Québec Skilled Worker Immigration — PSTQ & PEQ
Two Québec programs are currently open to new applications — the Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ) and the temporarily reopened Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ). Both are submitted through Arrima and lead to a Certificat de sélection du Québec. This page is an information guide to both programs.
2
Programs Open to New Applications
6
Streams Across Both Programs
$940
Principal Applicant Fee
Oct 31
PEQ First Intake Closes (2026)
How Québec Immigration Works
Québec runs its own skilled worker immigration programs, with its own criteria and its own application portal. Applications are made to the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration, and applicants who are selected are issued a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) for themselves and their accompanying family, along with information on the next steps in the immigration process.
Two programs are currently open to new applications:
Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ) — Québec’s primary, ongoing skilled worker program, open to applicants inside or outside Québec. Four streams, entered through a Declaration of Interest in Arrima.
Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ) — For temporary foreign workers already working in Québec and international students who graduated in Québec. Temporarily reopened for a two-year window with a restricted first intake.
Several Québec programs have closed.The PRTQ was replaced by the PSTQ, and Québec's three permanent immigration pilots — food processing workers, orderlies, and AI, IT & visual effects workers — all ended on January 1, 2026. Applications submitted before the relevant cut-off continue to be processed, but no new applications are accepted.
Program Status at a Glance
Québec's skilled worker hub still lists programs that no longer accept applications, because files already in the system continue to be processed. This is where each one stands.
| Program | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PSTQ — Skilled Worker Selection Program | Open | Québec’s main, ongoing skilled worker selection program. No end date announced. |
| PEQ — Québec Experience Program | Reopened | Closed November 19, 2025; reopened for a fixed window, July 2, 2026 to July 2, 2028. |
| PRTQ — Regular Skilled Worker Program | Replaced | Replaced by the PSTQ. Only candidates invited before November 29, 2024 could apply; submitted applications continue to be processed. |
| Pilot — Food processing workers | Ended | Ended January 1, 2026. Applications submitted before that date continue to be reviewed. |
| Pilot — Orderlies | Ended | Ended January 1, 2026. Applications submitted before that date continue to be reviewed. |
| Pilot — AI, IT & visual effects workers | Ended | Ended January 1, 2026. Applications submitted before that date continue to be reviewed. |
The PEQ Reopening — What Changed
The PEQ closed on November 19, 2025 and has reopened for a fixed two-year window. The selection conditions during the reopening are the same conditions that applied before each stream was suspended — but the intake is restricted, and the restriction is based on a date that has already passed.
First intake window: July 2 – October 31, 2026
To manage volumes against Québec's immigration targets, the Minister restricted the first intake. To be received during this window, you must have met the following as of November 19, 2025:
A requirement was removed. The French-language-of-study condition added during the 2025 suspension — completing an eligible program of study in French, or 3 years of full-time study in French — does not apply to this reopening. Pre-closure conditions govern instead. Application forms dated 2026-07 are required, though the 2026-06 version is still accepted.
Finding Your PSTQ Stream: FEER Categories
Your PSTQ stream is determined by your main occupation — specifically by its FEER category (formation, études, expérience, responsabilités), which is the second digit of the five-digit NOC code. FEER 0–2 occupations go to Stream 1, FEER 3–5 to Stream 2, unless the occupation is regulated.
| FEER | Typical requirement |
|---|---|
| 0 | Management occupations. |
| 1 | Usually requires a university degree (bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate). |
| 2 | Usually requires a 2+ year college or vocational diploma, supervisory responsibility, or significant safety responsibility. |
| 3 | Usually requires a college or vocational diploma under 2 years, or 6+ months of on-the-job training plus some secondary education or experience. |
| 4 | Usually requires a high school diploma, or several weeks of on-the-job training. |
| 5 | Usually requires only a brief skills demonstration; no specific education requirement. |
PSTQ Requirements That Apply to Every Stream
These conditions apply across all four PSTQ streams, on top of the stream-specific criteria below.
Ineligible employment sectors — PSTQ and PEQ
A job counts as being “in an ineligible sector” if the employer operates a business in that sector — regardless of whether your specific role contributes to that activity.
Streams
The four PSTQ streams and the two PEQ streams are below. Use the navigator to jump to any stream and review its criteria.
Highly Qualified and Specialized Skills
For applicants whose main occupation falls in FEER category 0, 1, or 2 and is not a regulated profession. This is the stream most university-educated and senior technical applicants fall into.
| Criteria | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Work experience | At least 1 year of full-time (or equivalent) paid work experience in your main occupation within the past 5 years, in Québec or elsewhere. Experience from a compulsory internship counts for up to 3 months. |
| Diploma | A diploma leading directly to the occupation, from a program of at least 1 year full-time — a DEP or ASP, an AEC or DEC, or a university-level certificate, minor, major, bachelor’s, specialized graduate diploma, master’s, or doctorate. |
| Québec diplomas | If the diploma was earned in Québec, it must total at least 900 hours (secondary or college) or 30 credits (university), and be obtained before the application is submitted. |
| Foreign credentials | No Québec comparative evaluation of foreign studies is required, though one obtained since January 31, 2013 may be used. |
| French | Oral level 7 or higher and written level 5 or higher on the Échelle québécoise. Accompanying spouse: oral level 4 or higher. |
Intermediate and Manual Skills
For applicants whose main occupation falls in FEER category 3, 4, or 5 and is not a regulated profession. Unlike Stream 1, this stream requires experience earned in Québec.
| Criteria | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Work experience | At least 2 years of paid work experience in your main occupation within the past 5 years, including at least 1 year in Québec. |
| Diploma | At minimum, the equivalent of a Québec secondary school diploma (DES), or a DEP, ASP, or AEC from a program of at least 1 year full-time. |
| Québec diplomas | If earned in Québec, at least 600 hours (high school), 900 hours (college), or 30 credits (university). |
| French | Oral level 5 or higher on the Échelle québécoise. Accompanying spouse: oral level 4 or higher. |
At least 1 of the 2 required years of experience must have been earned in Québec. Up to 1 year may come from outside Québec, in your main occupation or in the same broad NOC category (the same first digit).
Regulated Professions
For applicants whose main occupation is governed by a Québec professional order or other regulator. The stream is defined by the occupation, not by skill level — the French requirement follows the occupation’s FEER category.
| Criteria | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Your main occupation must appear on the Ministère’s official List of Regulated Professions, which is updated annually on January 31. |
| Recognition | You must hold either an authorization to practise in Québec, or proof of partial or full recognition of your training or diploma equivalence, issued within the 5 years before the application. |
| French | Follows the FEER category of your occupation — the Stream 1 thresholds for FEER 0–2, or the Stream 2 threshold for FEER 3–5. |
Québec recommends not beginning the recognition process with the regulatory authority until after you receive a PSTQ invitation. You are allowed 1 year from the invitation to obtain proof of recognition.
Exceptional Talent
For applicants with clearly exceptional expertise likely to contribute to Québec’s prosperity, supported by a proven track record of achievement.
| Criteria | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Work experience | At least 3 years of experience in your main occupation within the past 5 years. |
| Achievement | An achievement appearing on the Ministère’s official list of achievements, or a supporting opinion from a designated partner organization. |
| Designated partners | Strategic economic sectors — ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie; research — Fonds de recherche du Québec; arts — Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec; sports — Institut national du sport du Québec. |
Temporary Foreign Workers
For people already working legally in Québec on a temporary basis who have accumulated qualifying Québec work experience.
To be received during the first intake window (July 2 to October 31, 2026), you must have accumulated at least 2 years of Québec work experience in a FEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation by November 19, 2025.
| Criteria | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Status in Québec | You must be legally in Québec as a temporary foreign worker, a participant in a youth exchange program, or the holder of a working-holiday, young-professionals, or International Co-op internship permit. |
| Occupation | Your qualifying experience must correspond to a FEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation under the National Occupational Classification. |
| Nature of the work | Performed legally in Québec, full-time at a minimum of 30 paid hours per week, and paid. |
| Duration | You must hold a job meeting these criteria at the time of application, and have held such a job for at least 24 of the 36 months preceding the application. |
| Exclusions | Experience cannot have been acquired in an ineligible sector, or for a business you control directly or indirectly. |
| French | Oral level 7 or higher on the Échelle québécoise. Accompanying spouse: oral level 4 or higher. |
How the 24 months are counted
Québec Graduates
For international students who completed an eligible diploma at an institution located in Québec and are still in the province.
To be received during the first intake window (July 2 to October 31, 2026), you must have obtained your eligible Québec diploma by November 19, 2025.
| Criteria | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Status in Québec | You must be legally in Québec at the time of application. |
| Diploma | An eligible diploma (see the full list below), obtained within the 36 months preceding the application, from a full-time program at an institution located in Québec. |
| Time in Québec | You must have stayed in Québec primarily to study for at least half the duration of your study program. |
| French | Written level 5 or higher, in addition to the oral level 7 required of both PEQ streams. Accompanying spouse: oral level 4 or higher. |
| Scholarships | You must have complied with any return-to-country condition tied to a Québec study scholarship. |
Eligible diplomas — no other diploma type qualifies
The requirement added during the 2025 suspension — to have completed an eligible program of study in French, or 3 years of full-time secondary or post-secondary study in French — has been removed for this reopening. The conditions that applied before the November 19, 2025 closure apply instead.
How to Apply
Both programs are submitted through Arrima, Québec's immigration portal. The PSTQ runs on invitation from a declaration-of-interest pool; the PEQ is applied to directly, during an open intake window.
Confirm your program and stream
The PSTQ is open on an ongoing basis to applicants inside or outside Québec; your stream is set by your main occupation’s FEER category and whether it is regulated. The PEQ is open only during its intake window and only to people already in Québec as workers or recent graduates.
PSTQ — submit a Declaration of Interest in Arrima
Your declaration enters a bank of declarations of interest and is scored against Québec’s selection criteria. If your profile scores highly enough and matches Québec’s targeted criteria, you may receive an invitation to apply for permanent selection. PEQ applicants skip this step and apply directly.
Submit your application for permanent selection
Complete Parts 1 and 2 of the application form for your stream, prepare the supporting documents listed in Part 2 (scanned in colour, saved as PDF, legible and complete), then submit through Arrima with the fee paid by credit card. A confirmation follows by email and in the Arrima message centre.
Obtain the attestation of Québec values
After you apply, Arrima will ask you — and family members as applicable — to obtain the Attestation d’apprentissage des valeurs démocratiques et des valeurs québécoises. You have 60 days to complete it, and failure to do so results in rejection, unless you already obtained it within the previous 2 years.
Receive a decision on your application
If you are selected, you and your accompanying family are issued a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ), along with information on the next steps in the immigration process. A refusal or rejection notice allows you to respond within a set deadline before the decision becomes final.
Using a paid representative is not required. Québec gives no priority or special treatment to applications submitted through a paid immigration representative. If you do use one, both you and the representative need an Arrima account, linked by a representation connection.
Possible Outcomes
After review, an application results in one of three outcomes. A refusal and a rejection are different things, and both allow a response within a deadline before the decision becomes final.
Selected
You are issued a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) for yourself and your accompanying family, along with information on the next steps in the immigration process.
Refusal notice
Issued if not all conditions were met. You may submit additional documents or justification within a set deadline before a final decision is made.
Rejection notice
Issued for incomplete documentation, doubts about the authenticity of documents, or a missed interview. You may respond with convincing evidence within a set deadline.
Processing Times
Québec publishes no processing-time estimate for either program. This is a deliberate position on the Ministère's part, not missing information — and it is different from the service standards other provinces publish.
PSTQ — status updates, no estimate
Rather than a published timeline, Québec posts periodic status updates. As of its July 14, 2026 update, the Ministère was working through applications received in October and November 2025, with some earlier incomplete files still pending. Since May 13, 2026 it has been prioritizing applicants whose work permits are expired or expiring.
PEQ — no service standard for this reopening
The six-month service standard that applied before the 2025 closure has notbeen renewed for the reopening. Québec's own announcement warns that the volume expected during the four-month intake window could make processing slower than usual.
French Language Requirements
Québec assesses French on its own scale — the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français — not the Canadian Language Benchmarks used by federal programs and the other provinces. Levels are set per stream, and an accompanying spouse is assessed separately at a lower threshold.
| Stream | Oral | Written | Spouse |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSTQ — Highly Qualified and Specialized Skills | Level 7+ | Level 5+ | Oral 4+ |
| PSTQ — Intermediate and Manual Skills | Level 5+ | Not specified | Oral 4+ |
| PSTQ — Regulated Professions | Follows the occupation’s FEER category | Follows FEER category | Oral 4+ |
| PSTQ — Exceptional Talent | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| PEQ — Temporary Foreign Workers | Level 7+ | Not required | Oral 4+ |
| PEQ — Québec Graduates | Level 7+ | Level 5+ | Oral 4+ |
Accepted tests and diplomas
France Éducation international — TCF-Québec, TCF-Canada, TCF, DALF, DELF
Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris Île-de-France — TEFAQ, TEF Canada, TEF
Recognized diplomas — Certain French, Belgian, and Swiss secondary diplomas
Regulated Professions stream only — A valid professional-order practice permit, or a pass on the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) exam
Québec does not publish score-to-level conversions on its program pages. The correspondence between a test result and an Échelle québécoise level is set out in a separate reference document from the Ministère — check your specific test result against it rather than assuming an equivalence.
Two rows above are not numeric because Québec does not state them numerically. The Regulated Professions requirement is defined as following the FEER category of the occupation, taking the Stream 1 thresholds for FEER 0–2 and the Stream 2 threshold for FEER 3–5 — both of which set the accompanying spouse at oral level 4. For Exceptional Talent, the Ministère's published criteria set out experience and achievement requirements without stating a French level; confirm the current requirement directly with the Ministère.
Government Fees
The PSTQ and the PEQ charge the same application fees.
Québec Application Fees (PSTQ and PEQ)
Effective January 1, 2026 — adjusted every January 1
| Applicant | Fee (CAD) |
|---|---|
| Principal applicant | $940 |
| Spouse or common-law partner | $201 |
| Each dependent child | $201 |
Fees must be paid in full, in Canadian dollars, by credit card only, through Arrima. They are non-refundable — including if the application is refused or rejected.
Disclaimer:PSTQ and PEQ criteria, intake windows, invitation rounds, fees, and program status are established by the Gouvernement du Québec and are subject to change at any time without notice. The information on this page reflects Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration guidelines as published in August 2026 and is provided for general information purposes only; it does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Applicants apply to Québec directly through Arrima. Consult a qualified professional before making any immigration decisions.
Questions About Immigrating to Canada?
Explore your eligibility across Canada's immigration pathways, or book a consultation to discuss your options.
Check My Eligibility — FreeBook a Free ConsultationPEQ First Intake
Applications are accepted from July 2 to October 31, 2026, and only from candidates who met the stream criteria as of November 19, 2025.
Quick Facts
Information reflects Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration guidelines as of August 2026. Program criteria, intake windows, and fees are subject to change by the Gouvernement du Québec at any time. This page is for general information only and does not constitute legal or immigration advice.
Related Programs
Ontario (OINP)
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program — Ontario Workforce Priority categories.
Learn MoreNew Brunswick (NBPNP)
New Brunswick’s provincial nominee streams for skilled workers and graduates.
Learn MoreProvincial Nominee Program
Explore all provincial and territorial nominee programs across Canada.
Learn More