Quebec announces plans for three new immigration programs

These three immigration programs will target workers Quebec has identified to be crucial to its labour force. Each of the three programs will have an annual quota of 550 applicants, not counting accompanying family members. Successful applicants, along with their accompanying family members, will be able to obtain Canadian permanent resident status.

The proposed programs are technically still draft regulations and haven’t been confirmed, although in recent years these types of programs usually move through this phase without much issue. The programs indicate an expiration date of January 1, 2026, indicating that the pilot programs will run for approximately five years.

Here’s what we know about each of the programs:

Quebec’s permanent immigration pilot program for orderlies

This pilot program will target people residing in Quebec who are currently working as orderlies, nurses aides, and patient service associates (NOC 3413). Applicants must prove intermediate oral knowledge of the French language. In addition, this program will have two streams:

1. Work stream — To be eligible through the work stream, the applicant must meet the following criteria:

• Education: Hold a diploma related to their field of work in NOC 3413 which is deemed to be equivalent to a Quebec vocational diploma or higher.
• Work experience: Have at least 24 months of full-time work experience in NOC 3413 gained in the 36 months prior to applying. At least 12 months of this work experience must have been gained in Quebec.

2. Studies-work stream — To be eligible through the studies-work stream, the applicant must meet the following criteria:

• Education: Hold a Quebec vocational diploma related to the field of work in NOC 3413 which has been obtained in the two years prior to applying.
• Work experience: Have at least 12 months of work experience in NOC 3413 gained in Quebec after the completion of the above-mentioned diploma.

Quebec’s permanent immigration pilot program for workers in the artificial intelligence, information technologies, and visual effects sectors.

This pilot program will target people residing in Quebec who have an offer of employment or are currently employed in the sectors of artificial intelligence, information technologies and visual effects. This program encompasses both a French-speaking stream and a non-French-speaking stream. To be considered for the French-speaking stream, applicants must demonstrate an intermediate oral knowledge of French.

This pilot program is divided into two streams: one for the artificial intelligence sector, and another for the information technologies and visual effects sector.

The artificial intelligence stream will have the following requirements for applicants — requirements are divided into two subcomponents:

• Artificial intelligence — Foreign worker substream requirements:

1. • Education: Hold an educational credential which is equivalent to a Quebec Bachelor’s Degree or higher.
   • Work experience: Have at least 24 months of full-time skilled work experience (NOC 0, A, or B) gained within the five years preceding application.
   • Current employment or employment offer: Either be currently working or hold an offer of employment for a position in the sector of artificial intelligence (as outlined by the comité sectoriel de main-d’œuvre en technologies de l’information et des communications). This position must pay an annual salary of at least $75,000 if located outside the Montreal metropolitan area, or $100,000 if located within the Montreal metropolitan area.

• Artificial intelligence — Foreign student who is a Quebec graduate substream requirements:

1. • Education: Hold an educational credential from a Quebec institution for a post-graduate diploma, a master’s degree, or a doctoral degree.
   • Work experience: If the applicant’s qualifying educational credential is a post-graduate diploma, they must have obtained at least six months of full-time skilled work experience (NOC 0, A, or B) within the 12 months after graduation.
   • Current employment or employment offer: Either be currently working or hold an offer of employment for a position in the sector of artificial intelligence (as outlined by the comité sectoriel de main-d’œuvre en technologies de l’information et des communications). This position must pay an annual salary of at least $75,000 if located outside the Montreal metropolitan area, or $100,000 if located within the Montreal metropolitan area.

The information technologies and visual effects stream will have the following requirements for applicants:

• Education: Hold a diploma from a technical program which is equivalent to a Quebec diploma of college studies or higher.
• Work experience: Have at least 24 months of full-time skilled in an eligible occupation (see below) gained within the five years preceding application.
• Current employment or employment offer: Either be currently working or hold an offer of employment for a position in an eligible occupation (see below). The position must have an hourly wage greater than the ninth decile of the average hourly wage of the last 3 years available for that employment, as estimated by the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity.

Eligible occupations for the information technologies and visual effect stream include:

• information systems analysts and consultants (NOC 2171);
• graphic designers and illustrators (NOC 5241), but only if it is carried out in the visual effects sector;
• computer and information systems managers (NOC 0213);
• software engineers and designers (NOC 2173);
• electrical and electronics engineers (NOC 2133);
• producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations (NOC 5131), but only if it is carried out in the visual effects sector;
• computer programmers and interactive media developers (NOC 2174);
• audio and video recording technicians (NOC 5225), but only if it is carried out in the visual effects sector;
• computer network technicians (code 2281); and
• electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians (NOC 2241).

Quebec’s permanent immigration pilot program for food processing workers

This pilot program will target people residing in Quebec who are currently working in eligible occupations (see below) in the food processing sector. Applicants must prove intermediate oral knowledge of the French language. In addition, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Education: Hold a diploma which is deemed to be equivalent to a Quebec secondary school diploma, vocational training diploma or higher.
• Work experience: Have at least 24 months of work experience in the food or beverage manufacturing industries gained within the 36 months prior to applying.
• Quebec employment: Must hold current employment in Quebec in an eligible occupation (see below). This employment must be full-time and for a period covering at least the next 12 months.

Eligible occupations for the pilot program for food processing workers include:

• industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers (NOC 9462);
• labourers in food and beverage processing (NOC 9617);
• labourers in fish and seafood processing (NOC 9618);
• specialized cleaners (NOC 6732);
• process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing (NOC 9461);
• general farm workers (NOC 8431), but only where it covers the position of chicken catcher;
• fish and seafood plant workers (NOC 9463);

More details about these programs are expected in the future. Please check back regularly for updates.