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Repaying
Help with Repaying - An Overview
If you're having trouble making your student loan payments, you may qualify for assistance that reduces your payments to a more manageable level.
Three types of assistance are available for the Ontario and Canada portions of your Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loans and for your Part-Time Canada Student Loans.
- Interest Relief
- Debt Reduction
- Revision of Terms
Interest Relief - if you apply and qualify for interest relief, the province of Ontario and/or the government of Canada will pay interest on your student loans and you will either:
- be exempt from making monthly loan payments during the eligibility period, or
- you will have reduced monthly loan payments.
You can apply for Interest Relief as soon as you enter repayment which is 6 months after you finish school.
Debt Reduction - if you have been out of school for at least five years and have problems making your student loan payments, you may qualify for pay downs.
Eligibility for Interest Relief and Debt Reduction will be based on your gross family income (applicant and spouse/partner if applicable), government student loan debt (applicant and spouse/partner if applicable), and family size.
Revision of Terms - if you don't qualify for interest relief or debt reduction, you could reduce your loan payments by lengthening the repayment period.
Interest Relief, Debt Reduction and the Repayment Assistance Plan
Starting August 1, 2009, the federal government will provide both interest relief and debt reduction on the Canada portion of your Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loans and/or on your Part-Time Canada Student Loans through the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). Ontario will provide interest relief and debt reduction through the Ontario Student Interest Relief program and the Ontario Debt Reduction in Repayment program.
By submitting a single application to the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC), you will be assessed for repayment assistance (i.e., interest relief and debt reduction) on both the Canada and Ontario portions of your Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan and/or your Part-time Canada Student Loan. You can also request Revision of Terms by contacting the NSLSC.
If, in addition to a Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan, you also hold Canada Student Loans negotiated prior to August 1, 2000 and/or Ontario Student Loans negotiated prior to August 1, 2001, these loans will be included in your single application to the NSLSC.
If you do not hold a Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan and hold only a Canada Student Loan issued prior to August 1, 2000 and/or an Ontario Student Loan negotiated prior to August 1, 2001, (and), you must apply for repayment assistance through the financial institution that issued your student loans.
When Students May Apply for RAP on Full-time and/or Part-time Loans
The table below shows when students studying full-time or part-time may apply for RAP for their full-time and/or part-time loans.
| Student may apply for RAP for | Full-time Loan | Part-time Loan |
| Borrower is in Full-time studies | No | No |
| Borrower is in Part-time studies | Yes | No |
| Borrower is not a student | Yes | Yes |
For more information on each type of repayment assistance please select one of the links below.
Each section describes how the support works, the eligibility requirements, and how to apply:
