(Not for me, but for my boyfriend)
For context: My boyfriend emigrated from Venezuela in January 2019, under a tourist visa, to Ontario. He arrived to Montreal in March and started applying for refugee status around April-May. In May, under refugee-claimant status, he applied for both financial assistance and for a social security number (SSN). Two weeks later, he received his SSN; in June, he was under financial assistance by cheque. He started working in July, and became a protected person in May-June 2021. This is also when he applied to college.
The problem, however, stems from August 2021, when he started attending college as a full-time student. The cheque specifies that if his status changes, he must notify the government immediately. So, three weeks before school started and two days after he receives his letter of acceptance (LOA), school contract, and all necessary paperwork, he sent them directly at Bureau des Services Quebec's office.
In January 2022, February 2022, he received a notice claiming that he is now ineligible to receive financial assistance as a full-time student, and he has to pay that money back. The notice, however, mentions that the Bureau has not received his paperwork, which he had, and he has 90 days to file for an appeal. He now owes the office more than $5k, which he'd already paid to the college.
What's the best course of action from here? If he files for an appeal, how likely will he have his issue resolved? Thank you so much, and we appreciate all the input we can get
For context: My boyfriend emigrated from Venezuela in January 2019, under a tourist visa, to Ontario. He arrived to Montreal in March and started applying for refugee status around April-May. In May, under refugee-claimant status, he applied for both financial assistance and for a social security number (SSN). Two weeks later, he received his SSN; in June, he was under financial assistance by cheque. He started working in July, and became a protected person in May-June 2021. This is also when he applied to college.
The problem, however, stems from August 2021, when he started attending college as a full-time student. The cheque specifies that if his status changes, he must notify the government immediately. So, three weeks before school started and two days after he receives his letter of acceptance (LOA), school contract, and all necessary paperwork, he sent them directly at Bureau des Services Quebec's office.
In January 2022, February 2022, he received a notice claiming that he is now ineligible to receive financial assistance as a full-time student, and he has to pay that money back. The notice, however, mentions that the Bureau has not received his paperwork, which he had, and he has 90 days to file for an appeal. He now owes the office more than $5k, which he'd already paid to the college.
What's the best course of action from here? If he files for an appeal, how likely will he have his issue resolved? Thank you so much, and we appreciate all the input we can get