QUEBEC · BUILD A LOCAL PLAN FOR SETTLING IN
A newcomer guide can tell you which documents exist. A useful settlement appointment helps you decide which one matters next, where to ask for it and what to do if the first referral does not fit your situation. In Quebec, start with the province’s own integration services and a community organization that serves your area.
That local route matters. Montreal has many organizations, but choosing the best-known name is less useful than finding a worker who covers your neighbourhood and the task in front of you. In a smaller community, confirm the service area and appointment arrangements before planning a trip.
Information checked November 5, 2026. This guide describes selected starting points, not a ranking or complete directory. Confirm current program eligibility and availability directly. Images are AI-generated conceptual illustrations, not photographs of the organizations or their clients.
Use Quebec’s integration route when you live in Quebec
The federal newcomer-service finder explicitly directs people in Quebec to Quebec’s integration support rather than listing providers in the province. Do not assume that the eligibility explanation attached to a federally funded program elsewhere in Canada determines access to every Quebec service.
Start with the specific question you need answered. “I need help understanding a school enrolment request” gives a worker a practical task. “I need every available service” makes it harder to decide what is urgent. Add your municipality, current status, preferred appointment language and any deadline.
A needs assessment or action plan can help organize several tasks. It does not decide whether you qualify for a separate benefit, immigration pathway, housing program or training course. Ask which organization makes that decision and what it requires.
Accompagnement Québec changed its delivery arrangements in July 2026
The current Accompagnement Québec page, updated November 3, 2026, describes free personalized integration support. Its July 1, 2026 notice says pre-departure settlement support is delivered exclusively by the ministry, while settlement support inside Quebec is offered by community organizations in partnership with it.
The page identifies a CSQ, a CAQ or an IRCC client number among the registration requirements and explains which reference number to provide. It directs users to Arrima, where they select Accompagnement Québec; appointment confirmation arrives by email and in the Arrima message centre. Read the admission conditions before starting.
Use this route to clarify your needs, establish an individualized action plan and connect with appropriate partners. If the online steps are unclear, the page lists 514-864-9191 for Greater Montreal and 1-877-864-9191 elsewhere in Quebec. Confirm the current contact hours before calling.
Keep your reference numbers in your own records. You can ask an organization how to prepare without sending immigration documents to several offices at once. Ask what information is necessary, who needs it and how to provide it.
Search the partner directory by place and service
Quebec’s community-partner directory provides filters for services, regions, cities and languages. Search by where you live and the kind of assistance you need. The service categories include settlement and referrals, support for parents, intercultural connections and help establishing outside Montreal.
The directory describes support for immigrants, temporary foreign workers and study-permit holders, while identifying narrower services for asylum claimants. Those are conditions attached to the services described there, not a complete account of all assistance available through every organization or public service.
After finding a provider, check its own current page and contact the team. Ask whether it serves your municipality, whether the particular service accepts your status and whether you need an appointment. A language listed in a directory is a useful lead, but confirm the language of the meeting you are booking.
| Your immediate task | A useful question for intake |
|---|---|
| Several unfamiliar administrative steps | Can we identify my priorities and the right referrals? |
| Planning a move outside Montreal | Which organization serves the destination community? |
| French classes | Which course and admission process fit my situation? |
| School or child-care questions | Is there a family or intercultural liaison service? |
| A service cannot accept you | Is the issue status, funding, location or current availability? |
Choose a local starting point, then check its conditions
These examples illustrate different routes into support. They are not guarantees of admission, immediate appointments or province-wide coverage.
Montreal: PROMIS
PROMIS’s welcome and integration service describes assessing needs, developing an individualized plan and guiding clients toward housing, health, school, employment and French-learning resources. It also offers group information activities.
Use the appointment route on the service page to explain your circumstances. Ask whether the task belongs with its integration team or another specialist. Its getting-started guide describes meeting a counsellor, identifying useful services and receiving referrals when another institution is appropriate.
Quebec City: Centre multiethnique de Québec
The Centre multiethnique’s individual-support page describes welcoming and settlement assistance, needs assessment, information, referrals, housing-search help and follow-up. It also lists assistance with registration for school, child care and French courses.
Contact the organization to establish which service fits your status and needs. Its Premières démarches d’installation session has its own stated audience and language conditions. An information session and an individual appointment serve different purposes; ask which one you need first.
Sherbrooke and parts of Estrie: SANC
The Service d’aide aux Néo-Canadiens describes support in Sherbrooke and the MRCs of Coaticook, des Sources, du Granit and Haut-Saint-François. Its services include individual meetings, practical orientation, administrative support and referrals.
The page says services are free for eligible people and recommends an appointment. The contact number is 819-566-5373. Confirm eligibility and the location serving your municipality. SANC explicitly distinguishes settlement support from immigration advice and says it refers people to recognized resources when that expertise is needed.
For another region, use the directory rather than assuming a Montreal or Sherbrooke team covers your town. Before travelling, clarify the outcome of the appointment, which documents are needed and whether a phone or video meeting is available.
If you are considering a regional move, ask for a referral to the destination organization before making commitments. Discuss work, housing, school needs, transport and language learning as separate practical questions. An introduction to a community is helpful; it is not a promise of employment or accommodation.
Treat French learning as its own intake, not an automatic referral outcome
Tell a worker what you want to do more confidently in French: speak with a teacher, handle a workplace conversation or understand everyday appointments. Ask which learning format suits that goal and how it fits your schedule.
The government’s full-time French-course pages separate course information, admission and possible financial assistance. The admission page updated June 16, 2026 lists birth outside Canada, age 16 or older and residence in Quebec among its conditions. It also provides specific instructions for temporary workers and students.
Read the conditions that apply to you before changing a work or study schedule. A temporary student must also consider the requirements of the main study program described on that page. Ask the appropriate service to clarify your situation rather than assuming that a settlement referral changes permit conditions.
Admission, the timing of a class and eligibility for financial assistance are separate questions. Confirm each one. For more informal practice, ask your local organization about conversation activities and whether registration is required.
Name the family problem you need help solving
“We do not understand the child-care registration instructions” is more useful than a general request for family support. Bring the complete message and say which step is unclear. Ask whether a settlement worker, the school, a child-care provider or another office should handle it.
For example, SANC’s service page lists intercultural liaison work involving schools, health, early childhood, youth and families, as well as Espace Parents workshops. Availability and eligibility still need checking with the team. These are examples of local support, not an arrangement that every Quebec school automatically has.
Information sessions can help with questions you did not know to ask. SANC’s activities page lists sessions on practical settlement subjects, including school information and preparing for winter. Check the current calendar and booking details rather than relying on an old event date.
If you are an asylum claimant, state that when asking about services so the worker can identify the appropriate program. The provincial directory’s restrictions do not answer every question about specialized support. Ask for a clear referral when an organization cannot provide the particular help you need.
Prepare a short agenda and make the referral usable
- Write down your municipality, preferred appointment language and current status.
- Choose the problem with the nearest deadline.
- Confirm the service, eligibility check and appointment format.
- Ask which documents are required and how to provide them.
- Check interpretation, accessibility and arrangements for children.
- Confirm any fee for the specific service.
- Note the next contact and follow-up method before the meeting ends.
Repeat the next step in your own words: “I contact this team, ask for this appointment and prepare these documents.” If a referral fails, return with the reason. An unavailable appointment, a service outside your area and a program for a different status require different alternatives.
For the wider arrival tasks, see our first 30 days in Quebec checklist. You do not need to understand the entire system before asking for help. Begin with one task and build a plan you can actually use.
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