Immigrate to Quebec as a skilled worker through the Quebec Immigration Program

Quebec is a francophone province in Canada. Of the 10 Canadian provinces, Quebec is the largest. The majority of the province’s population resides in the province’s southern parts.

Quebec’s economy is strong and is based on:

• Skilled workers
• Its ability to adjust to economic change
• Natural resources

The province boasts of having over 1 million lakes and rivers including the St. Lawrence River. This river is among the longest rivers on the globe.

Each year, Quebec welcomes from 30,000 to 50,000 immigrants via the Quebec PNP program. Quebec’s provincial government has the whole responsibility for the province’s immigration, unlike other provinces that have their provincial immigration systems working in tandem with the federal government’s immigration system. This has been established with the Canada-Quebec Accord.

*Check your eligibility to Quebec, through Y-Axis Quebec immigration Points Calculator.

How does the Government of Quebec help you settle in the province?

In order for the immigrants in Quebec to feel accepted in the province and comfortable integrating into the society of Quebec, the government of the province offers a list of services. These services include:

• Providing help for settling and integrating into Quebec
• Arranging online courses to help them learn French
• Helping them access the Accompagnement Québec service for free
• Conducting information sessions about Quebec
• Rolling out services to recognize their skills and qualifications

If you are a Skilled worker ready to immigrate to Quebec, you can take advantage of Canada Quebec immigration program options. Through these programs, you apply for permanent selection to settle in Quebec with the intention of being gainfully employed. 

Quebec Immigration Levels Plan 2024 & 2025

Quebec Immigration Plan 2025: The province has set a target of 48,500 to 51,500 admissions across its selected categories.

Immigration Category	Admission Targets for for 2024		Admission Targets for 2025
	Minimum	Maximum	Minimum	Maximum
Economic immigration category	30,310	33,250	31,000	32,900
Skilled Workers	29,000	31,900	30,600	32,350
Business People	1,300	1,300	400	500
Other Economic categories	10	50	0	50
Skilled Workers selected through the Quebec graduate stream of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ)	3,800		13,500	15,000
Inventory flow of business people	5,000	5,300	S.O.	S.O.
Family Reunification	10,600	11,000	10,200	10,600
Refugees and people in similar situations	6,700	7,300	6,600	7,200
Refugees selected abroad	2,300	2,600	2,500	2,800
State-supported refugees	1,400	1,600	1,650	1,700
Sponsored refugees	900	1,000	850	1,100
Refugee recognized in Canada	4,400	4,700	4,100	4,400
Other immigration categories	700	800	700	800
Percentage selected by Quebec	74%	74%	77%	77%
Percentage selected under an economic immigration program	68%	69%	72%	72%
Percentage selected with French language proficiency	70%	70%	79%	80%
Percentage of admission spots for Candidates in Quebec	43%	43%	52%	53%
Overall totals	48,310	52,350	48,500	51,500

 

Regular Skilled Worker Program (RSWP)

If you wish to immigrate to Quebec and live and work there permanently RSWP is the right Quebec immigration program for you.

To participate in this program, you are required to state your interest in immigrating to Quebec for work. In case your profile matches the criteria asked for in Quebec, you will be invited to file an application for permanent selection.

Under the RSWP, to be among those selected, you have to possess training and professional skills that will play an important role in integrating your job in Quebec.

Among other factors considered are:

• Your age
• Language proficiency
• Children’s presence
• Your spouse’s characteristics

Declaring your Expression of Interest (EOI) under RSWP

You can declare your interest to immigrate to Quebec at any point in time by submitting an EOI. It’s free of charge to create an EOI online.

To be eligible to submit an EOI, you have to:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Have the intention to live in Quebec
• Have the intention to work in Quebec in a job that matches your abilities and qualifications

An EOI is valid for 12 months, counted from the date of its submission. If you do not receive any invitation from Quebec to apply for permanent residency within these 12 months, the EOI will lapse. The only option at this point will be to file a new EOI.

The kind of information you have to provide when submitting an EOI includes:

• Personal information
• Family situation
• Contact information
• Education
• Status in Quebec
• Work experience
• Knowledge of French and English
• Whether you have a job offer with validation granted by the MIFI
• Other additional information like information about your accompanying spouse and your children (accompanying or not)

The EOI is filed on Arrima, the Quebec government’s online platform to provide services to immigrants. Profiles that correspond to Quebec’s requirements and are of people with the potential to integrate with the province are sent invitations to apply for permanent selection.

If you receive an invitation to apply for permanent selection, you must submit the application within 30 days from the date you received the invitation. You must also pay the fees for processing your application.

Application processing and the aftermath

Your application will be taken for processing only after you have:

• filled out the permanent selection application form completely and signed it
• submitted the necessary documents in the format required
• submitted the form within the timeframe prescribed
• paid the fees for processing your application

The review of the application happens as per the selection grid for RSWP. To receive a CSQ, you must obtain a minimum required number of points in the grid. The grid considers the following factors to assign points to your profile:

• Training
• Age
• Work experience
• Stays & family in Quebec
• Language proficiency
• Validated job offer
• Your spouse’s characteristics
• Capacity for financial self-sufficiency
• Children

If you get the CSQ certificate that affirms that you are now eligible to immigrate to Canada, you must go ahead with the process of immigration with the Government of Canada. That means you have to apply for Canada PR with the federal government.

Québec experience program (PEQ – Programme de l’expérience québécoise)

The PEQ caters to you if you are a foreign student who has completed graduation in Quebec or a TFW (temporary foreign worker). This program helps you obtain a CSQ so that you can settle in Quebec permanently.

The conditions to satisfy in order to submit an application have to be understood as the conditions to apply for the 2 streams of the program. The 2 streams are:

• Temporary foreign workers
• Québec graduates

Conditions for Temporary foreign workers (TFW)

As part of the general conditions, you are required to prove that you:

• have maintained respect for the conditions of your stay
• have the intention to settle in Quebec to keep a job
• are at least 18 years of age
• have knowledge of oral French that’s equal to Level 7 on the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français des personnes immigrantes adultes (in French)
• are financially self-sufficient
• are in Quebec legally when applying

Conditions specific to this stream include:

• You must be in Quebec legally as a TFW or under a youth exchange program, including:
  • Young Professionals
  • Working Holiday
  • International Co-op Internship
• You must have held jobs that:
  • have been performed legally
  • fit into a profession level 0, A, or B of the NOC
  • have been paid
  • have been done full time (at least 30 hours of paid work per week)

You must have had a job that meets these criteria for a minimum period of 24 months of the 36 months before your submission of an application.

Verification of the accuracy of the information you provided in the application is necessary to be considered for permanent selection. For this MIFI will conduct your interview.

How to apply?

Here are the steps to apply for permanent selection under this Stream:

• Completely and flawlessly fill out the respective application form for permanent selection for the TFW or Quebec graduate stream.
• Ready all the essential documents to support your application. Scan all documents in PDF format and submit them online. Ensure that the documents are
  • Exact
  • Complete
  • Legible
• Create your account on Arrima
• Log in and submit your application in Arrima. At this stage, you must
  • give information on family members accompanying you
  • upload your documents supporting your application info and your application form for permanent selection
  • pay the application review fees
  • submit your file

Your application will generally be processed within 6 months.

As your application is under processing, you will get a request sent to your Arrima message center from the MIFI to obtain an attestation of learning about democratic values and the Québec values.

You have to obtain the attestation within 60 days. Your family members accompanying you (spouse aged at least 16 and dependent children aged at least 18) also have to obtain the attestation within this timeframe. If not, your application will meet rejection.

You won’t get this application in case you and your family have already got your attestation.

If you are selected you will receive the CSQ. Your family members in the application will also get CSQ. You will be instructed as to what has to be done next to complete your immigration process.

If you get the CSQ certificate that affirms that you are now eligible to immigrate to Canada, you must go ahead with the process of immigration with the Government of Canada. That means you have to apply for Canada PR with the federal government.

 Quebec PNP Draw Updates 2024

Month	No. of draws	Total no. of Invitations
September	1	1417
August	1	1415
July	2	3050
June	3	4,279
May	2	2791
April	2	2451
March	2	2493
February	2	2041
January	1	1007

 

Latest Quebec PNP Draw Updates in 2023

Invitation Dates	Number of Invitations issued	CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate
December 21, 2023	1187	CRS 604
November 13, 2023	1210	CRS 609
October 26, 2023	1220	CRS 465-608
September 21, 2023	1018	CRS 579
September 07, 2023	1433	CRS 586
August 24, 2023	1000	CRS 584
August 10, 2023	1384	CRS 591

 

Other PNPs

ALBERTA	MANITOBA	NEWBRUNSWICK	BRITISH COLUMBIA
NOVASCOTIA	ONTARIO	SASKATCHEWAN	DEPENDENT VISA
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND	NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR	QUEBEC IMMIGRATION PROGRAMS	NORTHWEST TERRITORIES