My QSW Experience

[brandonQSW]

Hi everyone,

While there a have been few posts every now and then on peoples' individual experiences with the Quebec Skilled Worker program and process, I felt I would post my personal experience as well, as I have not seen any new and updated experiences on the QSW process in quite some time. This is a quite detailed and long account of my experience but I am posting to help others and provide information.

First off, I just received my CSQ (Certificat de Selection du Quebec) on Friday, March 23, 2012. I am so ecstatic and happy, I thought that day would never get here! The process now begins for applying for Canadian Permanent Residency...

To give you a timeline of my experience...I initially applied in October 2010, received my AOR from Immigration Quebec in January 2011, received a letter from Immigration Quebec indicating I have been placed onto a waiting list for an immigration interview in November 2011, and finally had my Quebec Immigration Interview for a CSQ in March 2012, where I received the infamous CSQ. The process took slightly longer than I had anticipated (solely judging from what other time frames I had seen in the past) - however, I believe that this may be the norm for now, since Immigration Quebec has been receiving floods of new applications.

Regarding the CSQ Interview...my interview ended up being in New York City, at a Quebec Service Center in Rockefeller Center (Manhattan). I arrived approximately 35 minutes before my scheduled interview time - the wait did nothing for my nerves ;D Finally, the immigration officer walked over and introduced himself and we walked to his office where the interview took place. The interview lasted for a little over and hour (about an hour and 10 minutes). He mostly went over my original documents that I needed to bring (diplomas/degrees, transcripts, employment letters, bank statements, etc.).

Now, the piece everyone wants to know - what questions did he ask?? From what I can recall, he asked questions such as (ALL in French, of course):

- Why do you want to immigrate to Quebec specifically?
- Where in Quebec do you want to immigrate to and why?
- Have you looked at the employment and housing opportunities in that city? What did you find and in what areas of the city?
- How would Quebec benefit from selecting you to immigrate to their province? What can you bring and provide to Quebec?
- Do you have any plans for additional schooling in Quebec? If so, which schools? (Be careful here - if you wish to move to Montreal, make sure you name a French university or college - McGill or Concordia do not sit well as these are English schools)
- Tell me about the times and frequency of your visits to areas within Quebec.
- Other small-talk questions included your knowledge of Quebec's history and values and French culture

The more you speak about your intentions and commitment to becoming Quebecois, the better. They want to ensure they are selecting someone who will preserve their French culture and heritage, rather than bring more English culture to their province. They are afraid of the decline in French towards English and want to select only those they believe will bring value to Quebec.

All in all, this experience has been very emotional, ranging from worried and pessimistic to extremely happy and excited. If you are considering immigrating to Quebec through the QSW route, ensure that your French language skills are immaculate and match what you had indicated on your initial application. If you run into issues with your French speaking at the interview, do your best to try and speak in French, by at least starting in French and finishing in English. The more you prove that you are trying to commit to learning and immersing yourself in the French language and culture, the more likely they are to accept/select you.

I hope this information will help others in their journey and I wish you nothing but the best.

Bonne chance!

 

[ziv]

HI THANK you for sharing your experience to us. i have read alots of forum here, but no one can answer my question, maybe of so many question of this forum they cannot accomodate it, i have question, me and my wife a planing to apply qsw program and where from philippines and my wife is the principal applicant, my wife finished her course bachelor of science in commerce major in business administration, and i also graduated bachelor of science in business administration major in banking and financial management. and where still studying our french lesson at alliance francaise. do you we have a chance to get a csq? what are the step for this to apply in quebec? were planning to hire a consultant for our immigration process. is it advisable to get a consultant?