Quebec Immigration and the Arrima System: A Guide for US Applicants

Quebec has its own immigration selection and does not use the federal Express Entry nominee model. Skilled workers are selected through Quebec’s Skilled Worker Selection Program (the Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés, or PSTQ) and, if selected, then apply to the federal government for permanent residence. Quebec describes its role as selection and Canada’s role as admission.

This arrangement comes from an agreement that gives Quebec control over the selection of its economic immigrants. The result is that many things you may have read about Express Entry do not apply, and a separate set of rules governs how Quebec chooses candidates.

A hypothetical US applicant with strong English and basic French is intrigued by Quebec. He creates an Arrima profile and then compares the French level expected for selection with his own. He realises he would need substantial improvement.

He weighs whether he is prepared to invest in French and live in a French-speaking environment. If so, Quebec becomes a serious option and he builds a study plan. If not, he redirects his effort to routes where English is the working language. In either case, an honest self-assessment saves months.

Arrima is Quebec’s expression-of-interest platform. Candidates file a declaration of interest, which is ranked under the PSTQ scoring system, and people with high scores who meet the criteria may be invited under the stream that fits their profile. An invitation arrives as a message in the Arrima message centre, and you have 30 days from the invitation date to accept it. Quebec publishes each round with the number invited and the criteria used, and says the criteria can change in each round to reflect economic needs.

Profiles do not hold a place. They are compared at the time of each round, so a profile that was not selected once may be selected later if circumstances or priorities change. The province may emphasise different criteria in different rounds.

Quebec places strong weight on French. For most candidates, building French ability is essential, and it is the largest practical barrier for English-speaking US applicants. If you are not prepared to work in French, Quebec is unlikely to be the best choice.

That said, some applicants have a real connection to the language or are willing to invest in it seriously. For them, Quebec can offer a distinctive and rewarding life. The point is to decide with open eyes rather than to enter a system whose language requirements you cannot meet.

For more background, see provincial nominee services and choosing between a PNP and Express Entry.

Quebec is a different system with its own French expectations. Before you build a plan on it, check how it compares with the rest of Canada in a free assessment. Quebec's rules are its own and are updated by the province.