Become a host family

Learn about the world without leaving home and be part of our international community!

Being a host family

Being a host family with BLI means that you will welcome international students from another country to your family. The students come to Canada to learn English and/or french in one of our schools, and are eager to experience the Canadian culture.

A rewarding experience

Being a host family is a fantastic and rewarding experience for each and every member of your family.

Each of the families that have hosted BLI students have a different story to tell and they have all benefited in different ways from hosting international students.

We could write a long list of the feedback we have received from our hosts, but we consider that these are the most important benefits of hosting an international student.:

Life-long memories, friendships experiences.
Mutual learning and teaching.
Rediscovering your local community and getting to share its beauty.
Discover and learn from new cultures.
Getting new cross-cultural perspective and a globalized world-view
Receive a generous weekly compensation to cover expenses

Our program is flexible. We want all our host families to live a fantastic experience. When you complete your profile, you have the choice to set your preferences regarding length of stay, gender, age, meal plan, country of origin, etc.

Homestay family requirements

BLI Host Families are all different!

They all come from different backgrounds, families with young children, families with teenagers, families with no children or families whose children are all grown up.

What they all share in common is the willingness to welcome an international student into their home.

Becoming a BLI host family requires some simple things. BLI host families:

Provide your international student with a private bedroom with the following amenities: a bed, desk, closet, dresser, window, sufficient heating and lighting. A shared bedroom (2 single beds) if you are willing to host students in the shared accommodation option.

Provide one, two or three meals to your international student based on the selected meal plan or no meals if the student selects the roomstay option

Welcome your international student into your home as a member of your family.

Be patient and understanding with your international student as this might be the first time he/she is traveling abroad by him/herself.

Include your international student in your family life and community activities.

Help your international student to practice the language he/she is learning by engaging in daily converstation.

Live within 60 minutes from BLI by public transportation

Spend time with your international student, be warm and hospitable.

Become a host family now

Your hospitality can make all the difference to a student’s experience. We hope that signing up to host with a BLI international student will be the beginning of many friendships that will last for a long

If you would like to become a host family, the process is very simple.

Step 1

Complete the form below and our homestay coordinator will contact you within 24 hours to explain you the benefits, requirements and the whole process in detail.

Step 2

If after the phone meeting you are interested in becoming part of our homestay network, our homestay coordinator will help you complete your homestay profile.

Step 3

We will schedule an in-person meeting so that you can meet one of our homestay coordinators. Our coordinator will be happy to answer all your questions.

Step 4

All host families are required to undergo a criminal background check for anyone over the age of 18 in the home. The cost of the check is covered by BLI. All background checks must have been completed within the last three years.

Step 5

Oops! There is no step five. Once all the previous stages are complete, you will a be fully qualified homestay family. We will work to match you with a student that fits your family profile.

Ongoing support

Our host families are never alone. We offer ongoing support and we are here for you to guide you through the experience of sharing your home with an international student..

We are here to support you before, during and after your student arrives in Canada.

We also have a 24/7 emergency line available to all host families.

Contact us

If you are interested in becoming a BLI host family, please complete this form and we will get back to you within 24 hours