On 16^th June 2019, the Quebec Govt., cleared the Bill 9, the contentious immigration legislation. It denotes that the province will discard up to 18,000 applications under the popular pathway of Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP). This move is seen as the retrospective of both positive and negative development  depending on which side of the fence you are.

Nonetheless, critics are advocating that this declaration will bring enormous opportunities to the new and existing candidates to apply with any backlogs.

The objective of the bill is to give more authority to the government of Quebec for selecting the eligible candidates to the province. Apart from this, the bill also emphasis more on the Quebec values and significance of qualifying the French language test for newcomers. Both of them are the most crucial part of Quebec Immigration. The idea is to attract only the best talent from different parts of the world.

This move will refine the talents and provide equal opportunity for all who are eligible to deliver their skills and experience for the progress of the province.

 Quebec SWP Buildup as of February 2019

• of petitions pending – applications 18000 -dependents 45000+
• of working/studying in Quebec – applications 3700 -dependents 9250
• of petitions concluded monthly 2015 – applications 2000- dependents 5000
• of petitions admitted monthly 2015 – applications 1000 dependents 2500

How to move forward positively?

• The passing of the Bill 9 has also set-up a structure for a Quebec values test for the new immigrants which denotes that the province will have no backlog of unattended applications and they can process the fresh applications faster than ever before.
• This announcement will kick-start the process called ‘Arrima’ the latest Quebec Expression of Interest (EOI) System.
• All the waiting applicants can now resubmit their application to Arrima immigration portal and go through the process. Since there is no backlog, the faster you apply the quicker you get considered.
• Furthermore, the declaration will most importantly result in less waiting period of time which will be reduced from 36 months to 6 months.

These aforementioned factors are a welcome change for all the applicants who thought this bill will crush their Quebec dreams, but instead it will bring new hope for Quebec Immigration.

Check Your Eligibility

 Quebec EOI-How Does It Work?

• Aspirants submit an online EOI profile to the MIDI.
• Profiles enter into an EOI pool, where they get a position against each other and have validity for 12-months.
• Profiles get categorized in two categories (A) For those who are either staying in the province, or have an offer of employment and fulfill some particular requirements. (B) For those residing outside the province and fulfill specific requirements.
• Under the Quebec Skilled Worker Programme (QSWP), the highest-ranking applicants will get an ITA for a Quebec Certificate of Selection (CSQ).
• The province will carry-out episodic draws, sending invites to aspirants to submit an application for a CSQ.
• Those getting an ITA have 90 days to send across a complete application.
• Sanctioned aspirants, who obtain a nomination certificate (CSQ), may afterwards submit an application for Permanent Residence (PR) in the overseas hotspot.

New EOI system will bring waiting times down

As per the incumbent Quebec Immigration Minister, the new EOI system will cut-down waiting times to 6 months from 36 months for the QSW applications.

So why wait? This is a blessing in disguise and a golden opportunity – apply for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program right now to fulfill your Canadian Dream.