On August 12, Quebec hosted its largest draw of the year, inviting 515 immigrants to apply for permanent residence.

On the 19th of this month, the details of the latest round of invitations were made public. The Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) invited individuals who had submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) via Quebec’s online registration system, Arrima, under the Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program.

An expression of interest is completely different and distinct from that of a formal application. It encompasses a means for candidates to let Quebec’s Ministry of Immigration know that they want to be considered for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or CSQ. Candidates can apply for permanent residence with the federal government after receiving a CSQ. This is the first round since a new classification system for QRSWP immigration hopefuls was implemented.

Those who had received invites belonged to either of the aforementioned categories:

• They have a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montreal Metropolitan Area; they reside in Quebec as a diplomat, consular official, United Nations representative, or representative of any intergovernmental organization operating in the province;
• their occupation is on the list of targeted occupations and they scored at least 591 points in the Arrima expression of interest bank;
• they have a valid job offer outside the territory of the Montreal Metropolitan Area;
• they reside in Quebec as a diplomat, consular official, United Nations representative, or representative of any intergovernmental organization;
• they were self-sufficient after being registered to be officially self-employed

Quebec is holding its sixth drawing of the year. The province has been sending out invites on a monthly basis since the beginning of the year. The province has invited a total of 1,060 individuals to apply for permanent selection.

Quebec’s immigration programs are run by the province and are governed by criteria and procedures that are separate from the rest of the country.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is ultimately responsible for deciding on immigration applications.

Details about the EOI pool belonging to Arrima

Arrima was implemented in 2018 to manage the QRSWP candidate pool and to streamline an application intake process that was previously focused on a “first-come, first-served” approach.

Candidates aged 18 and up who want to immigrate to Quebec through the QRSWP must first construct an EOI profile in Arrima, following which they will be placed in a pool of applicants and given a score based on a set of criteria.

Quebec established a new points system in July to rank immigration candidate profiles in the Arrima expression of interest pool.

There are a total of 1,320 points available, with 580 points for human capital variables and 740 points for characteristics connected to Quebec’s labor market needs.

French language proficiency, bilingual ability, age, work experience, and education are among the human capital characteristics.

Work experience in a field where there is a scarcity, education in Quebec, work experience in the rest of Canada, and job changes both inside and outside the Greater Montreal area is among the labor market determinants. This last factor bears a lot of weight because job offers outside of the Montreal metropolitan area might be valued up to 380 points, whilst offers in Montreal only get 180.

MIFI then asks the most suitable candidates to apply for permanent selection, giving them 60 days to complete an immigration application, pay all costs, and show all other required documents. Within six months, Quebec hopes to give CSQs to invited candidates who have provided all essential information.