What is Quebec’s Arrima Portal and how does it work?

Quebec has recently, on September 20, announced the details of the latest draw held on August 19 under Arrima.  

444 foreign workers have been invited in the August 19 draw. These profiles were extracted from Arrima bank of profiles on August 15.  

Who were targeted in August 19 draw? 

Quebec’s latest August 19 draw targeted all that met the 3 requirements of –  

• Candidates under Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP) 
• With an Expression of Interest (EOI) in Arrima  
• Having had their previous applications cancelled as per the June 16, 2019 immigration reforms.  

Known as Bill 9, the June 16 reforms saw the official cancellation of around 16,000 unprocessed applications under QSWP.  

What is Arrima? 

Arrima is the Expression of Interest system launched in September 2018 for managing the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP) bank of candidates. 

Similar to the federal Express Entry system, Arrima is a dedicated online portal for submitting your Expression of Interest (EOI) for immigrating to Quebec under the Skilled Worker Program.  

How does Arrima work? 

Keep in mind that if you are thinking of migrating to Quebec under the Skilled Worker Program, you will have to go through Arrima. There is no way around that.  

An immigration application management system, Arrima is based on an EOI and includes the following steps –  

Step 1: Creation of an EOI form online at Arrima portal  

Remember to do this only from a tablet or a personal computer. Navigation from a cell phone is not supported by the application.  

This is free of charge. You will have to be 18+ years of age for being able to submit an EOI. The validity is 12 months. After a year, while you cannot extend or renew your application, you can always submit a new one.  

Do keep in mind that even after the submission of your EOI, you can view the same and make changes, if required.  

As such an EOI is not an application. It is simply a way of notifying or informing Quebec’s Immigration Ministry that you would like your profile to be taken into consideration for a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ). This is also commonly known as a Quebec Selection Certificate.  

With a CSQ, you will be applying for Quebec PR.  

Step 2: Review by the Ministère 

All the profiles are reviewed. Invitations are issued in consideration of the current labour needs in various areas of Quebec.  

Now is the time when you will be expected to pay the associated fees. You will also have to submit a permanent selection application, also known as the official immigration application, at this stage.  

Step 3: Evaluation as per the selection grid 

At this stage, your profile – and that of your spouse, if applicable – will be assessed based on certain criteria that includes: 

• Age. 
• English and French knowledge. 
• Work experience. 
• Education. 
• Financial self-sufficiency. You must be able to submit documentary proof that you can take care of the needs of your family and you for at least 3 months after you enter Quebec.  
• Stay in Quebec. 
• Relationship with a citizen of Canada, or a Quebec PR holder.  
• Job offer that has been duly validated by the Ministère.  
• Other factors.  

How many draws have been held under Arrima so far? 

Three draws have been held since the launch of Arrima in September 2018 –  

Date of invitations	Total Invites Issued	Date of extraction from Arrima bank
August 19, 2019	444	August 15, 2019
July 17, 2019	259	July 15, 2019
July 4, 2019	691	July 2, 2019

With the results of the latest August 19 draw being announced, so far 1,394 have been invited by Quebec through Arrima.  

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