IMMIGRATION GUIDE · QUEBEC
Before choosing a Québec immigration route, establish which program is accepting new candidates and which instructions apply to your occupation. A familiar program name in an older guide can hide a major change in intake, selection or timing.
Information checked: November 4, 2026. Use the current provincial instructions alongside the applicable federal process.
AI-generated conceptual illustration of planning a move to Québec; not a photograph of a specific street.
PEQ: the latest intake has closed
The official PEQ notice, updated October 29, says the intake that opened July 2, 2026 closed October 31. New applications can no longer be submitted, and no decision has been made about another intake period.
The notice distinguishes new applications from permitted requests to add or remove family members in qualifying existing files. It directs prospective permanent immigrants toward an Arrima declaration of interest and a possible invitation under the Skilled Worker Selection Program.
If you already submitted a file, identify its actual stage before acting. If you are starting now, do not build a plan around a reopening that has not been announced.
PSTQ starts with a declaration of interest
The PSTQ overview, updated November 3, 2026, describes a declaration of interest in Arrima, scoring and possible invitation. Receiving an invitation depends on the score and the criteria Québec seeks; selection still requires meeting all program conditions.
Keep three stages separate in your planning: expressing interest, being invited and receiving a selection decision. Preparing a profile is useful work, but it does not mean an application for permanent selection has been approved.
Your main occupation determines the stream to investigate
The PSTQ requirements identify four streams: highly qualified and specialized skills; intermediate and manual skills; regulated professions; and exceptional talent. The main occupation and information in the declaration help determine the applicable stream.
Stream 1 covers FEER 0–2, with specified experience, education and French requirements. Stream 2 covers FEER 3–5 and requires two years of qualifying experience, including one in Québec, within five years. Regulated work needs the Stream 3 assessment; exceptional talent has separate achievement or partner-opinion requirements.
Find the NOC matching your actual duties before comparing criteria. A job title can conceal different professional activities, particularly where only some roles within an occupation are regulated. Read the complete conditions for the stream rather than combining the easiest-looking requirements from several streams.
The same requirements set Stream 1 French at oral level 7 and written level 5 on the Québec scale; Stream 2 uses oral level 5. Streams 1–3 also specify oral level 4 for an accompanying spouse. Stream 3 language levels depend on the occupation’s FEER category. Check the applicable details directly.
Build and maintain the Arrima profile carefully
The EOI instructions, updated November 3, 2026, make submission free. You have 90 days after creating a declaration to complete and submit it. Once filed, it remains valid for 12 months; updates do not extend that period. After expiry, a new declaration can be created.
The profile covers status, education, work, family and intentions. The instructions ask for paid jobs and specified internships from the preceding five years. You must update changed circumstances and check the Arrima message centre for communications.
Prepare the information in a working document before entering it online. Compare dates with your records and distinguish a saved draft from a submitted declaration. Record the submission date so you know when the profile’s validity ends.
Plan French evidence before choosing a test
The French-evidence instructions identify accepted tests, diplomas and specified professional-order documents. Evidence is required even for native French speakers. Test results must be no more than two years old when applying for permanent selection, and testing must take place at an approved centre.
The page lists TCF variants, TEF variants, DELF and DALF, with correspondence tables for Québec’s proficiency scale. Some specified secondary diplomas are accepted; professional-order evidence is limited to Stream 3. There is no English-language requirement under PSTQ, although claimed English ability needs the accepted evidence.
Choose evidence that matches the requirements of your actual stream and household situation. Do not assume a familiar language certificate is accepted, or that strength in one skill compensates for a required result in another.
CSQ selection is followed by a federal application
The province’s federal-stage guidance, updated September 16, 2026, explains that a CSQ is followed by a separate application as a Québec-selected skilled worker. Québec selects; Canada decides whether to grant permanent residence. Obtaining the CSQ includes an intention to settle in Québec to work.
Keep separate records for provincial selection and the federal application. An invitation, a submitted selection application and an issued CSQ represent different stages; none should be described as permanent residence already granted.
An invitation score only makes sense with its criteria
The invitation guidance, updated November 3, describes stream requirements, possible targeting of specific profiles, and ranking within the eligible group. Criteria can include occupation, French, education, experience and regional factors. Some invitation criteria carry no points but still determine who can be invited.
The ministry explicitly cautions against comparing minimum scores across streams. Its self-evaluation result is illustrative, and exceeding a previous minimum does not guarantee an invitation.
When reading a draw announcement, first check which stream and profile it targeted. Only then compare the score. A number from a different occupation group or invitation exercise may say little about your own prospects.
Track acceptance and application deadlines separately
The application instructions allow 30 days from invitation to accept. Normally, the application, documents and fees are then due within 60 days of acceptance. Stream 3 candidates without the specified regulatory recognition have one year from acceptance to submit, allowing time for the recognition process.
For 2026, the listed selection fees are $940 for the principal applicant and $201 each for an accompanying spouse or dependent child. They are non-refundable. Documents must be colour-scanned, combined into a PDF, and in English or French or accompanied by the required translation.
Save the actual invitation and acceptance dates in your calendar. Do not rely on a generic deadline copied from another applicant’s experience. Read the instructions for your file, especially when regulatory recognition is involved.
A selection process does not replace a work-permit plan
The post-CSQ guidance, updated November 3, distinguishes work-permit options by location and federal application stage. In-Québec workers need to check how to maintain valid work authorization. Employer-specific LMIA-exempt permits and bridging open permits have different requirements; a CSQ is not itself a work permit.
The province also describes possible IMP+ eligibility for people abroad. Treat this as a route to check against its own conditions, not an automatic entitlement attached to every CSQ.
Keep your status-expiry date visible throughout the process. If your permit will expire soon, check the current federal requirements for your circumstances before assuming a selection decision will arrive in time.
Use the occupation tool before relying on a job title
The official occupation-mapping guidance directs applicants to NOC 2021 Version 1.0, comparing the main duties and then checking the corresponding PSTQ stream. Its tool excludes Stream 4, which is based on exceptional expertise rather than occupation alone.
For regulated work, the guidance directs you to the applicable regulatory framework and recognition steps. The Stream 3 requirements distinguish proof of recognition from permission to practise: an acknowledgement of receipt is not recognition, and partial or full recognition is not itself a licence.
Write down the duties you intend to perform and the authority regulating them. This makes a more useful starting point than selecting a similar-sounding title and discovering the licensing issue after an invitation.
Prepare the federal file as a separate application
IRCC’s eligibility page requires a CSQ and a complete permanent-residence application, including police certificates. The federal application instructions use the Permanent Residence Portal, with accommodation options for applicants who cannot apply online.
The instructions identify online forms, a document checklist and the declaration of intent to reside in Québec, plus other forms where applicable. Follow the current checklist, upload the required records, pay the applicable fees and complete the electronic signature yourself. An incomplete application can be rejected.
Keep a document index for each stage. Reusing a supporting record may be sensible, but check its required format, validity and translation instructions again rather than assuming the provincial submission automatically completes the federal file.
Your preparation checklist
Use these boxes to organize your research; they do not determine eligibility.
For practical settlement planning, continue with our Québec newcomer guide. Before submitting anything, return to the official program pages and the instructions issued for your file.
General information, not an individual eligibility assessment or legal advice. Illustrations are AI-generated conceptual artwork.
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