Overview: What is loan remission?
This program is designed to help you reduce your B.C. student loan debt to a more manageable level after graduation.
If you qualify, the provincial government will pay down your outstanding B.C. student loans according to the loan remission formula below. You remain responsible for repaying all other student loan debts, including Canada student loans and any loans you may have received from other provinces.
Loan remission encourages personal responsibility and helps students complete their study program in the shortest time possible, thus reducing the amount they need to borrow for their education. Students are encouraged to apply for loan remission after each credential earned.
Loan remission formula
Loan remission is calculated by totalling your eligible student loans (provincial and federal), then subtracting the appropriate debt level allowed under the program as well as loans that do not meet the timely completion and personal responsibility criteria, and then comparing the result with your outstanding B.C. student loan balance.
Only your B.C. student loans will be paid down by the B.C. loan remission program.
What type of loans are eligible?
Loan remission is available only for guaranteed and risk-sharing B.C. student loans. The maximum amount of remission you may receive is the combined total of your guaranteed and risk-sharing B.C. student loans.
If you also have a direct lend B.C. student loan, it may be included when calculating your total debt.
Canada student loans and student loans from other provinces are not eligible for the B.C. loan remission program, though they are also included when calculating your debt.
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Borrowers who only have direct lend B.C. student loans are not eligible for loan remission. |
Eligibility criteria
1. Post-secondary school graduation
You may apply for the B.C. loan remission program if:
- You graduated from a public post-secondary school in British Columbia.
- You graduated from an accredited private school in B.C. on or after Aug 1, 2000.
- You graduated from a post-secondary school outside British Columbia, and received StudentAid BC funding that was pre-approved for loan remission purposes.
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If your StudentAid BC file is under audit, your application will be not be processed until the audit is complete. |
2. Minimum debt level
To qualify for loan remission, the combined total of all your student loans must be above the minimum debt levels below. This debt includes your B.C. student loans, Canada student loans and any loans you may have received from other provinces.
For students completing their studies between Aug. 1, 2006, and July 31, 2007, to be eligible for the B.C. loan remission program, you must have at least this much in total student loan debt:
- $20,000 after earning a first certificate, diploma, or degree.
- $25,000 after earning a second certificate, diploma or degree or first professional degree (e.g. law, medicine).
- $30,000 after earning a third certificate, diploma or degree or second professional degree.
- $45,000 after earning a fourth certificate, diploma or degree or third professional degree.
3. Timely completion factor
"Timely completion" means you have earned your credential within the normal length of your study program (as determined by your school). StudentAid BC also allows you a grace period of one educational year (or two semesters or two terms, depending on your study program) after the normal program length to obtain your credential.
Student loans that you cash within this time-frame are eligible for loan remission. Loans cashed after the timely completion period are not eligible.
In determining how long you took to complete your program, we will consider your history of post-secondary study including:
- courses for which a transfer credit was not accepted
- courses that were not funded at a public institution
- part-time studies (five part-time courses equals one semester)
- courses or study periods from which you withdrew
- courses you took that are not applicable to your study program
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If you were a single parent for at least 50 per cent of the last study program completed on or after Aug 1, 1997, you now have a grace period of two educational years (or four semesters or terms depending on the program of study) to qualify for timely completion. |
4. Pre-study personal responsibility requirement
During each pre-study period, you must have done one or more of the following to meet your personal responsibility requirement:
- Worked at least 360 hours for at least minimum wage (180 hours for high school students directly out of high school).
- Looked for work, while volunteering at least 10 hours a week at an organization (other than a political party) that requires volunteers to fulfill its mandate.
- Studied full-time.
- Cared for a child or children aged 11 or under.
- Been unable to work or volunteer due to a permanent disability.
Any student loans cashed during a loan period in which you did not meet your personal responsibility requirement will not be eligible for loan remission.
A loan remission qualifier was sent to you with each notification of assessment letter issued. There is no need to submit a loan remission qualifier if you have not already done so.
5. One-year deadline
You must apply for loan remission within one year from the last day of the study program required to earn your credential. This is not the same as your date of convocation.
The one-year submission deadline cannot be appealed. Exceptional circumstances cannot be considered when applying this policy.
Ineligibility
To summarize, you may not apply for the B.C. loan remission program if you:
- Do not have guaranteed and/or risk-sharing B.C. student loans.
- Do not have student loans in excess of the minimum debt levels.
- Have calculated remission eligibility of $50 or less.
- Do not receive a credential that is eligible for loan remission purposes - contact StudentAid BC if you are unsure if your credential qualifies.
- Graduated from a private training school that is not accredited.
- Are not considered to have been a British Columbia resident (as defined by StudentAid BC) in the final year of your study program.
- Do not provide all required documentation to allow processing of your application.
- Miss the deadline to apply for this program.
Application form / how to apply
You are encouraged to apply for B.C. loan remission as soon as you have completed your credential and are able to submit a completed application form with the necessary documentation.
B.C. loan remission program applications can be downloaded  [1.60mb] or you can contact StudentAid BC to request the application.
Steps
- Complete your application form.
- Send the form to the lender holding your B.C. student loan(s) for completion of the lender’s portion. Your lender will return the completed application form to you.
- Include an official sealed transcript proving that a credential has been granted to you by an accredited institution.
- Provide photocopies of official transcripts from any previous post-secondary schools you attended, even if a transfer credit for these courses was not given by the institution granting your credential.
- If you have an undergraduate degree other than bachelor of education and you also have a professional teaching certificate or you have completed the requirements for a standard teaching certificate, provide a notarized copy of the teaching certificate.
- Send your completed application and all required documents to StudentAid BC.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. We will send you a letter outlining the missing information. This information must be received by StudentAid BC within 60 days from the letter date, or your application will be cancelled. How will I be notified about the outcome of my application?
If your application is approved, you will receive a written notice of the amount of loan remission the Province will pay towards your B.C. student loan.
You will also receive written notice if your application is denied.
How is loan remission paid?
The provincial government will pay your loan remission money directly to the
lender(s) holding your B.C. student loan account(s).
Depending on the type of loan(s) you have, remission funds are first applied to direct lend loans, then to guaranteed loans, and then to guaranteed and/or risk-sharing loans.
If your loan is in default, the remission payments will be made directly to Revenue Services of British Columbia.
Do I still have to repay my outstanding student loans?
Yes. Even if you have applied for loan remission, you must still make monthly payments on your student loans according to the consolidation agreement with your lender.
While your loan remission application is being processed, you must continue to make all student loan payments when they are due.
After you receive B.C. loan remission, you are still responsible for paying off any remaining B.C. student loans, outstanding Canada student loans and other provincial student loans that are not eligible for loan remission under the StudentAid BC program.
If you have loan repayment difficulties
If you are having difficulties making your monthly payments, contact StudentAid BC. You may be eligible for other B.C. or Canada debt management programs.
Appealing a B.C. loan remission decision
You can ask for an appeal if:
- You think a StudentAid BC policy should be set aside because extenuating circumstances were not considered in calculating your loan remission.
- You were assessed as not meeting your personal responsibility requirement but you believe you did meet this requirement because of extenuating circumstances.
- You exceeded the timely completion factor but you think this policy should be set aside in your case due to extenuating circumstances.
The one-year submission deadline is not subject to appeal. We cannot consider exceptional circumstances when applying this policy.
For details on how to submit an appeal for the B.C. loan remission program, click here.
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If your file is under audit, your application will be held until the audit is complete. |
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