonstrate that they have exhausted all other available financial resources including internal and external funding opportunities. (E.g., savings, employment earnings, personal finances, awards, scholarships, loans, etc.)
• Have immediate and unexpected expenses leading to financial hardship, not in anticipation of experiencing financial hardships. 
• Have eliminated unnecessary expenses from their spending plan.
• Be international students who are not on an open work permit or paying domestic fees.
• Be officially registered in a full-time program of study at Toronto Metropolitan University.
• Have clear academic standing with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 1.67 or higher on MyServiceHub.

How to Apply

1. Create an AwardSpring (external link)  profile.

2. Complete the Emergency Bursary application, which involves:

• Filling out a detailed budget form 
• Describing in detail (maximum 500 words) the emergency financial situation you are currently experiencing and your financial plan if emergency financial assistance cannot be approved
• Uploading supporting documents (E.g., police reports, email communication, banking documents, etc.)
• Signing a declaration

Note: If an application is incomplete, the application will not be considered. 

Application Decisions

• All complete bursary applications will be assessed by the International Student Support team.
• Applicants will be informed of the decision regarding their emergency bursary application within 2-3 week
• If approved, funds will be deposited to the student account on MyServiceHub.

Note: funding will not be approved on a contingent basis (i.e., situations where financial need is dependent/resting on anticipated future emergencies and past emergencies), funding will ONLY be granted for a current emergency.

Receiving the Bursary

• All bursary applications will be reviewed and receive a decision within 2-3 weeks of submission.
• It is important to note that funding will not be approved on a contingent basis (i.e. situations where financial need is dependent/resting on anticipated future emergencies and past emergencies), funding will ONLY be granted for a current emergency.
• Upon receiving approval, students will be issued a cheque or a deposit to their student account on MyServiceHub.

Use of Funds

When you apply to the ISS emergency bursary, you attest that you will use the funds for their intended purpose, based on the reason you were awarded. 

Students cannot spend the awarded funds on the following: Alcohol, drugs or cannabis products, apparel (i.e. clothing or accessories), pay-off loans (e.g. bank loans, educational loans, mortgages, credit card debt, etc.), immigration applications, as a gift and/or loan to others, hotels, conference fees or field trips, lawyer fees, gambling, and uninsured (non-emergency) medical expenses (due to student’s procedural error).

Tax Considerations

Bursaries are considered part of a student's annual taxable income. The University will issue a T4A slip to all bursary recipients to report on their Income Tax return.