Quebec Unveils Application Numbers For Entrepreneur, Self-Employed, Pilot Programs

Quebec’s immigration minister unveiled Wednesday the number of applications the province will accept under its Entrepreneur, Self-employed and three permanent immigration pilot program during the coming year.

“Our government is taking all necessary measures to modernize our immigration processes and better receive immigrants who have chosen to settle in Quebec,” said Nadine Girault, the francophone province’s minister responsible for the Ministre de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI). 

Entrepreneur Program’s Second Stream Suspended

Under its Entrepreneur program, Quebue immigration will accept 25 applications under its first stream from Nov. 1 through to the end of next year. All applicants under the program must have at least a Level 7 competence in oral French based on the Échelle Québécoise Des Niveaux De Compétence En Français Des Personnes Immigrantes Adultes. 

The first stream of the Entrepreneur program is for those who want to create a business in Quebec with support from a business accelerator, a business incubator or a university entrepreneurship center.

Second stream of the program has been delayed for this year. It is for those who have a net worth of at least $900,000 and want to create or buy an existing business, of which the entrepreneur must control at least 25 per cent if it is a new business or at least 51 per cent if it has been bought.

Under this stream, entrepreneurs must have a controlling interest of at least 25 per cent of the assets of a business they create or 51 per cent of a business they buy. Excluded from the program are businesses that:

• Offer pay-day loans and cash cheques;
• Buy and sell real estate or develop properties;
• Produce, distribute or sell pornography or are otherwise involve in the sex trade. 

Quebec will start accepting an as-yet-undetermined number of applications under that stream of the program starting Dec. 31, 2022.

Self-Employed Program Requires Net Worth Of $100,000

Under its Self-Employed program, Quebec will be accepting 50 applications starting Nov. 1 this year and continue accepting them until Dec. 31 next year. 

All applicants must meet the following conditions that differentiate them from the Quebec Skilled Worker Program:

• have two years of self-employed experience, in the profession or trade they intend to practice in Quebec;
• have a personal net worth of $100,000 CAD, alone or with an accompanying spouse or common-law partner;
• register a start-up deposit of at least $50,000 if the self-employed candidate is based in the metropolitan area of Montreal, and $25,000 if the candidate is located outside of Montreal.

La Belle Province also announced today it will be accepting 600 applications starting on Nov. 3 and running through until Oct. 31 next year in each of its three permanent immigration pilot programs that will run until 2026 for food production workers, orderlies, and those employed in the artificial intelligence, information technology and visual effects sector.

The food production workers pilot is aimed at those working in food or beverage production in Quebec.

Among the occupations covered by the program are those with the following National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes and descriptions:

• 6732 – Specialized cleaners
• 8431 – General farmworkers
• 9461 – Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing
• 9462 – Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
• 9463 – Fish and seafood plant workers
• 9617 – Labourers in food and beverage processing
• 9618 – Labourers in fish and seafood processing

This pilot program requires that applicants: 

• Have accumulated at least two years of experience in the last three years in either the food or beverage production industry.
• Currently, work full-time in either of those sectors in Quebec.
• Have a level 7 proficiency in French as measured by the Échelle Québécoise Des Niveaux De Compétence En Français Des Personnes Immigrantes Adultes. 
• Have at least a high school diploma (DES) or diploma of vocational studies (DEP).

Orderlies Pilot Applicants Need Experience As Nurse Aides, Orderlies Or Patient Services Associates

The province’s Orderlies Pilot Program targets NOC 3413 for nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates.

It features both a work stream and a work-study stream. Under both streams, the candidates must:

• Be aged 18 or older;
• Have respected the conditions of their stay in Quebec;
• Have a job as an orderly in Québec at the time of application;
• Have knowledge of oral French equivalent to Level 7;
• Intend to settle in Quebec, and;
• Be financially self-sufficient.

In addition to those general requirements, candidates under the work stream also have to meet the following requirements:

• Hold a diploma related to the occupation of orderly after full-time studies of at least one year that corresponds to a Quebec diploma of vocational studies, and;
• Have acquired at least two years of work experience in the last three years as an orderly in Quebec, or at least one year in a health occupation related to basic personal care outside of Quebec and at least one year as an orderly in Quebec in the last three years.

These candidates must be employed as orderly, under NOC 3413 (nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates).

Candidates employed outside of Quebec must have experience corresponding to one of the following occupations:

• NOC 3011: Nursing coordinator and supervisor 
• NOC 3012: Registered nurse and registered psychiatric nurse
• NOC 3124: Allied primary health practitioner
• NOC 3233: Licensed practical nurse
• NOC 4412: Home support worker, housekeeper and related occupations, only when the applicant primarily performs one or several of the following duties in an institutional setting: providing personal care, dispensing bedside care and personal care and administering routine medical care.

Tech Pilot Program To Accept 300 Applicants In Each Stream

Candidates applying under the work-study stream must meet the following requirements:

• Have obtained a Quebec diploma in vocational studies leading to the occupation of orderly in the last two years, and;
• Have at least one year of work experience as an orderly in Quebec in the last two years, obtained after the completion of studies; 
• have completed the study program Institutional and Home Care Assistance (870 hours of continuous training) and obtained a secondary diploma of vocational studies.

The work experience must have been acquired legally and be paid, full-time work. After having completed their studies, candidates in this stream must be hired by a Quebec employer and obtain a work permit.

Quebec splits its tech-oriented pilot program into two streams, one for those in artificial intelligence and the other for workers in IT and visual effects. 

In each stream, the province will be accepting 300 applications, for a total of 600 for the pilot program, with half of those applications for francophones, starting Nov. 3 and continuing through to Oct. 31 next year – or until the maximum number of applications has been reached.