Regular Skilled Worker Program

The Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program (RSWP) is an immigration program operated by the province of Quebec for candidates who have skilled work experience and will be able to make lasting contributions to Quebec’s economy as members of the workforce.

Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program – How to Apply

All RSWP candidates must demonstrate that they meet the minimum required score on the RSWP points assessment grid. If you have sufficient RSWP points, you can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) using the Arrima online portal to be considered for the program. The Quebec government will then invite some candidates to submit a complete application for a certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ – Québec selection certificate).

Upon receiving a CSQ, an applicant becomes eligible to submit an official application for Canadian permanent residence.

Arrima Online Portal

The Quebec Ministère de l’Immigration, Francisation et Integration (MIFI) launched the Arrima online portal to manage applications to the Quebec Regular Skilled Worker (RSWP) program. Candidates who want to apply to RSWP must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) form online, which contains information regarding the candidate’s language proficiency, work experience, field of training, and education.

MIFI will select candidates from this pool to submit an application for a CSQ, however they have not yet confirmed how they will determine which candidates to invite. Upon receiving an invitation to apply to the program, candidates will have a limited amount of time to submit their complete application.

Applications for a CSQ submitted through the Arrima portal are expected to be processed within 6 months.

Quebec Regular Skilled Worker processing time

There are two processing times to consider for your Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program: the processing time for the CSQ and for the Canadian permanent residence application. Both of these processing times are subject to change. The most up-to-date processing times can be found on the government website.

Regular Skilled Worker fees

When immigrating through the Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program (QSWP), candidates must pay for both the CSQ application, and federal permanent residence application. Please see the most up to date CSQ fees below. Note that they are updated every year.

Applicant	Processing fee in $ CAD
Principal applicant	$844
Spouse, common-law or conjugal partner	Add $181
A dependent child under the age of 22 or a dependent over the age of 22 who is unable to support themselves financially due to a physical or mental condition	Add $181 per dependent
	Last updated May 4, 2022

Is French required for the Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program?

Although the official language of Quebec is French, QSW does not require applicants to show proficiency in French, making the program attractive to English speakers who wish to reside in Quebec.

French language proficiency does, however, factor into your eligibility points and ranking in the Arrima pool. For this reason, it is helpful to have some proficiency in French to increase your chances with the program.

Quebec Regular Skilled Worker points systems

Quebec’s Regular Skilled Worker Program uses two points systems: one to determine who is eligible to submit an Arrima profile, and one to determine who is invited to apply for permanent selection. If a candidate meets the minimum points requirement to submit an Arrima profile, they will receive another score. Quebec uses this score to rank candidates against each other and can be used to determine who receives an invitation to apply for a CSQ.

Selection Factors – QSW Points Grid

In order to submit a profile to the Arrima portal under the Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program, applicants must meet the minimum required scores on the eligibility points grid below.

Please note that points for education are awarded based on the applicant’s area of study.

Applicants applying without a spouse or common-law partner must reach a minimum of 43 points on the employability factors and 50 points total.

Applicants applying with a spouse or common-law partner must reach a minimum of 52 points on the employability factors and 59 points total.

Factor	Points
	Without spouse	With spouse
Education	26	26
Experience	8	8
Age	16	16
Language Proficiency	22	22
Connection to Quebec	8	8
Accompanying Spouse Factors	17	17
Valid Job Offer	14	14
Employability Eligibility Score	43	52
Children	8	8
Capacity for financial autonomy (eliminatory)	1	1
Minimum Eligiblity Score	50	59

Factor 1:Education

Education	Points
Level of Education
General secondary	2
Professional secondary	6
General post-secondary 2 years	4
Technical post-secondary 1 or 2 years	6
Technical post-secondary 3 years	8
University undergraduate 1 year	4
University undergraduate 2 years	6
University undergraduate 3 years or more	10
University graduate 1 or more years	12
Univeristy post-graduate	14
Area of Training
Section A	12
Section B	9
Section C	6
Section D	2
Section E	0
Maximum	26

Factor 2:Experience

Experience	Points
Length of skilled work experience
Less than 6 months	0
6 months to 11 months	4
12 months to 23 months	4
24 months to 35 months	6
36 months to 47 months	6
48 months or more	8
Maximum	8

Factor 3:Age

Age	Points
18 to 35 years	16
36 years	14
37 years	12
38 years	10
39 years	8
40 years	6
41 years	4
42 years	2
43 years or more	0
Maximum	16

Factor 4:Language Proficiency

Language Proficiency – Principal Applicant	Points
French
Listening and Speaking
C2	7
C1	6
B2	5
B1, A2, A1, or less than A1	0
Reading and Writing
C2 or C1	1
B2, B1, A2, A1, or less than A1	0
English
Listening and Speaking
CLB 9	2
CLB 5	1
Reading and Writing
CLB 5	1
Maximum	22

Factor 5:Connection to Quebec

Connection to Quebec	Points
Trips to Quebec
Study in Quebec for one full-time semester	0
Study in Quebec for two full-time semesters	0
Study in Quebec leading to a DEP/AEC of 900 to 1800 hours AND full-time work experience related to the field of study within the 6 months following the period of study	5
Study in Quebec leading to a DEP/AEC of 1800 hours or more, or a DEC, or university degree or diploma	5
6 months of full-time work experience in Quebec while holding a work permit valid for at least one year	5
Work experience in Quebec for less than 6 months	0
Working holiday participant 3 months or more	0
Other trips 3 months or more	2
Other trips (2 weeks to less than 3 months)	1
Other trips less than 2 weeks in length	0
Family in Quebec
Spouse, Parent, Sibling, Child, Grandparent	3
Maximum	8

Factor 6:Accompanying Spouse Factors

Accompanying Spouse Factors	Points
Level of Education
General secondary	1
Professional secondary	2
General post-secondary 2 years	1
Technical post-secondary 1 or 2 years	2
Technical post-secondary 3 years	3
University undergraduate 1 year	1
University undergraduate 2 years	2
University undergraduate 3 years or more	3
University graduate 1 or more years	4
University post-graduate	4
Area of Training
Section A	4
Section B	3
Section C	2
Section D	1
Section E	0
Age
less than 18 years	0
18 to 35 years	3
36 years	2
37 years	2
38 years	2
39 years	2
40 years	1
41 years	1
42 years	1
43 years or more	0
French-language Proficiency
Oral comprehension	0, 2, or 3
Spoken French	0, 2, or 3
Maximum	17

Factor 7:Valid Job Offer

Valid Job Offer	Points
Valid job offer in Montreal Metropolitan Region	8
Valid Job Offer outside Montreal, by region
• Capitale-Nationale • Chaudière-Appalaches • Montérégie	14
• Abitibi-Témaniscamingue • Centre-du Québec • Estrie • Lanaudière • Outaoais	13
• Bas-Saint-Laurent • Côte-Nord • Laurentides • Mauricie • Nord-du-Québec • Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean	12
• Gaspésie	10
Maximum	14

Factor 8:Children

Children	Points par enfant
12 years or less	4
13 to 21 years	2
Maximum	8

Recent Draws Using the Arrima Portal

Search:

Invitation Date	Number of Invitations	Selected Applicants Met the Following Criteria
July 7, 2022	351	– They had work experience in one of 14 select occupations and a score equal to or higher than 624 points; or – They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community; or – They had work experience in NOC 3233 and a score equal to or higher than 575 points; or – They had work experience in NOC 3413 and a score equal to or higher than 580 points; or – They had work experience in NOC 4214 and a score equal to or higher than 551 points; or
May 5, 2022	30	– They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community
April 7, 2022	33	– They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community
March 10, 2022	506	– They had work experience in one of 20 select occupations and a score equal to or higher than 592 points – They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community
February 24, 2022	306	– They had a score equal to or higher than 630 points – They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community
February 10, 2022	523	– They had work experience in one of 21 select occupations and a score equal to or higher than 592 points
January 27, 2022	322	– They had a score equal to or higher than 647 points – They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community
January 13, 2022	512	– They had work experience in one of 23 select occupations and a score equal to or higher than 602 points
December 9, 2021	326	– They had work experience in one of 30 select occupations and a score equal to or higher than 633 points – They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community
November 11, 2021	32	– They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community
October 21, 2021	22	– They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community
September 30, 2021	536	– They had work experience in one of 6 select occupations and a score equal to or higher than 562 points – They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community – Persons referred to section 26 of the Québec Immigration Regulation (CQLR, chapter I-0.2.2, r.3)
September 2, 2021	517	– They had work experience in one of 17 select occupations and a score equal to or higher than 499 points – They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community
August 26, 2021	585	– They had work experience in one of 17 select occupations and a score equal to or higher than 517 points – They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community
August 19, 2021	502	– They had work experience in one of 17 select occupations and a score equal to or higher than 548 points
August 12, 2021	515	– They had work experience in one of 17 select occupations and a score equal to or higher than 591 points – They had a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montréal Metropolitan Community – Persons referred to section 26 of the Québec Immigration Regulation (CQLR, chapter I-0.2.2, r.3) – Persons referred to in section 47 of the Québec Immigration Act (CQLR, chapter I-0.2.2)
June 17, 2021	69	– They had a validated offer of employment
May 27, 2021	90	– They had a validated offer of employment – Persons mentioned in Section 26 of the Québec Immigration Regulation (CQLR, chapter I-0.2.1, r. 3)
April 29, 2021	83	– They had a validated offer of employment – Persons mentioned in Section 26 of the Québec Immigration Regulation (CQLR, chapter I-0.2.1, r. 3)
March 30, 2021	208	– They had a validated offer of employment – Persons mentioned in Section 26 of the Québec Immigration Regulation (CQLR, chapter I-0.2.1, r. 3)
January 26, 2021	95	– They had a validated offer of employment – Persons mentioned in Section 26 of the Québec Immigration Regulation (CQLR, chapter I-0.2.1, r. 3)
December 16, 2020	233	– They had a validated offer of employment – Persons mentioned in Section 26 of the Québec Immigration Regulation (CQLR, chapter I-0.2.1, r. 3)
September 24, 2020	365	– They had a validated offer of employment – Persons mentioned in Section 26 of the Québec Immigration Regulation (CQLR, chapter I-0.2.1, r. 3) – Persons mentioned in section 47 of the Québec Immigration Act (CQRL, chapter I-0.2.1)
June 18, 2020	7	– Their application for selection submitted under the Regular Skilled Worker Program was finalized, pursuant to Section 28 of the Act – They filed an expression of interest with the Minister before December 17, 2019 they were in one of the following situations: – Their application, which was finalized under the Act, was submitted to the Minister under Section 5.01 of the Regulation respecting the selection of foreign nationals (CQLR, chapter I-0.2, r. 4); or they were staying in Québec on June 16, 2019 while they held a study or work permit issued pursuant to Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227).
January 16, 2020	23	-Their application for selection submitted under the Regular Skilled Worker Program was finalized, pursuant to Section 28 of the Act – They filed an expression of interest with the Minister before December 17, 2019 – Their application, which was finalized under the Act, was submitted to the Minister under Section 5.01 of the Regulation respecting the selection of foreign nationals (CQLR, chapter I-0.2, r. 4) or they were staying in Québec on June 16, 2019 while they held a study or work permit issued pursuant to Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227).
December 17, 2019	220	– Their application for selection submitted under the Regular Skilled Worker Program was finalized, pursuant to Section 28 of the Act -They filed an expression of interest with the Minister before December 17, 2019 – Their application, which was finalized under the Act, was submitted to the Minister under Section 5.01 of the Regulation respecting the selection of foreign nationals (CQLR, chapter I-0.2, r. 4) or they were staying in Québec on June 16, 2019 while they held a study or work permit issued pursuant to Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227).
December 12, 2019	85	– They had a validated offer of employment -Persons mentioned in Section 26 of the Québec Immigration Regulation (CQLR, chapter I-0.2.1, r. 3).
September 25, 2019	169	– Their Application under the Regular Skilled Worker Program was finalized, – Filed an Expression of Interest with the Minister before December 17, 2019, and – Application was submitted under Section 5.01 of the Regulation respecting the selection of foreign nationals, or applicants were staying in Quebec on June 16, 2019 holding a study or work permit.
September 4, 2019	32	– Hold a validated offer of employment – Foreign nationals staying in Quebec as a diplomat, consular officer, representative or official of a foreign country
August 19, 2019	444	– Their Application under the Regular Skilled Worker Program was finalized, – Filed an Expression of Interest with the Minister before December 17, 2019, and – Application was submitted under Section 5.01 of the Regulation respecting the selection of foreign nationals, or applicants were staying in Quebec on June 16, 2019 holding a study or work permit.
July 17, 2019	259	– Hold a validated offer of employment – Foreign nationals staying in Quebec as a diplomat, consular officer, representative or official of a foreign country
July 4, 2019	691	– Their Application under the Regular Skilled Worker Program was finalized, – Filed an Expression of Interest with the Minister before December 17, 2019, and – Application was submitted under Section 5.01 of the Regulation respecting the selection of foreign nationals, or applicants were staying in Quebec on June 16, 2019 holding a study or work permit.