Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration

Like its Federal counterpart, there is a Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program that does not require a job offer from a Canadian or Quebec employer. This program is designed to select candidates who are likely to become economically established and who have the intention of residing in Quebec.

Quebec is Canada's only Francophone province. The Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program has different qualifying criteria based on Quebec's cultural uniqueness. An applicant can include their spouse (or common-law partner) on their application, as well as any dependent children. In fact, under the Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program, additional points are awarded to applicants with families, especially those with young children.

Unlike the Federal Skilled Worker program, there is no list of eligible occupations. If the other criteria set out by Immigration Quebec is met, individuals will qualify regardless of their field of expertise.

The Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program is different from Canadian immigration programs in that it involves two steps. First, the applicant must apply to Immigration Quebec to obtain their Immigration Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) and then their visa from the Federal government. The fees associated with this portion of the application are as follows:

$750 CAD For the principal applicant

$156 CAD For the spouse and/or each dependant child

For detailed processing times by country for the Quebec portion of the process, click here. 
For more detailed processing times by country for the Federal portion of the process, click here.

Under the Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program an individual requires 49 points or an applicant with a spouse who obtains a minimum of 57 points, to qualify for a Canadian permanent resident visa. If called to a personal selection interview with an immigration Quebec officer, applicants will have the opportunity to earn up to six extra points. After attending a personal interview, individual applicants will require at least 55 points to qualify and applicants with a spouse require at least 63 points to qualify under the Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program.

The Quebec government asserts that candidates with diplomas in the areas of training that merit 12 to 16 points have good prospects for economic integration into the province and has therefore not imposed a quota on the number of applications received.

However please note that effective March 21 2012, those who identify themselves under the Section C areas of training, which only garner 6 points, must respect Quebec's cap of 14 300 applications. This is the annual threshold at which the Quebec government has decided to cease processing additional applications. Further, Quebec will not accept applications from candidates who qualify under Sections D or E, as applicants are required to possess at least 2 points in this category to be eligible.

Many applicants who do not have any French proficiency when they begin the process enroll in online French courses such as Alliance Française. Below is a description of the levels of French proficiency:

Who May Submit an Application as a Skilled Worker?

You can currently submit an immigration application as a skilled worker only if one of the following situations applies to you, if none of these situations applies to you, you cannot submit an application until after March 31, 2013. 

1. You temporarily reside in Québec as a temporary worker. You meet the eligibility conditions of the Programme de l’expérience québécoise (Temporary worker) (PEQ - Québec experience program for temporary workers) or are eligible to apply for a selection certificate under the regular program for skilled workers.
2. You have obtained a diploma awarded by a Québec teaching institution for studies done in Québec or you are about to obtain that diploma and you meet the eligibility conditions of the Programme de l’expérience québécoise (Québec Graduate) (PEQ - Québec experience program for Québec graduates).
3. You reside temporarily in Québec as a foreign student, you are eligible to apply for a selection certificate under the regular program for skilled workers and you are submitting your application in Québec.
4. You reside temporarily in Québec within the framework of a youth exchange program subject to an international agreement, such as a work holiday program. You are working full time in Québec, you are eligible to apply for a selection certificate under the regular program for skilled workers and you are submitting your application in Québec
5. You or your accompanying spouse hold a diploma awarded by a teaching institution in an area of training allowing you to get 6 (see list, in French, 38 kb), 12 or 16 points under the area of training criterion of the selection grid for skilled workers (see list, in French, 35 kb). The number of years of study required to obtain your diploma must be at least equal to the number of years required to obtain that diploma in Québec. This diploma was obtained less than five years before the date of your application. Failing that, you must have practised, on a full-time basis and for at least one year out of the five years preceding the date of your application, a profession or trade in an area related to that diploma.
6. You or your accompanying spouse hold an employment offer made by a Québec employer and validated by the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles.
7. Citizenship and Immigration Canada informed you that your application for permanent residence in Canada was admissible for processing.
8. You reside temporarily in Québec, you were a Canadian citizen at one time and you are submitting you application in Québec.
9. You or your accompanying spouse hold a Québec diploma or a diploma treated as a Québec diploma that sanctions at least one year of full-time studies. This diploma was obtained less than five years before the date of your application. Failing that, you must have practised, on a full-time basis and for at least one year out of the five years preceding the date of your application, a profession or trade in an area related to that diploma.