How does Quebec select skilled workers for permanent immigration?
Short answer
In Quebec, skilled workers are selected for permanent immigration through the Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ, the Skilled Worker Selection Program), starting with an expression of interest submitted in the Arrima system; the ministry then draws from the Arrima bank and sends invitations to apply.
In detail
The Skilled Worker Selection Program works by expression of interest: you submit your profile in Arrima, then wait for a possible invitation. Submitting an expression of interest is not the same as submitting an immigration application.
The Gouvernement du Québec publishes an invitation plan and announces the dates on which the Arrima bank will be drawn from. Invitations are sent at times set in advance.
The program's parameters — streams, criteria and invitation schedule — are set by the ministry and published on the Gouvernement du Québec website. They change from one period to the next: check the official page in force at the time you submit or update your profile.
What to document
The date you submitted your expression of interest and every update to your profile, with a screenshot of what was declared on each date. Keep the invitations you receive and their deadlines as well. If a discrepancy comes up later, these dated versions are what document what was declared and when.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Gouvernement du Québec — Invitations under the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ)
- Gouvernement du Québec — Invitations in Arrima, Skilled Worker Selection Program (2026)
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.