Temporary Foreign Worker Program Overview

This page is intended for foreign nationals who wish to come to Quebec to work temporarily.

If you are a Québec employer and want to recruit labour on a temporary basis, consult the section Embaucher un travailleur étranger temporaire (Hire a temporary foreign worker) section.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) allows Canadian employers to hire you as a temporary foreign worker. For this purpose, you and your employer must comply with certain conditions.

To come work in Quebec through the TFWP, you must first receive a job offer from a Quebec employer.

The program includes the following streams:

• Global Talent Stream
• High-wage positions
• Low-wage positions
• Agricultural workers, including the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program
• Home Health Care Providers

Your employer is responsible for determining the stream they offer you. Then the employer must:

• Submit a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and obtain joint authorization from the Gouvernement du Québec and the Government of Canada to hire you.

You must obtain the following documents to come to work temporarily in Québec:

• A Québec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ), issued by the Gouvernement du Québec
• A work permit, issued by the Government of Canada.

To obtain a CAQ, you must:  

• Live in Québec to temporarily fill a job:
  • for a business established in Québec over which you exercise no control,
  • that is not in an ineligible sector:  
    • pawnbroking,
    • check cashing or payday loans,
    • production, distribution or sale of pornographic or sexually explicit products,
    • services related to the sex industry such as nude or erotic dancing, escort services or erotic massages;
• Be at least 18 years of age;
• Have concluded a written work contract with an employer in Québec whose job offer was subject to an LMIA;
• Meet the eligibility conditions stipulated in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) to perform the job;
• Meet all specific conditions, stipulated by the employer in the job offer.

If you wish to practise a regulated profession that appears on the Ministère’s List of Regulated Professions (PDF 360 Kb) (in French only) but do not meet the entry requirements listed in the NOC, you must meet one of the following requirements: 

• Be authorized to practise this profession in Québec;
• Have a degree or certification that has been fully or partially recognized by the regulatory authority for that profession in the last five years. This recognition should enable you to quickly begin the authorization process to exercise your profession or start working. Visit the Qualifications Québec website to find out the specific steps required for your profession.