Settling permanently in Québec

If your post-graduation work permit expires and you are still waiting to become a permanent resident, you will need to get a new work permit if you want to stay and work in Canada. If you have your CSQ and are waiting to become a permanent resident, consider these two options:

• Closed work permit — You must reside in Québec and have:
  • a valid work permit (or be eligible for restoration of status)
  • a CSQ
  • a valid job offer (the employer must have paid the $230 employer compliance fee)
  • See all details on the IRCC Website
• Bridging open work permit — You must reside in Québec and have:
  • a valid work permit (or be eligible for restoration of status)
  • a CSQ for Quebec Skilled Worker
  • the acknowledgement letter for your application for permanent residence showing that your application is complete (the temporary acknowledgement letter is not valid); you must be the principal applicant
  • See all details on the IRCC Website.

Fees in effect as of January 1, 2026. They may be modified without notice. You must pay the fees by credit card and online through the Arrima platform when you submit your application.

• $940 - Graduate
• $201 - Partner and each dependent child

The Skilled Worker Selection Program (SWSP) is open to anyone who wishes to settle and work in Québec. It has 4 streams, based on the main occupation you intend to practise: Highly Qualified and Specialized Skills, Intermediate and Manual Skills, Regulated Professions, and Exceptional Talent. You will first need to identify your main occupation, i.e., the profession you want to (and are realistically able to) practice in Québec. You will need to use the NOC (National Occupation Classification) system to identify the TEER (training, education, experience, and responsibilities) category of your main occupation and determine which SWSP stream is right for you.

To apply to the SWSP, you first need to submit a declaration of interest in Arrima. You can submit an expression of interest if you meet all the criteria for one of the program streams. You can do this before, during, or after your studies at Université Laval. The process is free of charge. Expressions of interest are valid for 1 year and can be updated at any time. 

Your profile will be scored (PDF) (document in French only) based on different criteria, such as your age, education, knowledge of French, diplomas from Québec, and stay in Québec, as well as whether you have a validated job offer or work experience. Important: Everything you declare must be true and demonstrable. For example, if you mention work experience you have not had or cannot prove, your application may be rejected for misrepresentation.

Next, the government invites applications for permanent selection. Invitations are based on criteria chosen by the government (SWSP stream, current place of residence, Québec diploma, score, work experience, NOC code, etc.) and may be different for each invitation. As such, even if you meet all the criteria for an SWSP stream, you may not receive an invitation to apply.  

If you receive an invitation to apply, you will have 30 days to accept it, then 60 days (or 1 year for certain people applying for Stream 3)  to submit your application with all the required documents and make the payment. Your application will then be analyzed. To obtain a CSQ, you will need to meet the general requirements of the SWSP as well as the requirements specific to your stream.  

If you are applying with a partner, both people can submit an expression of interest and include the other person. If one of the people in the couple receives an invitation to apply, they will be the main applicant for selection.

General requirements for the SWSP

• Intend to settle in Québec to work as a salaried employee for a company located in Québec. This excludes employment with a company over which you exercise legal or de facto control (e.g., self-employed, owner, etc.) and employment in an ineligible sector (payday loans, cheque cashing or pawnbroking; production, distribution or sale of pornographic or sexually explicit products or services related to the sex industry).
• Be at least 18 years old.
• Obtain an attestation of learning of democratic and Québec values within the required timeframe. If you have included your partner or children aged 18 and older in your application, they must obtain an attestation as well. There are two ways to get this attestation: by taking the online assessment when MIFI asks you to (if you receive an invitation to apply for a CSQ and submit an application) or by attending an Objectif Intégration information session before or after applying for permanent selection. Note that the attestation is valid for 2 years, and the information session is offered at Option-travail and the Centre R.I.R.E. 2000, among others.
• Demonstrate that you can provide for your basic needs and those of the family members included in your application for 3 months.
• If applicable, have complied with the condition to return to your home country imposed by a scholarship in Québec. 

Additional requirements for individual SWSP streams

Stream 1: Highly qualified and specialized skills

• Have a TEER category 0, 1, or 2 main occupation that does not require a licence to practise in Québec.
• Have at least 1 year of work experience in your main occupation, in or outside Québec, within the last 5 years. Paid and unpaid mandatory internships completed as part of a program of study can count for up to 3 months of work experience. You must have had a work permit during the internship if it was completed in Canada.
• Have the required education.
• Have at least a Level 7 knowledge of spoken French and a Level 5 knowledge of written French.
• If you include your partner in your application, they must declare and demonstrate that they have at least a Level 4 knowledge of spoken French.

Stream 2: Intermediate and manual skills

• Have a TEER category 3, 4, or 5 main occupation that does not require a licence to practise in Québec.
• Have at least 2 years of work experience in your main occupation within the last 5 years; at least 1 of those years of work experience must have been in Québec. Work experience acquired outside Québec may have been acquired in the same main occupation or in another occupation in the same broad occupational category as defined by the NOC (i.e., with the same first digit of the 5-digit NOC code).
• Have the required education.
• Have at least a Level 5 knowledge of spoken French.
• If you include your partner in your application, they must declare and demonstrate that they have at least a Level 4 knowledge of spoken French.

Stream 3: Regulated professions

• Have a main profession on the Liste des professions réglementées du Ministère (PDF) (ministerial list of regulated professions; list in French only).
• Have authorization to practise your profession in Québec, or proof of partial or full recognition (PDF) of the equivalence of your training or diploma.
• If your main occupation is in TEER category 0, 1, or 2, have at least a Level 7 knowledge of spoken French and a Level 5 knowledge of written French.
• If your main occupation is in TEER category 3, 4, or 5, have at least a Level 5 knowledge of spoken French.
• If you include your partner in your application, they must declare and demonstrate that they have at least a Level 4 knowledge of spoken French.

Stream 4: Exceptional talent

• Distinguish yourself clearly in your main occupation through exceptional expertise that is likely to contribute to Québec’s prosperity.
• Have a proven track record of achievements related to your expertise.
• Have practised your main occupation for at least 3 out of the last 5 years.
• Have an achievement listed on the Liste des accomplissements du Ministère (PDF) (ministerial list of achievements; document in French only) or have obtained an opinion from one of the Ministère’s partners in one of the 4 targeted fields:
  • Strategic economic sectors
  • Research
  • Arts and culture
  • Sport

Form and further information

Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ)
Processus de présentation d’une demande (PDF)
Processus de présentation d’une demande – volet 3 (PDF) – If you have not received recognition of your qualifications (Stream 3)

If you want to immigrate to Québec to invest, start a business, or be self-employed, you will need to apply to one of the dedicated programs. 

You have to apply online. Information about the Quebec-selected skilled workers program and the application package can be found on IRCC website.

• Within 4 to 8 months after sending your application, you will receive a confirmation of receipt of your application with your file number and instructions for communicating with the IRCC office processing your application.
• Do not try to contact IRCC or send any other documents until you have received your confirmation of receipt and file number.
• Once CIC has received your application, notify them of any:
  • Change of mailing address, telephone number, or email
  • Change in marital status (marriage, divorce, etc.)
  • Birth of a child outside Canada

You and your family members (children and spouse) — whether they are traveling with you or not —must undergo a medical exam in order to become permanent residents. IRCC will send you detailed instructions, including medical exam forms and a list of physicians in your area who are authorized to perform medical exams for immigration cases. Do not have a medical exam before submitting your application. The list of approved physicians is available at the IRCC website.

A temporary public policy for medical exams exempts many in-Canada applicants from medical requirements. For more information, go to Medical exam for permanent resident applicants.

You must submit a valid police certificate or a certified criminal record check for each country, other than Canada, in which you or your family members have lived six or more consecutive months since the age of 18. The certificate must have been issued after your last period of residence in the country in question, and it is normally valid for one year.

Detailed, up-to-date information on how to get a police certificate from every country is available at the IRCC website.

Biometrics must be collected as part of an application for permanent residence, even if you have already given them to get a study or work permit. Instructions about this will be provided to you after your case file has been opened.

The processing fee is $950 for the principal applicant and their spouse and is $260 for each dependent child. These fees must be included with your application (fees in effect in April 2024).

If your application is successful, you will need to pay the right of permanent residence fee. It is $575 for the principal applicant and their spouse (fees in effect in April 2024). You can choose to pay this fee at the beginning of your application or at the end.

The processing time is on the IRCC website.