Processing of your permanent selection application through the Regular Skilled Worker Program

To apply for permanent selection, you must:

• Complete and sign the permanent selection application form;
• Submit the form by the prescribed deadline;
• Pay the application processing fee.

The processing of your application will begin once we have received your documents. 

Your application for permanent selection will be examined according to the definition of skilled worker, based on the Grille de sélection du Programme régulier des travailleurs qualifiés (PDF 136 Kb) (Selection Grid for the Regular Skilled Worker Program - in French only).

A skilled worker is a foreign national of at least 18 years of age who is coming to Québec to work a job for which he or she is qualified. This job cannot be for an enterprise over which he or she exercises control, nor can it be in one of the following ineligible sectors:

• Payday loans, cheque cashing or pawnbroking;
• Production, distribution or sale of pornographic or sexually explicit products or services related to the sex industry, such as nude or erotic dancing, escort services or erotic massages.

You need to have obtained a sufficient number of points in the grid to be selected to receive a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ), as stipulated in Québec Immigration Regulation and the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals.

The selection grid has nine factors with different criteria for assessment. These factors enable an assessment of your potential for integration into the Québec labour market and society, as well as that of your accompanying spouse.

To understand your training, the criteria assessed are your level of education and your area of training.

Level of education

To be eligible for selection, you must have at least a diploma that is equivalent to general or vocational high-school studies in Québec.

Diplomas obtained outside Québec must endorse at least one year of full-time studies and will be assessed according to their equivalence with the Québec education system.

Points are awarded according to your level of education in Québec:

• General or vocational high school;
• General or technical post-secondary;
• University.

Area of training

The assessment of your training is based on the List of Areas of Training (PDF 176 Kb) (in French).

This list contains the specialized programs of study that are in demand in the labour market and that are worth points at the following levels:

• Vocational high school;
• Technical postsecondary;
• University.

Points are awarded on the basis of:

• Job prospects in Québec for occupations in which a diploma is transferrable to the labour market;
• The requirements for practising the occupations in question;
• The type of diploma, whether it is a Québec diploma (or equivalent) or a foreign diploma.

If your diploma is not included on the List of Areas of Training, or if it is in the “0 points” section, you will not obtain points in the selection grid for your area of training.

For your work experience, the criterion assessed is the duration of employment.

The following jobs are recognized:

Remunerated job posts that you held:

• Full-time;
• Part-time.

Work internships you completed to obtain a diploma:

• Full-time;
• Part-time;
• Remunerated or not. 

For your work experience to be taken into account when considering your application, it must have been gained:

• In the 5 years preceding the submission of your application;
• In a category A, B or C occupation as defined by the 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC);
• Legally in the country concerned.

To obtain points in the selection grid for your age, you must be between 18 and 42 years old.

For your language proficiency, the criteria assessed are your knowledge of French and English.

Knowledge of French:

You can earn points on the selection grid for your knowledge of French based on your results in:

• Listening comprehension;
• Oral production;
• Written comprehension;
• Written production.

This is one of the factors that enables you to score the most points in the selection grid.

To obtain points on the grid, your knowledge of French must be at least at level 7 of the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français (in French) or its equivalent.

To obtain points for your knowledge of French, you must present

• Attestations of test results or French evaluation diplomas accepted by the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration;
  
  OR
   
• One of the high school diplomas accepted by the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration, even if French is your mother tongue.

The French assessment tests and diplomas accepted by the Ministère are:

• Test de connaissance du français pour le Québec (TCF-Québec), France Éducation international;
• Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada (TCF-Canada), France Éducation international;
• Test de connaissance du français (TCF), France Éducation international;
• Diplôme approfondi de langue française (DALF), France Éducation international;
• Diplôme d’études en langue française (DELF), France Éducation international;
• Test d’évaluation du français adapté pour le Québec (TEFAQ), Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris Île-de-France (CCIP-IDF);
• Test d’évaluation du français pour le Canada (TEF Canada), CCIP-IDF;
• Test d’évaluation du français (TEF),CCIP-IDF.

Your results must be two years old or less on the date you submit your application. Electronic versions of the above-mentioned tests are also recognized.

If you have one of the high school diplomas accepted by the Ministère, you could obtain a level 9 (advanced level) on the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français des personnes immigrantes adultes l’Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français (Québec scale of French proficiency levels for adult immigrants) or its equivalent in both oral and written skills.

Here are the high school diplomas accepted by the Ministère:

• General, vocational and technological baccalaureates issued by the French Ministry of Education;
• The Certificat d'enseignement secondaire supérieur (CESS) issued by the Government of the French-speaking Community of Belgium;
• The Certificat de maturité (maturity certificate) issued on completion of studies at a school in a French-speaking canton of Switzerland.

The person responsible for examining your application may call you and, if applicable, your accompanying spouse for an interview to verify the level of French you have declared on your application for permanent selection.

The language skills of your accompanying spouse are also examined in the same way. Dependent children do not have to submit results.

Knowledge of English

To earn points for your knowledge of English, you must present proof of test results or diplomas accepted by the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration, even if English is your mother tongue.

You can earn points on the selection grid for your knowledge of English based on your results in:

• Listening comprehension;
• Oral production;
• Written comprehension;
• Written production.

Your results must be two years old or less on the date you submit your application.

You must submit your results from the test recognized by the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration: the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

To obtain points on the grid, your knowledge of English must be at least at level 5 of the Canadian Language Benchmarks.

Your spouse's knowledge of English is not assessed. Therefore, no points are awarded for this.

The “Stay in Québec” criterion is assessed on:

• The nature of the stay;
• The length of the stay;
• The date that you came to Québec.

You can obtain points for stays undertaken for work, study or tourism.

To obtain points, your stay in Québec must have been at least two weeks or more, in the ten years preceding the date of submission of your selection application.

You must have complied with the conditions for any temporary stay in Québec during the five years preceding the date of your application. This requirement also applies to your accompanying spouse or common-law partner.

You can obtain points for the “Family in Québec” criterion if one or more of your family members has Canadian citizenship or permanent Canadian residency in Québec. The recognized family relations are:

• The wife, husband, spouse or common-law partner;
• The child;
• The parent;
• The sibling;
• The grandparent.

The selection grid also applies to your accompanying spouse for the following criteria:

• Level of education;
• Area of training;
• Age;
• Language proficiency.

For language proficiency, only oral French (comprehension and expression) is assessed to obtain points in the selection grid. Consult the grid to determine the points that apply under each criterion for spouses.

If you have a job offer that has been validated by the Ministère, you could obtain an additional 8 to 14 points in the selection grid.

The number of points allocated varies according to the region where the job is located.

The criteria assessed are:

• How many of your dependent children are accompanying you.
• The number of your accompanying spouse's dependent children
• Their age.

If a Canadian citizen dependent child is accompanying you, they are also assessed.

You must sign the Contrat d’autonomie financière — Travailleurs qualifiés (Financial Self-Sufficiency Contract - Skilled Workers) (PDF 297 Kb) (in French only).

By signing this contract, you agree to provide for your needs and your accompanying family’s needs for at least the first three months following your arrival in Québec.

Below are the amounts, in Canadian dollars, that you must have at your disposal for the period from January 1^st to December 31, 2026. This varies according to the number and kind of dependent people accompanying you:

Basic needs of a family unit for the three-month period covered by the contract (in effect from January 1^st to December 31, 2026)

Override selection

If you do not meet the conditions for selection and you have provided information or documents supporting your selection under override, these will be examined along with your request for selection. For more details about the review of a request for permanent selection under override, please consult the Pouvoir de dérogation section (PDF 501 Kb) of the Guide des procédures d’immigration (in French only).

You may have to attend an interview with an immigration adviser to check, for example, the veracity of the statements, information and documents provided in your application for permanent selection.

If so, you will receive a notice specifying the:

• date of the interview;
• location of the interview;
• time of the interview;
• documents to bring.

The Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration may also conduct additional verification.