Quebec Permanent Immigration Pilot Programs

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Table of Contents

• Overview
• Pilot Program for Food Processing Workers
• Pilot Program for Orderlies
• Pilot Program for Workers in Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology and Visual Effects
• Application Process for Quebec Pilot Programs

Overview

Quebec's pilot programs were developed to help the province find the talent it needs in several sectors that are currently experiencing labour shortages. The Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) plans to issue Quebec Selection Certificates (QSC) to up to 600 principal applicants plus their family members annually under each of the three pilot programs.

All three pilot programs will be in effect from November 2023 to January 1, 2026.

Permanent Immigration Pilot Program for Workers in Food Processing

This pilot program offers a pathway to permanent immigration for temporary foreign workers who hold jobs that are admissible in the food processing sector.

The application intake period is from November 23rd, 2023 to December 31, 2024, or until the maximum number of applications to receive has been reached.

General Requirements

• Be 18 years of age or older;
• Intend to settle in Quebec to work;
• Have met the conditions of your stay in Quebec;
• Be able to demonstrate financial self-sufficiency for at least the first three months following your arrival in Quebec.

Education Requirements

• Hold a diploma corresponding to at least a high school diploma or a Quebec vocational diploma in a full-time program of study of at least one year.

Work Experience Requirements

• Hold a full-time job in an eligible sector in Quebec; or
• Have worked in an eligible, full-time, paid job for a period of at least 24 months in Quebec in an eligible sector during the 36 months preceding the date of application;
• The work experience or job must be in one of two eligible sectors under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) of the Government of Canada:
  • NAICS 311 – Food manufacturing; or
  • NAICS 3121 – Beverage manufacturing

Language Requirements

• Demonstrate knowledge of French corresponding to level 7 (advanced intermediate) on the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français des personnes immigrantes adultes, or equivalent.

Targeted Occupations

The work experience or currently held job must correspond to one of the following occupations under the National Occupational Classification (NOC):

• NOC 94141 - Industrial Butchers and Meat Cutters, Poultry Preparers and Related Workers;
• NOC 95106 - Labourers in Food and Beverage Processing;
• NOC 95107 - Labourers in Fish and Seafood Processing;
• NOC 65311 - Specialty Cleaners;
• NOC 94140 - Machine and Process Operators in Food and Beverage Processing;
• NOC 85100 - Labourers in the care of livestock, but only the job title chicken gatherer;
• NOC 94142 - Workers in fish and seafood processing plants.

In addition the work experience and/or the job you currently hold must belong to one of these eligible sectors according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) of the Government of Canada:

• NAICS 311 – Food manufacturing; and
• NAICS 3121 – Beverage manufacturing.

Permanent Immigration Pilot Program for Orderlies

This pilot program offers a pathway to Canadian permanent resident status to those already residing in Quebec and working as orderlies, nurses aides or as patient service associates. This program is divided into the following two streams:

• Work
• Work-Study

The application intake period is from November 23rd, 2023 to December 31, 2024, or until the maximum number of applications to receive has been reached.

General Requirements for Both Streams

• Be 18 years of age or older;
• Intend to settle in Quebec to work for a company which you exercise no direct or indirect legal or de facto control;
• Have met the conditions of your stay in Quebec;
• Demonstrate financial self-sufficiency for at least the first three months following your arrival in Quebec.
• Demonstrate knowledge of French corresponding to level 7 (advanced intermediate) on the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français des personnes immigrantes adultes, or equivalent. Read more here. 

Work Stream – Specific Conditions

Education Requirements

• Hold a diploma related to the occupation of orderly obtained after completing a full-time program of study of at least one year;
• The diploma must correspond to a diploma of vocational studies (DEP) in Quebec.

Work Experience Requirements

• At least 24 months of eligible work experience as an orderly in Quebec in the 36 months preceding the date of application; or
• At least 12 months in a health occupation related to basic personal care outside Quebec and at least 12 months as orderly in Quebec during the 36 months preceding the date of application;
• Work experience must have been legally acquired, paid and full-time.

Targeted Occupations

The work experience or currently held job must correspond to the following National Occupational Classification (NOC) code:

• NOC 33102 – Nurse aide, orderly and patient service associate.

Alternatively, the work experience may have been acquired outside of Québec in an occupation other than the one cited above, it must correspond to one of the following NOC codes:

• NOC 31300 – Nursing coordinator and supervisor;
• NOC 31301 – Registered nurse and registered psychiatric nurse;
• NOC 31302 – Nurse Practitioners;
• NOC 32101 – Licensed practical nurses.

Work-Study Stream- Specific Conditions

Education Requirement

• Have obtained a Quebec Diploma of Vocational Studies (DVE) leading to the practice of an eligible orderly occupation during the 24 months preceding the date of submission of the application;
• To be eligible for the work-study program, applicants must have successfully completed the Institutional and Home Care Assistance Program and have a secondary diploma of vocational studies.

Work Experience Requirement

• Have at least 12 months of work experience as an orderly in Quebec, accumulated in the 24 months preceding the date of application and after the date of completion of the program of study;
• Work experience must have been legally acquired, paid and full-time;
• After completing their program of study, applicants must be hired by a Quebec employer and obtain a work permit.

Permanent Immigration Pilot Program for Workers in the Artificial Intelligence, Information Technologies and Visual Effects Sectors

This permanent immigration pilot program aims to attract and retain Quebec graduates in artificial intelligence as well as international talent working in the technology industry in Quebec or who have a job offer from a Quebec employer.

The program is divided into two streams:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Information technology and Visual Effects (IT/VE)

This program aims to select 300 Quebec graduates and temporary workers in the AI sector and 300 foreign workers in the IT/VE sector.

The application intake period is from November 23rd, 2023 to December 31, 2024, or until the maximum number of applications to receive has been reached.

General Requirements for Both Streams

• Be 18 years of age or older;
• Intend to settle in Quebec to work for a company which you exercise no direct or indirect legal or de facto control;
• Have met the conditions of your stay in Quebec, if applicable;
• Demonstrate financial self-sufficiency for at least the first three months following your arrival in Quebec.

Language Requirements for Both Streams

Both streams in this program include a French-speaker and a non French-speaker (Francization) profile.

• Those selected under the French-speaker profile must demonstrate knowledge of French corresponding to level 7 (advanced intermediate) on the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français des personnes immigrantes adultes, or equivalent.
• Those selected under the Non French-Speaker profile will automatically be enrolled in a free, personalized program called "Accompagnement Québec" designed to facilitate the process of integration into Quebec society and support in learning French.

Artificial Intelligence Stream – Specific Conditions

Foreign Workers

Education and Work Experience Requirements

• Have a diploma equivalent to a Quebec bachelor’s degree and have acquired at least one year of full-time work experience in the five years preceding your application; in a level 0, A, or B job according to the National Occupational Classification; or
• Have obtained a diploma equivalent to a Quebec master’s or PhD in the last year before submitting the application and hold or have accepted a job in Québec in the AI sector. The gross annual salary for the job must be at least $75,000 if the employer is located outside of the Metropolitan Montréal Community or at least $100,000 if located in the Metropolitan Montréal Community.

Quebec Graduates

Education and Work Experience Requirements

• Have a higher specialised studies (DESS) diploma, a master’s or a PhD from a Quebec educational institution issued in the last 24 months;
• Hold or have accepted a full-time job in Québec in the AI sector;
• Applicants who hold a diploma of higher specialized studies (DESS) must have held a full time job in a level 0, A or B according to the National Occupational Classification (NOC) for a least 6 months after completing their studies;
• Have lived in Quebec as a student for a least half of the study program.

Information Technology and Visual Effects Stream – Specific Conditions

Education Requirement

• Have a diploma equivalent to a Québec diploma of college studies – technical training, or a Québec bachelor’s degree.

Work Experience Requirement

• Have held an eligible full-time job for at least 2 years; and
• have or accept a full-time eligible job with an hourly wage equivalent to the maximum wage of the average wage of your occupation as specified on the Emploi-Québec website.

Targeted Occupations

The work experience or currently held job must correspond to one of the following occupations under the National Occupational Classification (NOC):

• NOC 0213 – Computer and information systems manager
• NOC 2133 – Electrical and electronics engineer
• NOC 2171 – Information systems analyst and consultant
• NOC 2173 – Software engineer and designer
  
• NOC 2174 – Computer programmer and interactive media developer
• NOC 2241 – Electrical and electronics engineering technologist and technician
• NOC 2281 – Computer network technician
• NOC 5131 – Producer, director, choreographer and related occupations, 
  
• NOC 5225 – Audio and video recording technician
• NOC 5241 – Graphic designer and illustrator
  

Application Process for Quebec Pilot Programs

If you would like to immigrate to Québec under one of the three permanent immigration pilot programs, you must submit your application on Quebec’s online immigration platform Arrima.

Applications for Canadian permanent residence under Quebec programs follow a two-step process. First, applicants must submit an application to the Quebec government in order to obtain a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ). After having obtained the CSQ, applicants can submit an application for permanent residence to the federal government.

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