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What does it take to move to Canada? Processing, cost, job offer and permanent residence

10 pathways verified against an official source. Facts on this page come from those records — not from unsourced scores or blurbs.

Québec selects its own skilled workers and business immigrants. See Québec: processing, cost, job offer and permanent residence.

Verified 2026-08-15–2026-08-16 against Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration.

What language evidence and skills assessment does Canada name?

  • Language evidence: CELPIP-G, IELTS, PTE Core, TEF Canada or TCF Canada
  • Credential assessment: Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)

How long do these Canada routes take, what do they cost, and do they lead to permanent residence?

Every cell is a sourced value or an explicit statement that nothing is stored. Amounts stay in the published currency.

Which Canada routes grant permanent residence on the day they are granted?

Which Canada routes do not lead to permanent residence on their own?

Do I need a job offer for these Canada routes?

The authority says a job offer is not required

The authority does not state whether a job offer is required

The verified record does not state whether a job offer is required. Absence of the field is not a no — check the official source below.

What these authorities do not publish

Union of the absences recorded on this destination's routes. Each row quotes the reason stored on that record.

Processing time

Minimum education

Application fee

Compare across countries: all comparisons · How long these routes take · Which routes grant permanent residence on grant · Which routes lead to permanent residence later · Do I need a job offer

Verified pathways

Express Entry — Canadian Experience Class

Permanent Residence

Permanent residence for skilled workers with eligible Canadian work experience, managed through Express Entry. IRCC publishes minimum requirements, not a selection-factor points test. Meeting those minimums is how you become eligible to submit a profile; CRS ranking decides invitations. You must plan to live outside Quebec.

Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-08-16

Express Entry — Federal Skilled Trades

Permanent Residence

Permanent residence for skilled workers qualified in a listed skilled trade, managed through Express Entry. IRCC publishes minimum requirements, not a selection-factor points test. You need 2 years of qualifying trade work in the last 5 years and either a valid 1-year full-time job offer or a Canadian certificate of qualification. Meeting those minimums is how you become eligible to submit a profile; CRS ranking decides invitations. You must plan to live outside Quebec.

Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-08-16

Quebec — Skilled Worker Selection (PSTQ)

Quebec

Quebec’s skilled-worker selection program, run separately from federal Express Entry and not a PNP. File a free déclaration d’intérêt in Arrima. An invitation may lead to a Certificat de sélection du Québec. A CSQ is not permanent residence. After a CSQ you submit a separate IRCC application; that federal stage has its own medical, security and criminality checks.

Quebec — Quebec Experience Program (PEQ)

Quebec

A Quebec selection program for Quebec graduates and temporary foreign workers, not a points test and not Express Entry. Reception in this window is 2 July–31 October 2026. Qualifying diplomas or Quebec work must already have existed on 19 November 2025. A CSQ is not permanent residence. After a CSQ you submit a separate IRCC application; that federal stage has its own medical, security and criminality checks.

Quebec — Investor Program

Business

Programme des investisseurs. Conditions-based Quebec selection, not a points test and not Express Entry. Intake is open at any time with no published maximum. First condition: a convention d’investissement with a participating financial intermediary — you cannot invest directly. Education: DES-equivalent or a one-year full-time DEP/ASP/AEC-equivalent; Quebec diplomas need 600 hours (secondary) or 900 hours (college); an ECE is not required to apply. Net worth at least 2 000 000 $ CA with lawful origin and accumulation, including for an included spouse. Placement and contribution within 120 days of the ministry’s request. Values attestation within 60 days; accompanying spouse 16+ and dependent children 18+. Work-permit application within 6 months of the avis d’intention. Oral French niveau 7; no written floor. A CSQ is not permanent residence. After a CSQ you submit a separate IRCC application; that federal stage has its own medical, security and criminality checks.

Quebec — Entrepreneur Program

Business

Programme des entrepreneurs, three volets: Entreprise innovante, Démarrage d'entreprise, Repreneuriat. Conditions-based, not a points test and not Express Entry. Intake is open at any time with no published maximum. Education: DES-equivalent or a one-year full-time DEP/ASP/AEC-equivalent; Quebec diplomas need 600 or 900 hours; an ECE is not required to apply. Volet 1 publishes no net-worth floor and no lawful-origin condition; accompaniment is an innovation organism, not a financial intermediary. Volets 2 and 3 publish 600 000 $ CA or 300 000 $ CA plus lawful origin of funds, and 300 000 $ CA / 150 000 $ CA location-based expenses. Values attestation within 60 days; accompanying spouse 16+ and dependent children 18+. Volet 2: start the business within 2 years of the work permit. Volet 3: acquisition offer within 2 years of the application. Oral French niveau 7; no written floor. A CSQ is not permanent residence. After a CSQ you submit a separate IRCC application; that federal stage has its own medical, security and criminality checks.

Quebec — Self-employed Worker Program

Business

Programme des travailleurs autonomes. Conditions-based Quebec selection, not a points test and not Express Entry. Intake is open at any time with no published maximum. Education: DES-equivalent or a one-year full-time DEP/ASP/AEC-equivalent; Quebec diplomas need 600 or 900 hours; an ECE is not required to apply. Net worth at least 100 000 $ CA with lawful origin and accumulation, including for an included spouse. Start-up deposit 25 000 $ CA outside the CMM or 50 000 $ CA on the CMM, made at a Quebec financial institution when the ministry asks — a few weeks after the file-opening letter. Values attestation within 60 days; accompanying spouse 16+ and dependent children 18+. Two years of self-employed experience in the last five. Oral French niveau 7; no written floor. A CSQ is not permanent residence. After a CSQ you submit a separate IRCC application; that federal stage has its own medical, security and criminality checks.

Not yet verified

These names appear in searches. We have not checked them against an official source, so this page states no fees, timelines, or settlement outcomes for them.

  • Express Entry — Category-based selection

    Unverified

    Express Entry invitations that target attributes IRCC has announced for a given round.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • Quebec — Regular Skilled Worker Program (PRTQ) — replaced

    Unverified

    Closed as an open route. Le 29 novembre 2024, le Programme régulier des travailleurs qualifiés (PRTQ) a été remplacé par le Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ). It is no longer possible to present a new permanent-selection application under the PRTQ except to add or remove a family member on an existing file. Informational record only.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • Quebec — Food-processing pilot — closed

    Unverified

    Closed as an open route. Le Programme pilote d’immigration permanente des travailleurs de la transformation alimentaire (PP TA) a pris fin comme prévu le 1er janvier 2026. Il n’est plus possible de présenter une demande dans ce programme. Applications filed before that date continue to be examined. Informational record only.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • Quebec — Orderlies (PAB) pilot — closed

    Unverified

    Closed as an open route. Le Programme pilote d’immigration permanente des préposés aux bénéficiaires (PP PAB) a pris fin comme prévu le 1er janvier 2026. Il n’est plus possible de présenter une demande dans ce programme. Applications filed before that date continue to be examined. Informational record only.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • Quebec — AI / IT / visual-effects pilot — closed

    Unverified

    Closed as an open route. Le Programme pilote d’immigration permanente des travailleurs des secteurs de l’intelligence artificielle, des technologies de l’information et des effets visuels (PP IA/TI-EV) a pris fin comme prévu le 1er janvier 2026. Il n’est plus possible de présenter une demande dans ses deux volets. Applications filed before that date continue to be examined. Informational record only.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • LMIA-based Work Permit (TFWP)

    Unverified

    An employer-specific work permit that requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment. A job offer does not add Comprehensive Ranking System points — IRCC removed arranged-employment points on 25 March 2025.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • Global Talent Stream (GTS)

    Unverified

    A Temporary Foreign Worker Program stream for certain specialised roles. It is a work permit, not permanent residence. A job offer does not add CRS ranking points.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)

    Unverified

    A work permit some graduates of a Canadian designated learning institution may apply for after study. It is a separate application from a study permit and is not permanent residence.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • International Experience Canada (IEC)

    Unverified

    A temporary work permit for youth from countries with an IEC agreement (Working Holiday, Young Professionals, International Co-op). Canadian Experience Class requires skilled Canadian work experience; time on a working holiday is not automatically that.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • Intra-Company Transfer (ICT)

    Unverified

    A work permit for transferring within a multinational employer.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • Spousal Open Work Permit

    Unverified

    An open work permit that some partners of workers or students in Canada may apply for.

    Not yet verified against an official source

  • Extend / maintain your Work Permit

    Unverified

    A process to apply again before a current Canadian work permit expires.

    Not yet verified against an official source