Quebec Announces Major Changes to Immigration Programs

The Quebec government has announced changes to its Quebec Experience Program. The province will also launch two new pilot programs for nurse’s aides and tech workers. 

Quebec has announced changes to the Quebec Experience Program which are set to take effect in the coming weeks. 

Since 2010, the Quebec Experience Program has fast-tracked applications for candidates with French-language proficiency who have educational or work experience in Quebec.

Changes to the Quebec Experience Program

More work experience is now required for both workers and students wishing to apply for permanent residence through the Quebec Experience Program. 

Temporary foreign workers will now need to have a minimum of 36 months of full-time work experience in the 48 months before submitting their application for permanent residence.

Students with a Quebec university degree or college diploma will now require either 12 or 24 months of Quebec work experience to be eligible for the QEP. Their occupation must fall under the National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes 0, A or B. 

Students with a Quebec diploma of professional studies will require 24 months of work experience in an occupation that falls under NOC codes 0, A, B or C. 

Also, spouses of QEP applicants will have to demonstrate an ability to speak French. This change is set to come into effect one year after the QEP changes have officially been put in place.

Quebec immigration minister Simon-Jolin Barrette has outlined four major objectives behind the QEP reforms:

1. Better integration into the labour market
2. More efficiency in the selection process to meet the province’s labour market needs
3. French-language proficiency to facilitate economic and social integration
4. Strong program integrity

Processing Times

Processing times for QEP applicants was formerly 20 days, but this will be changed to 6 months. Longer processing times will allow immigration officials to fully examine candidates’ applications and ensure that they are complying with the new regulations.

Two New Pilot Programs

The Quebec government has also announced its plans to launch two new immigration pilot programs. These programs will address the province’s need for two specific occupations: nurse’s aides and tech workers. 

The immigration programs currently in place are not meeting the province’s demand for these occupations. The pilots are being launched in hopes of resolving this issue and filling ongoing labour shortages. The new program will aim to bring in 550 nurses aides per year.

The second pilot will allow the province to select 550 highly-skilled tech workers annually for immigration. Artificial intelligence and information technology are two fields that are booming in the province. Quebec hopes that implementing these pilots will give them the ability to recruit top talent from around the world in order to give the province a competitive edge.  

If you’re interested in learning more about your immigration options for Quebec or the rest of Canada, fill out our free online assessment today and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss your options.