Invitation to apply for permanent selection through the Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (Skilled Worker Selection Program)

Once submitted in the Arrima platform, your declaration of interest is added to the declaration of interest database.

Individuals whose profile matches Québec's needs, and who meet the required level of French language proficiency for their profession, may receive an invitation to apply for selection under one of the program's four streams.

These individuals are evaluated using a scoring system which considers characteristics that promote socio-professional integration. A minimum score may be required in order to receive an invitation.

Invitations to take part in the QWSP are issued by stream. The Ministère will determine the stream through which you will receive an invitation to apply for permanent selection based on your main occupation and related information indicated in your declaration of Interest.

When the Ministère invites individuals to submit an application for permanent selection, the invitation criteria differ from one stream to another. Invitations are sent out according to a three-step process:

Step 1: Invitation criteria targeting a specific program stream

The invitation process uses certain criteria to determine which program stream individuals should be invited under, based on their primary occupation. Other invitation criteria are added to each stream-based invitation process to reflect the selection requirements relating to work experience in the main occupation, with regard to knowledge of French and education, specific to each stream.

Example: A person whose primary occupation is in TEER categories 0, 1 or 2, and who has declared that they do not intend to practise a regulated profession, will be assigned to Stream 1. If they meet the stream requirements related to knowledge of French, work experience, and education.

The declaration of interest system will identify those declarations that are most likely to meet the applicable selection criteria for their stream.

Step 2: Invitation criteria targeting a specific profile

Once the declarations of interest that meet most of the applicable selection conditions for their stream have been identified in the first step, the Ministère uses additional invitation criteria to select specific profiles.

The invitation criteria focus on human resources, labour market needs in Québec and factors that facilitate the socio-professional integration of immigrants into French-speaking society.

Example: One way to target a specific profile may be to look for those who have obtained an educational or vocational degree in Québec. This criterion therefore allows only individuals who have obtained their qualifications in Québec to be invited.

It is possible that the invitation process does not apply any criteria to target a specific profile. In this case, the invitation process will proceed directly to step 3.

Step 3: Invitation of individuals with the highest scores

At this stage, the Ministère decides how many people to invite. Then, individuals with the highest scores are invited from among those selected in steps 1 and 2, until the target number of invites for that profile has been reached.

Example: The Ministère invites 400 individuals under Stream 2 with the profile targeted in steps 1 and 2. The 400 individuals with the highest scores among those targeted in the previous steps will receive an invitation to apply for permanent selection. The minimum score for the invitation process is the score of the last person invited based on the standings.

No randomly selected individuals are invited during the invitation process. To receive an invitation, the person must meet all the invitation criteria (Step 1 and possibly step 2) and meet the minimum score requirement when applicable (Step 3).

The minimum score required for an invitation is just one of many criteria. As such, it may vary from one invitation process to another. Therefore, it is not useful to compare the minimum scores used in the different program streams. 

Some criteria come with a ranking score while others have no score, but can serve as criteria for receiving an invitation under one of the program’s four streams.

In all cases, any of the invitation criteria listed in this section can be used as an individual eligibility requirement for receiving an invitation under any of the program's four streams.

Criteria related to human resources, Québec labour market needs, government priorities, and integration factors, as outlined below, are subject to scoring. They are used to organize profiles in the database of declarations of interest. They may also be used to determine eligibility for invitations, in accordance with steps 1 and 2 set out above.

Criteria related to human capital:

• Knowledge of French;
• Age;
• Amount of work experience;
• Education level.

Criteria related to Québec’s labour market needs and government priorities:

• Labour market diagnosis combined, if applicable, with the amount of work experience in the main occupation;
• Québec diploma;
• Amount of work experience in Québec;
• Length of stay outside the territory of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM);
• The validated job offer in the main occupation. It can be paired with the place of employment, either inside or outside the MMC.
• Authorization to practise or partial or complete recognition  of equivalence of the diploma or of training from the regulatory authority in the main occupation (Stream 3 only).

Criteria related to adaptation factors:

Criteria relating to the main applicant:

• Length of stay for studies in Québec;
• Member of the family in Québec.

Criteria related to the spouse or common-law spouse, if applicable:

• Knowledge of French;
• Spouse’s age;
• Amount of work experience in Québec;
• Education level;
• Québec diploma.

Invitation criteria without a score

The Ministère may also invite you based on one or more of the criteria listed below. If this criterion is applied during the invitation process, you will need to meet it in order to receive an invitation to submit an application (see steps 1 and 2 above). These criteria do not affect your score used to rank your profile in the database of declarations of interest.

• Stay in Québec according to if it is within or outside the territory of the CMM;
• Main occupation (five-digit code of the National Occupational Classification);
• “Training, education, experience and responsibilities” (FEER) category of the main occupation;
• Intention to practise a regulated trade on the Liste des professions réglementées du Ministère (PDF 262 Kb) (Ministère’s list of regulated trades - in French only);
• Amount of work experience in the main occupation;
• Amount of work experience in Québec in the main occupation. This can be combined with the place of work experience, that is, within or outside the territory of the CMM;
• Practice of an occupation in an international non-governmental organization (INGO);
• Possession one of the following documents:
  • A positive opinion rendered by a Ministère partner in a targeted field listed on the Web page for Stream 4 : Exceptional talent
  • A document demonstrating an achievement indicated on the document Liste des accomplissements du Ministère (PDF 104 Kb) (Minisère’s list of achievements - in French only).

The Ministère published its decision regarding invitation criteria and scoring in the Gazette officielle du Québec on July 2, 2025, and in the erratum released on July 9, 2025. For more details, consult the document on invitation criteria and scoring (in French).

Receiving an invitation without the criteria being applied

If you feel that your situation may qualify you for an invitation without the application of the invitation criteria, you may inform the Ministère.

You must send us a letter of explanation that includes your declaration of interest number, as well as information and documents supporting an invitation not based on the invitation criteria. Sending an invitation request without meeting the invitation criteria does not guarantee that you will receive an invitation, nor does it guarantee that you will be selected if an invitation is sent to you.

You will need to demonstrate that your presence in Québec contributes to its prosperity. In Québec, the concept of prosperity may encompass economic, cultural, or social considerations. For analysis purposes, the Ministère may consider, for example, that you:  

• Hold a key position or a highly strategic job in a promising or strategic sector of the Québec economy;
• Have significant work experience that could contribute to Québec's prosperity;  
• Possess unique expertise in Québec.

In addition to the above, you must demonstrate that you:

• Have a good knowledge of French or have taken concrete steps to learn French;  
• Have a significant level of social and professional integration in Québec.

Please send your letter and documents by regular mail to the following address:  

A self-evaluation tool will be available shortly. You can use this tool to estimate the points you could obtain by submitting a declaration of interest. It allows you to evaluate your chances of receiving an invitation to apply for permanent selection without completing a declaration of interest. However, in addition to the score, you still need to meet the invitation criteria related to the invitation process.

You will receive a message in your Arrima message centre if you received an invitation to submit an application for permanent selection. You will also be sent an email informing you that a message has been sent to your Arrima message centre. You may receive an invitation to apply for permanent selection at any time. It is your responsibility to check your Arrima message centre to see if you received an invitation.

If you receive an invitation to apply and still wish to settle in Québec, you have 30 days from the date of the invitation to accept it through your Arrima account.

Once the invitation is accepted, a second message will be sent to you explaining how to apply for permanent selection.

If you do not wish to submit your application, you also have 30 days from the date of the invitation to:

• Decline the invitation and notify the Ministère to keep your expression of interest in the database of expressions of interest;
• Decline the invitation and notify the Ministère to remove your expression of interest from the database of expressions of interest.

If you do not respond to the invitation within 30 days, your expression of interest will become null and void and will be removed from the database of expressions of interest.

You may submit an application for permanent selection under the Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés only if:

• You receive an invitation;
• You accept the invitation within 30 days.

Consult the invitation exercises carried out under the Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ – Skilled Worker Selection Program).

Invitations issued through the PRTQ

Consult the invitations exercises carried out under the Programme régulier des travailleurs qualifiés (PRTQ), which has been replaced by the Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ) since November 29, 2024. They are presented for information purposes only. No comparison should be made with the PSTQ invitation exercises. No comparison should be made with the invitation exercises carried out under the PSTQ.