COVID-19: Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB)

The Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) provides financial support to post-secondary students, and recent post-secondary and high school graduates who are unable to find work due to COVID-19.

This benefit is for students who do not qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or Employment Insurance (EI).

From May to August 2020, the CESB provides a payment to eligible students of:

$1,250 For each 4-week period

$2,000 For each 4-week period, if you have dependants or a disability

You can only apply for one eligibility period at a time. If your situation continues, you must re-apply for another 4-week eligibility period.

Post-secondary students

The CESB is available to eligible post-secondary students, post-secondary graduates, and students who have recently left their post-graduate studies.

You can start applying during the May 10 to June 6 eligibility period. If your situation continues, you must re-apply for another 4-week eligibility period.

Eligibility periods for post-secondary students:

May 10 to June 6, 2020
June 7 to July 4, 2020
July 5 to August 1, 2020
August 2 to August 29, 2020

Graduating high school students

The CESB is only available to eligible students who:

completed or expect to complete high school, or received, or expect to receive their high school equivalency in 2020
applied for a post-secondary educational program that starts before February 1, 2021

If you complete high school:

before June 7, 2020, your high school completion date must be before the start of the first eligibility period you are applying for
after June 7, 2020, you can only apply for 2 eligibility periods, starting from the July 5 to August 1 eligibility period

Two ways to apply:

Online – My CRA Account:

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/e-services/e-services-individuals/account-individuals.html

By phone – 1-800-959-2019 or 1-800-959-2041

Before you call to verify your identity, you’ll need:

your Social Insurance Number (SIN); and
postal code

Please click the following link for more information:

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/emergency-student-benefit.html

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