Ontario Residency Requirements for OSAP

Note: These are the Ontario residency requirements for OSAP. If you are applying for the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant (OLSG), then you will want to review the OLSG Ontario Residency Requirements.

Full-Time Students

• have always lived in Ontario or 
• Ontario is the last province you have lived in for 12 months in a row without being a full-time post-secondary student or
• you live in Ontario now AND have lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row

If you are married/common-law, you can be considered an Ontario resident for OSAP if:

• your spouse has always lived in Ontario or
• your spouse has lived in Ontario for the last 12 months in a row without being a full-time post-secondary student or
• All of these statements are true:
  • you now reside in Ontario
  • you’ve lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row
  • your spouse has lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row

If you qualify as a dependent student, you’re considered an Ontario resident for OSAP if:

• Ontario is the last province in which your parent(s) have lived in for at least 12 months in a row or
• All of these statements are true:
  • you now reside in Ontario
  • you’ve lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row
  • your parent(s) have lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row

Part-Time Students

• have always lived in Ontario or 
• Ontario is the last province you have lived in for 12 months in a row without being a full-time post-secondary student or
• you live in Ontario now AND have lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row

Permanent Resident

A permanent resident is someone who has been given permanent resident status by immigrating to Canada, but is not a Canadian citizen. Permanent residents are citizens of other countries. A person in Canada temporarily, like a student or foreign worker, is not a permanent resident. Source: “Understand permanent resident status”, from Government of Canada.

Protected Person

Protected persons can include convention refugees, humanitarian-protected persons abroad, and persons in need of protection. A protected person is defined in subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada). Source: OSAP definitions, from ontario.ca