Welcome the world

Welcoming a foreign student into your home is an unforgettable experience!

Inquiries for host families

Welcome the world

Welcoming a foreign student into your home is an unforgettable experience!

Inquiries for host families

An incredible experience for the whole family

Welcoming an international student into your home is a great way to learn about a new culture, share your own culture and values.

Children enjoy being cultural ambassadors: they love sharing their daily lives and traditions with their new host sibling. Whether it’s preparing a meal or going on cultural visits, everything becomes an opportunity for discovery!

Welcome the adventure

Hosting a student is an opportunity to allow your family members to discover another culture and your own through the eyes of a AFS participant exploring it.

Welcome change

Prepare your family to become global citizens and build international connections.

Hosting develops adaptability, tolerance, and intercultural communication. Rediscover your daily life with a fresh perspective!

Welcome discovery

Help an international student learn how to live and appreciate your culture and traditions.

Welcome the meeting

Being a host family goes beyond the AFS experience and creates lasting connections across the globe.

You’ll build a strong relationship with a young person from far away, transcending borders and cultures, and cultivate valuable international friendships.

Discover the profiles of our students

Learn more

What is an AFS host family?

AFS has been inviting families to host international students in their homes since 1947. Considered a key element in student well-being, host families provide much more than just accommodation and meals.

AFS has been inviting families to host international students in their homes since 1947. Considered a key element in the well-being of our students, host families provide much more than just room and board. Families are selected based on their stability, open-mindedness, and motivation to welcome a foreigner into their daily lives.

Supported by dedicated volunteers and staff, host families help students connect with their new school and community, make friends, learn a new language, and enjoy their year abroad. Sharing their culture and traditions helps families build lifelong bonds and friendships.

  • Invite your AFS student to participate in your family’s daily life and events.
  • Provide your student with the care, support, and comfort of a full-fledged member of your family, including meals.

AFS students come from more than 99 countries, and are seen as role models and leaders in their home communities by demonstrating maturity and motivation to study abroad.

AFS students are screened and selected by the AFS organization in their home country. AFS students are:

  • Usually between 15-18 years old on arrival
  • Committed to actively participate in their AFS program
  • Considered a good student in their home school
  • In good general health
  • Curious, flexible and open-minded.

All types of families are encouraged to apply; there is no “typical” AFS host family. Some AFS families have children at home; some are same sex couples while others are empty nesters with adult children or are couples with no children at all. Single adults and single parents are also welcome. Even busy families find time to enjoy hosting students!

The health, safety and well-being of our students is the number one priority for AFS. AFS volunteers and staff are committed and trained to support students and their families throughout the AFS experience. AFS has consistent guidelines that apply to all AFS Organizations.

  • 24 hour emergency contact
  • Local volunteer or staff support for both the host family and AFS student
  • Additional support from the national office of the AFS Organization in that country
  • Facilitated intercultural learning programs by trained volunteers and staff for both the host family and AFS student
  • All living facilities and situations are inspected and closely monitored by AFS throughout the exchange experience.
  • High School (semester, trimester or year-long)
  • Summer and Short Study (a few weeks up to three months)
  • Language Learning (a few weeks up to three months)
  • Volunteer Abroad

AFS students arrive with their own spending money for social and school activities, clothes, etc. As a host family, you will not need to provide spending money or an allowance. The AFS Organization in your country will discuss how school related costs are handled.

No, your student will come with secondary medical insurance so that, in an emergency, the student can be treated as soon as possible. There is also a 24-hour support phone number in case of any emergency.

Yes. AFS students are expected to obey all the AFS rules and policies that are applicable while on their program. Should a student break a rule such as driving or taking illegal drugs, they will have their program terminated. Hosted participants are expected to obey all local and national laws. We also limit independent travel by students. You will be provided with a Host Family Handbook, which contains information on these rules and safety information, at or before your pre-arrival orientation.

  1. Being an AFS host family provides a fun, rewarding and transformative experience for the whole family—a global family adventure without leaving home.
  2. AFS host families share cultures/learn about new cultures—creating a lifetime of memories and friendships. You and your family will have friends to visit in another part of the world.
  3. Hosting encourages families to open up their mind and gain better insights into the perspectives of people from other cultures.
  4. AFS host families help young people achieve their global and personal ambitions.
  5. Hosting helps family members and host students experience personal growth—and growth as a family.
  6. Hosting provides an opportunity for young children in the family to bond with a new sibling as a big brother/sister or role model.
  7. Hosting an international student helps everyone in the family develop more effective communication skills and practice another language.
  8. When you host with AFS, you support the AFS mission of helping individuals and communities become more comfortable with and adapt to cultural and other differences. You also join an organization and a community dedicated to creating a more just, peaceful and inclusive world.

The AFS Host Family Intercultural Learning Journey program will help you become more comfortable with your new family member, and develop skills and understanding to communicate with people from different cultures. The journey is:

  • Facilitated by trained AFS volunteers and staff.
  • Based on the well-established AFS Learning Objectives for Host Families that have been designed and approved by experts in intercultural learning from around the world.
  • Made of engaging and informative orientation sessions and useful learning materials you can use on your own or in group settings.

The AFS Host Family Learning Journey covers the AFS experience before, during and after the hosting program. The program’s primary goals are to help your family:

  • Explore and build your intercultural awareness and understanding as individual global citizens and as a family and
  • Better support your hosted student’s integration into a new culture and intercultural educational experience.

The AFS Host Family Learning Journey is based on the 14 AFS Learning Objectives for Host Families (developed by AFS international experts in intercultural learning) and is facilitated by trained AFS volunteers and staff. It Includes engaging and informative orientation sessions, monthly learning reflections, activities with the host student and a newsletter written specifically to enhance your hosting experience. The AFS Learning Objectives for Host Families are designed to help your family improve in four areas:

  • Self-Awareness
  • Communication Skills and Empathy
  • Intercultural Competence
  • Global Concern.

How to become an AFS host family

Learn more and apply

Discover the importance of host families to AFS.

Our rigorous selection process ensures the best possible match with participants.

You have been chosen!

Finding host families is essential for AFS, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, or sexual orientation.

There is no such thing as a “typical” family: we welcome single-parent families, same-sex families, families with or without children, young or old.

Prepare to welcome a student

Meet the volunteers, counselors, and trained staff who will support your family and help you learn how to make your AFS experience rewarding and fun.

Welcome your AFS student

Experience the AFS effect by sharing your home, your heart, and your world with a new family member.

A wonderful way to open up to the world and build bridges between cultures.

How does AFS support host families?

Experienced local AFS volunteers and staff will prepare your family for the challenges of welcoming a new member from another country.

24 hour local emergency contact and additional support from the AFS national office is available. AFS students have medical insurance, if health care is necessary.

Trained volunteers and staff will support you throughout your hosting program, including meeting with you and your family at least once a month to make sure everything is working out.

Your support volunteers will guide your family and student through the AFS Host Family Intercultural Learning Journey activities to help make the entire experience more meaningful and lasting.

Who are AFS students?

They are generally between 15 and 18 years old on the day they arrive in Quebec.

Our participants come from around fifty countries around the world: Asia, the Americas, Oceania and Europe.

The majority of our participants stay in Quebec for a period of 11 months (one school year), from August to July. Some young people also choose to participate in quarterly or semester-long programs.

Committed to actively participating in their AFS program, participants are considered good students in their home countries. Curious, flexible, open-minded, and in good health, they have demonstrated their maturity and motivation to study abroad.

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