Useful Information for Agents Only

Thank you for your interest in becoming a representative for the Abbotsford International Program. Please open the menus below for more information

  • Let us know if you have any plans to visit the Vancouver area.  We will be happy to schedule a tour of our schools so that you can see our facilities, and more importantly meet the people who take care of your students.
  • We travel to different markets.  Let us know which of your offices have good potential for highschool, we will do our best to visit them so that we can meet your staff and train them.
  • Ask us about online training.  If we cannot visit all your offices we can set up online sessions with your staff so that we can answer all of their questions.
  • Keep your eyes open for updates which we email out from time to time.
  • Please stay in touch!  We will do our best to stay in contact with you, but if you have not heard from us for a while, please contact us and see if we have any news.

We are looking forward to working with you, and will do our best to provide you and your students with the best support possible.

Abbotsford Fam Tour 2025

Are you coming to ICEF?  Do you have any free days?  We would love to see you here in Abbotsford!

 

Let us know your dates and we can:

  • help arrange transportation from and to Vancouver or other nearby Districts
  • give you a great tour of our schools and community
  • introduce you to our homestay and student support team
  • have lunch together

We appreciate you coming to visit us, to offset your accommodation costs we can credit you $200 towards your next application to our program.  

Proposed dates: 

Before ICEF May 5-9 

After ICEF May 15, 16, 19-21

Please note that we have limited space on each date.  

Email dave.ryder@abbyschools.ca 

 

Starting out

  • Download and Read this document  We know it's impossible to remember all the facts, so we have provided a brief summary of everything you need to know about Abbotsford International with links to more details in our website.  

  • Sign, scan and return your agent agreement to us so that we can register you in our system. 

     You don't have an agreement?  Email dave.ryder@abbyschools.ca to request one! Sooner is  better, as you will receive information updates that we send out periodically.  When you have students ready to register it saves time starting applications if the agreement is already in place.  Be sure to complete section 1.7.1 which indicates if you would like your referral fee paid by standard invoice, or by net referral.  Sample invoice

    Bonus referral fees! In addition to the regular referral fee we pay an additional amount each year to partners who send us multiple students.  Please click here for details

  • Request a virtual meeting, we are happy to answer any questions that you have
  • Add abbyschools.ca to your email safe list to ensure you are able to receive emails from us

Program Information and details

You have a potential student?

If you ever have questions about a potential student, please always be sure to include

  • The student’s date of birth
  • If the student is coming for a single semester / one year / one year plus
  • When the student will start: September / February
  • Any classes the student MUST do while they are here
  • Any classes / activities the student would LIKE to do while they are here
  • Any information about the student that may influence our decision

In order for students to be successful in an immersive Canadian classroom they should have reasonably strong English and academic abilities.  We request the previous 2 completed years and most recently issued transcripts.  We are looking for students who have a 70% average or better.

"Challenging" applications / Probation acceptance

We may from time to time accept students who would not normally qualify for acceptance on a Probation basis, click here for details.

We are seeing more and more applications from students with learning challenges, social or emotional issues, and mental health conditions.  While we want to give ALL students the opportunity to experience our program, there is a limit to how much support we are able to provide for International Students.  We want students to be happy and successful, so we rely on your judgement to refer students who will have a positive experience and a positive impact on our program.  

Homestay Restrictions

On a case by case basis we may be able to accept students who are able to manage their studies and behaviour independently into our School Program, but not into our District Homestay Program.  In such cases we can help you connect with some of the Private Homestay Companies that operate in our region. Click here for details including contact information and pricing.

District Homestay Program Restrictions

  • Medical Restrictions: The School Board has adopted a conservative medical policy which states that we cannot accept students who are taking prescription medication into our District Homestay Program.  There are a very few exceptions to this policy, please ask us in advance of applying whether we can accept the medication your student is taking.  
  • Age Restrictions: Students who are 18 at the time of beginning our program cannot be placed in our District Homestay Program
  • Graduation Restrictions: Students who have already graduated in their home country cannot be placed in our District Homestay Program
  • Dietary Restrictions: We are generally able to accommodate students who request Vegetarian host families, however we rarely have vegan, celiac, lactose free, or specific allergy host families.  Please ask us on a case by case basis.  Typically these requests must be referred to private homestay companies.

 

 

Student Applications

Applications

Our application is online , we use the same TrueNorth platform that many other School Districts also use.  You can see a paper copy of the application here - this is just for reference, not for submitting.  Go to http://international.abbyschools.ca/how-to-apply/, follow the instructions and set up an agent account so that you can enter online applications on behalf of your clients.   Enter the email that you registered on the agreement as the "user", you should receive password instructions, but if you have any difficulty just contact us!   After you have created your account you can change the password.  It is possible to register multiple individuals in a single company who can send applications.

To save you time inputting student information you can share the application with your client online so that they can complete as much of the information as possible before sending it back to you for final completion and submission - they cannot send it directly to us.

  • Please be sure to fill in all applications completely, as it slows the process down if information is missing.  If the application is incomplete you will receive an incomplete application notice
  • Please note that as an agent it is possible to bypass the $200 application fee - the fee will be included in the invoice.  This option is not available for independent clients applying on their own.  See step10 and 11 of the sample application for more information.

Once the application is received our office will process it quickly, depending on the time of year it could be as quickly as within the next day.

We will issue a draft Letter of Acceptance to make sure that all the details are correct, as well as Gross / Net Invoices.  Invoices have detailed payment instructions.

Fees 2025/2026

Once payment is received we will send the Official Letter of Acceptance, and Custodianship if the student is in our District Homestay Program.  Additionally there will be information about Orientation, as well as Airport Pickup Arrangements.