Immigrating to Quebec in 2026: PSTQ, Arrima and PEQ

Quebec chooses its own economic immigrants, under its own rules and largely in French. This guide is for skilled workers, students and families, in Quebec or abroad, who want to understand in plain terms how Quebec selection works in 2026 and what is open now.

Who Quebec suits

Quebec's programs reward three things above all: French, experience or study in Quebec, and work in occupations and regions Quebec needs.

Quebec suits you best if you:

speak French well, or are prepared to reach a high level;
already live, work or study in Quebec;
hold a Quebec diploma;
have a job, or the prospect of one, in a region outside Montreal or in an in-demand occupation.

For someone abroad without French, Quebec's skilled worker program is hard to reach, and it is better to know that early. For someone with good French, it deserves a serious look.

Quebec selects first, Canada admits

Quebec has no Provincial Nominee Program. Instead, it decides which skilled workers and business people it selects. A person Quebec selects receives a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) and then applies to IRCC for permanent residence, where Canada checks medicals, security and admissibility.

This is why federal programs work differently here. Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Programs are for people who plan to live outside Quebec. If Quebec is where you want to live, Quebec's own programs are the route.

The Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ)

Since 29 November 2024, the Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ) has replaced Quebec's old Regular Skilled Worker Program. Its first invitations went out on 22 July 2025. It has four streams:

Stream	For	French and experience
1. Highly qualified	Jobs at FEER 0, 1 or 2	Oral French level 7 and written level 5; 1 year of experience in the last 5
2. Intermediate and manual skills	Jobs at FEER 3, 4 or 5	Oral French level 5; 2 years of experience, including 1 in Quebec
3. Regulated professions	Professions that need a Quebec licence	French level depends on the FEER; a licence or a regulator's assessment
4. Exceptional talent	Recognised exceptional expertise	3 years of experience in the last 5

French levels are measured on the Échelle québécoise, Quebec's own French scale. Full requirements: PSTQ requirements.

How selection works: Arrima

You file a declaration of interest in Arrima, Quebec's online portal.
Quebec holds invitation rounds by stream, roughly monthly in 2026.
If invited, you apply for permanent selection (the CSQ).
With a CSQ, you apply to IRCC for permanent residence.

Since July 2025, invitations have favoured people already living in Quebec, holders of Quebec diplomas, people with jobs in the regions outside Montreal, and in-demand occupations. Quebec publishes each round on its PSTQ invitations page.

The PEQ: open until 31 October

The Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), for people who studied or worked in Quebec, ended on 19 November 2025. Quebec then reopened it for two years, from 2 July 2026 to 2 July 2028, with an Arrima intake window from 2 July to 31 October 2026 and no cap on numbers.

Quebec graduate stream: a diploma completed in Quebec by 19 November 2025.
Temporary worker stream: two years of FEER 0–3 work experience in Quebec as of 19 November 2025.
Oral French at level 7 and written French at level 5 are required. The old rule that studies had to be in French has been dropped.
You can hold a PEQ file and a PSTQ file at the same time.

If you qualify, do not wait: the window closes on 31 October 2026, and Quebec has not said whether there will be another window in 2027.

Business immigration

Quebec's Investor, Entrepreneur and Self-Employed Worker programs are open, accept applications at any time and have no cap. The Investor Program, for example, asks for a net worth of at least CAD 2,000,000, a five-year CAD 1,000,000 investment through an approved intermediary plus a CAD 200,000 financial contribution, at least two years of management experience in the last five, and spoken French at level 7. Conditions for each program are on Québec.ca and its business immigration pages.

What changed in 2025–2026

22 July 2025: first PSTQ invitations, with priority for people in Quebec, Quebec diplomas, the regions and in-demand occupations.
19 November 2025: the PEQ ended; it reopened on 2 July 2026 for two years.
2026–2029 plan: a target of 45,000 permanent immigrants a year. For 2026 that is about 28,800 economic immigrants (28,275 of them skilled workers), 10,000 in family reunification, 5,750 refugees and 450 others. Quebec has also set 2029 caps of 65,000 temporary foreign workers and 110,000 students.
1 January 2026: Quebec's pilot programs for food processing workers, orderlies, and AI, IT and visual effects workers ended.
Montreal and Laval: Quebec is not processing certain low-wage LMIAs for jobs in the Montreal and Laval regions until 31 December 2026. Federal rules also refuse low-wage LMIAs in areas with unemployment of 6% or more.
13 March 2026: a federal bridge lets workers with a PSTQ application or invitation, whose employer-specific work permit expires between 13 March and 31 December 2026, apply for up to 12 more months on an employer-specific permit, until 31 December 2026.
Announced, not yet in force: from 17 December 2028, renewing a CAQ after three years will require spoken French at level 4 for temporary workers (agricultural workers exempt).

Jobs and in-demand occupations

Quebec gives weight to in-demand occupations and to jobs in its regions outside Montreal. For workers, a job with a Quebec employer builds the Quebec experience that both the PSTQ and the PEQ value. For employers in Montreal and Laval, the pause means Quebec will not process certain low-wage LMIAs there until the end of 2026.

Students

Students in Quebec need a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) as well as a federal study permit. A Quebec diploma helps later, both in PSTQ invitations and, for those who completed it by 19 November 2025, in the PEQ graduate stream. Choose a program with your later plans in mind, and start working on your French early: it is the key to almost every Quebec route.

Families and settling in

Under the PSTQ, an accompanying spouse or partner needs oral French at level 4. Quebec's 2026 plan sets aside 10,000 places for family reunification. Quebec has also suspended collective refugee sponsorship until the end of 2029. For a family, the practical advice is the same as for a worker: French opens doors, in selection and in daily life.

Following Quebec on this site

We report PSTQ invitation rounds, PEQ news and Quebec's rule changes on this site in /category/pnp-news/, and you can browse by subject at /topics/. For Canada-wide news, read IRCNews.

How Polinsys helps

We keep you informed about Quebec's programs as they change (new PSTQ invitation rounds, PEQ windows and French requirements), and we share job opportunities in Quebec with readers whose profile fits. Bring your questions about Quebec to our free Friday Q&A at https://polinsys.com/webinar/, and register your interest using the form on this page so we can tell you when something opens that suits you.