Quebec Self-Employed Program

The Quebec Self-Employed Worker program is different than its Federal counterpart as it is not limited to those who have experience in cultural activities, athletics of farming. The Quebec Self-Employed Worker program is open to those who have self-employment experience either as a professional or in a trade. The program is administered by the Ministère de l’immigration, de la diversité et de l’inclusion (Immigration Quebec). The Quebec Self-Employed Worker program has a yearly quota, and therefore the program opens and closes quickly.  

The key components of the Quebec Self-Employed Worker program are:

  • That the foreign national has the intention to settle and reside in Quebec;
  • That the foreign national will come to Quebec to create their own job by practising their profession or their trade;
  • That the foreign national has net assets of at least CAD$100,000; and
  • That the foreign national has at least two years of experience as a self-employed worker in their profession or trade.

The Quebec Self-Employed Worker program is a point based system. Immigration Quebec will assess a foreign national on the following criteria:

  • Age
  • Education 
  • Relevant experience
  • Language abilities in English and/or French
  • Previous stay in Quebec
  • Family members who already live in Quebec
  • Spouse’s education, age and French language abilities
  • Financial resources

Application Process

When applying under the Quebec Self-Employed Worker program: 

  1. A foreign national must first submit an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) as an Self-Employer Worker with Immigration Quebec;
  2. Immigration Quebec will review and process the CSQ application. Immigration Quebec will review the applicant’s self-employment experience and their ability to establish themselves in Quebec.  The current processing time for this stage varies on the country of citizenship or residence of the applicant, but can be upwards of three or four years. 
  3. Once the application is approved and the foreign national receives their CSQ, he or she must then file a complete permanent residence application based on Immigration Quebec’s selection with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (Immigration Canada). Immigration Canada will be responsible for assessing medical and criminal admissibility, and will issue the Confirmation of Permanent Residence. The current processing time for this stage varies on the country of citizenship or residence of the foreign national; and
  4. If the application for permanent residence is successful, Immigration Canada will issue a document called a Confirmation of Permanent Residence. With this document, the foreign national may then complete the landing process in order to obtain permanent resident status.