PR for Graduates of the Province of Quebec.

PR for Graduates of the Province of Quebec.

Usually, foreign student graduates go through the PEQ program – graduates (a program for applicants with work/study experience in Quebec). The requirement for that program used to be to finish an educational institution approved by Quebec, and then you could apply for PR. In 2019, the Quebec government froze this program, and after a while, they reopened it. In May 2020, the program has been changed and a new requirement was added – to have at least one year of work experience in Quebec after completing the program. The processing time also increased from 20 days to 6 months (!!!). This innovation led to a dramatic decrease in the number of students applying for PR through this program. It was easier for them to move to federal Canada and obtain PR. Quebec was left in a difficult position at a time when there was a catastrophic shortage of workers. Only in 2023 Quebec finally removed the requirement to have a year of work experience at the time of applying for PR. But! With some clarifications: from November 2024, only those graduates whose language of instruction was French (with minor exceptions) and for a duration of 3 years or more, or 75% of the subjects were taught in French, can apply for PR through this program. Remember, it was previously possible to attach a French language test at an above-intermediate level (B2). Thus, the program automatically closed the path for graduates of McGill and Concordia (the two largest English-speaking universities in Canada), even though they could demonstrate knowledge of the French language at the required level.

If you plan to obtain PR through the graduate program in this province, focus only on programs where French is the language of instruction and take at least a consultation on orientation in Quebec educational institutions, as this is very important for obtaining PR in the future