Before you arrive in Canada, we will send you the CHN Guide for Students, an easy-to-read manual that describes what makes a successful homestay experience, what it is like to live in Canada, and how we can help you while you are here

When you choose homestay with CHN, you become part of the family you live with and part of the community you live in. Hosts are committed to including their students in meaningful family time including meals, conversations and excursions.

Like many Canadians, our hosts have different cultural backgrounds and lifestyles. Many host families are traditional two-parent families, while others are single-parent families, older couples with grown children who don’t live at home and single women, who are just as dedicated to the well-being of their homestay students as they are to their own families.

Yes, students and hosts have access to CHN support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can count on us to help you whenever you need us.

Proximity to schools can differ from community to community, but CHN strives to ensure homestays are no more than 45 minutes travel time by public transit, including walking, from partner schools. In peak seasons, such as the summer in Toronto, the travel time may be extended to 60-70 minutes.

CHN is a not-for-profit organization with more than 25 years experience in Canada’s international education sector. Like educators, agencies and hosts, CHN is motivated by the common good—how homestay benefits students, host families and the communities that students study in. Fees and host allowances cover the common-sense costs in order to help ensure a successful experience for everyone.

Remember, a good homestay experience requires an open mind, patience, and clear communication. Moving to a new family can be stressful and tiring for both you and the host families. Often the reasons you’re unhappy with your host family can be resolved. It takes time to adjust to living with a new family. Be patient with yourself and them.

It depends – sometimes it should be your host, and sometimes your CHN Relationship Manager. In any case, please contact your CHN Relationship Manager (RM) to let us know what’s happening. Your RM will be happy to discuss any of your concerns about homestay with you. It is your Relationship Manager’s responsibility to help you.

Unless there is an emergency, you may have to wait several weeks before moving to a new host family. Selecting an appropriate family is a process that takes time, so please be patient. Your RM will discuss a timeline for relocation with you.

You may be required to pay an additional fee to change your host family. Please consult your Relationship Manager.

If you are an adult student, you will be asked to find transportation to your new host family. If you are a student attending high school, your new host family or Relationship Manager will arrange transportation for you.

Host families are carefully selected and screened by the Canada Homestay Network. Your new host family will be selected based on the preferences you indicate on your application and what you communicate to your Relationship Manager. Students will not be able to see a list of available families.

Students cannot visit their host family prior to moving in.

Like many Canadians, our hosts have different cultural backgrounds and lifestyles. Many host families are traditional two-parent families, while others are single-parent families, older couples with grown children who don’t live at home and single women, who are just as dedicated to the well-being of their homestay students as they are to their own families.

Yes, students and hosts have access to CHN support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can count on us to help you whenever you need us.

Proximity to schools can differ from community to community, but CHN strives to ensure homestays are no more than 45 minutes travel time by public transit, including walking, from partner schools. In peak seasons, such as the summer in Toronto, the travel time may be extended to 60-70 minutes.

CHN is a not-for-profit organization with more than 25 years experience in Canada’s international education sector. Like educators, agencies and hosts, CHN is motivated by the common good—how homestay benefits students, host families and the communities that students study in. Fees and host allowances cover the common-sense costs in order to help ensure a successful experience for everyone.

Like many Canadians, our hosts have different cultural backgrounds and lifestyles. Many host families are traditional two-parent families, while others are single-parent families, older couples with grown children who don’t live at home and single women, who are just as dedicated to the well-being of their homestay students as they are to their own families.

Yes, students and hosts have access to CHN support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can count on us to help you whenever you need us.

CHN is a not-for-profit organization with more than 25 years experience in Canada’s international education sector. Like educators, agencies and hosts, CHN is motivated by the common good—how homestay benefits students, host families and the communities that students study in. Fees and host allowances cover the common-sense costs in order to help ensure a successful experience for everyone.

Good hosts are as varied as the human race. They are couples, with children, young and old; empty nesters; single moms and dads. Their homes are downtown apartments or suburban bungalows; their professions are school teachers, doctors, shop owners; artists, musicians and choristers!

The common denominator among all these differences is the gift of hospitality, and a natural curiosity and interest in other peoples and points of view. Being a great host requires a sensitive and patient family. It can be overwhelming for a student to be so far away from home. A thoughtful host family appreciates that each student is unique, and that communication and mutual understanding take effort.

Our hosts are interested in sharing their lifestyle in a positive and mutually rewarding way. We do not accept hosts who are interested in money alone. These motives are obvious to students, and interfere with the intended homestay experience: a safe, secure, welcoming environment to learn and grow in.

CHN maintains a database of diverse host families. They tell us their interests, lifestyles, hobbies, preferred hosting relationships, and even dietary restrictions. When students and visitors apply to our programs, they complete similar profiles. With this information, we are able to match the student to a host family for a mutually enjoyable relationship. In addition:

• CHN relationship managers are available to meet with students in person, to discuss their questions or concerns and if necessary, introduce them to one of our cultural and linguistic counselors.
• CHN invites each student to evaluate their homestay experience and reviews their evaluations with each host. Our successful experience in arranging suitable matches benefits students and hosts:
• We provide students with confidence before their departure and after their arrival. Before their departure, we provide them with a written description of their hosts and their accommodation. After their arrival, we meet with them in person, to help them further adjust to Canadian culture and provide them such support as is necessary to make their homestay experience successful.
• With agencies in thirty-five countries and long standing relationships with leading independent schools and School Boards, we provide our hosts with access to a wide variety of students. At the same time, our experience over the years helps us to give our hosts the perspective, resources and support required to make their homestay experience successful. As part of this support, we schedule periodic workshops with hosts, to update homestay program requirements and improve our collective capabilities.

Because we are so careful to make the best matches possible, it is impossible to predict when you will be matched with a student. After all, there is no way to know when a student who matches your profile will apply. However, there are certain peak times of year when we receive the greatest number of applications.

• September and January are important intake months for long-term (typically 5-10 months) high school students
• July and August are popular months for short-term group tours of 2 – 8 weeks.

Upon welcoming you to our team of host families, we will be providing you with our Host Guide, to outline the hosting relationship. We host several workshops and orientation sessions per year to inform, engage, and get feedback from our hosts.

Once a match is made, your local Relationship Managers are available to guide you through the hosting process. From the time you receive the first call about a student, to the pre-arrival orientation session, through to the tearful goodbye, Relationship Managers will be available to provide answers, advice, and support.

We also offer an emergency support system, to respond to calls 24 hours per day, seven days per week. You will always be able to get a person on the phone to help.

Although we have placed almost ten thousand students over the years with thousands of hosts, if a student or host considers our match inappropriate, we are quite prepared to arrange a different homestay, immediately.

Equally, we are available to help you clarify any misunderstandings, if and when they arise: as we tell our students, please do not fail to speak to us!

There is no need to suffer in silence; it’s not good for you, or your student, or us. If you are worried, we are worried! In some cultures it is impolite to talk about personal feelings or frustrations, for fear of loosing face; not so in Canada, or with us!

Please tell us how you feel, good or bad! You can be candid and considerate at the same time! You don’t need to break eggs with a hammer, but it’s just as bad to say nothing.

Hosts rarely cancel a reservation and if they do, only for exceptional circumstances, like a sudden illness. As you can imagine, it is unsettling for a student to have changes in their homestay even before they arrive!

In fact, we may be unable to reach them, before they arrive; so, we may need your help for a day or so, until we can find another host.

When you choose homestay with CHN, you become part of the family you live with and part of the community you live in. Hosts are committed to including their students in meaningful family time including meals, conversations and excursions.

CHN is a not-for-profit organization with more than 25 years experience in Canada’s international education sector. Like educators, agencies and hosts, CHN is motivated by the common good—how homestay benefits students, host families and the communities that students study in. Fees and host allowances cover the common-sense costs in order to help ensure a successful experience for everyone.