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Quebec Skilled Worker Program

This program is intended for qualified professionals whose intention is to establish themselves within Quebec, the French-speaking province of Canada.

As of August 2, 2018, the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) has made a reform of the program within which certain requirements have been updated.

The new Quebec program resembles the Federal Skilled Worker Program – Express Entry in regard to the following:

 

  • The new system will no longer select applications by “order of arrival” and quotas.
  • Candidates (18 years and over) must obtain an Invitation to Apply (ITA) from the MIFI.
  • Candidates must express their interest in obtaining a Certificat de Selection du Quebec (CSQ) before MIFI through the creation of a Declaration d’Interet (DDI) through the Arrima system.
  • Entry into the Arrima database does not guarantee that a candidate will receive an ITA for the CSQ. The invited candidates still have to meet the eligibility requirements of MFDI.
  • Likewise, candidates with ITA will have 60 days to send the application once the ITA is granted.

 

Candidates wishing to immigrate under the Quebec Skilled Worker Program should know that the ITAs will be issued to the candidates by the Ministry (according to the selection categories listed below) and according to criteria related to the applicant’s ability to settle and stay in Quebec. According to the available information, these criteria include the following:

  • Training in a profession or work experience in an area for which there is a high demand within the province;
  • The region of Quebec in which the candidate would like to settle;
  • The humanitarian status of the candidate’s country / region of origin;
  • An international agreement from the government side.

Further instructions and information can be found at the Immigration-Quebec website: http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/

The selection is made by Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration officials, based on a point system whereby points are allocated according to different criteria of selection, including, but not limited to:

 

  • Age
  • Education
  • Occupation (See list of areas of training in the link above)
  • Language ability (French/English) *
  • Years of working experience
  • Family in Quebec
  • Studies in Quebec
  • Work experience in Quebec
  • Spouse or partner’s age, education, French knowledge
  • Minor children coming with you

 

*It is important to note that the minimum level of French required for an applicant to receive points for French ability is an intermediate level (B2 – level 7 out of 12 – %59), according to the Common European Framework for Reference of Languages.   There are also other ways to obtain additional points. For example, by visiting the Province of Quebec for a given period. Please also note that the selection criteria can change at any time at the discretion of the Quebec government.

This process is divided in 4 stages:

Stage 1 – Preparation of the application

  • Evaluation of the requirements according to the profile
  • Documentation compilation
  • Studying the language to reach the required advanced level

Stage 2 – Introduction of the file

  • Creation of the Arrima profile
  • Presentation of the DDI before MIFI
  • Score assignment by MIFI
  • Issuance of invitations by MIFI to candidates who have a good profile

Stage 3 – Evaluation of the application by the provincial government

  • Submission of the documentation according to the information provided on the Arrima profile
  • Issuance of the Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ)

Stage 4 – Evaluation of the application by the federal government

  • Transfer of the file from the provincial to the federal level
  • Presentation of medical examinations
  • Presentation of police certificates

According to the procedure described, the Government of Quebec estimates that the processing time of applications for at a duration of less than twelve (12) months.

 

Do you want to know if you are eligible for the Skilled Program of the Province of Quebec?