The submission period for applications to the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP) has closed at 1:19 p.m. on August 16, hours after opening at 8:30 a.m. the same day. The maximum number of 5,000 applications to the QSWP were received through Mon projet Québec, the online immigration application management system used by the government of Quebec to receive applications for the QSWP.
Successful applicants to the QSWP receive a Quebec Selection Certificate, or CSQ, and may then submit an application for permanent residence to the federal immigration authorities.
The official statement from Quebec’s Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (Ministry of Immigration, Diversity, and Inclusion, or MIDI) is that the maximum number of 10,000 applications for a selection certificate through the QSWP has been reached for the period of April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017.
While changes to Quebec’s immigration policy are expected in 2017, no definite plan has yet emerged for the future of the popular skilled worker program. Quebec’s Minister of Immigration, Kathleen Weil, has pushed to change the QSWP from its current first-come, first-served format to a system more like the federal Express Entry selection system, in which candidates make an Expression of Interest, with the government then issuing Invitations to Apply for permanent residence on a priority basis using a ranking system. Under the proposed system for Quebec, candidates who most closely meet Quebec’s labour needs may be prioritized. At this stage, it is unclear when the QSWP will launch in its new format, or whether it will open again in its current format of first-come, first-served application periods.
It is important to note that candidates who have a job offer validated by the MIDI, and those who are temporary residents of Quebec and are authorized to submit an application for a CSQ are not affected by the closure of this intake period. These cap-exempt individuals are welcome to submit their application outside the intake periods.
