Quebec Investor Program

Unlike the Federal Government, the Quebec Government has maintained their immigrant Investor Program. This program is administered by the Ministère de l’immigration, de la diversité et de l’inclusion (Immigration Quebec).  

The key components of the Quebec Investor program are:

  • That the foreign national has the intention to settle and reside in Quebec;  
  • That the foreign national has at least two years’ experience in running a business acquired during the five years preceding the date of submission of the application;
  • That the foreign national has a minimum net worth of CAD$2 million; and
  • Providing an investment of CAD$1.2 million with a Quebec authorized broker and/or trust company.  

The Quebec Investor program has a yearly quota, and therefore the program opens and closes quickly. However, if a foreign national is able to demonstrate an advanced intermediate level of French language skills, they may submit their application at any time, unencumbered by Immigration Quebec’s quota. 

 The Quebec Investor 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
  • Investment agreement

Investment

To qualify under the Quebec Investor program, a foreign national must provide an investment of CAD$1.2 million:

  • Interest-free investment of CAD$1.2 million with Investissement Québec or its subsidiaries (as per investment agreement with the approved broker/trust company). 
  • This investment of CAD$1.2 million has a five-year term and is guaranteed by the Province of Quebec.  The investment must be returned by the authorized broker or trust company within 30 days at the end of the five-year term. 

Financing options will vary on the authorized broker/trust company, but generally speaking an approved investor may:

  • Invest the full CAD$1.2 million; or
  • May choose to finance the investment. An investor can invest part of their own funds, and obtain financing for the rest of the principal pursuant to the terms and conditions of the investment agreement.   

Application Process

When applying under the Quebec Investor program: 

  1. A foreign national must first apply to an authorized broker/trust company with a complete investor application. The broker/trust company reviews the application and processes it in approximately 2-3 weeks.  The broker/trust company assesses the investor based on his or her eligibility and likelihood of success under the Quebec Investor program;
  2. If the authorized broker/trust company approves a foreign national as an investor, then he or she may sign the investment agreement with the broker/trust company.  Once signed, the foreign national must then submit an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) with Immigration Quebec;
  3. Immigration Quebec will then review and process the CSQ application. The current processing time for this stage varies on the country of citizenship or residence of the applicant, but can be upwards of four or five years. Please note that during this time, an applicant may be called in for an interview with the adjudicating Immigration Quebec officer in Montreal; 
  4. Once Immigration Quebec issues a notice of intent to approve the CSQ application, a foreign national must make the investment of CAD$1.2 million as per the investment agreement with the authorized broker/trust company within 110 days from the date of issuance of the notice; 
  5. Once a foreign national’s application is approved and they receive 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 
  6. 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.