The Province of Quebec administers its own immigration programs with selection criteria that are distinct and more predictable from those of federal and other provincial immigration programs.

Foreign nationals wishing to settle permanently in Quebec must undergo a two-step immigration process.

  1. They must be selected by the Ministère de l’immigration et des communautés culturelles (MICC), Quebec’s immigration authority. Selected applicants will receive a Quebec Certificat de Sélection (CSQ).
  2. An approved CSQ holder must file an application with Canadian federal immigration authorities. The federal government’s role in evaluating a Quebec application for permanent residence is mainly limited to issues of health and criminality.