Quebec issues first invitations to skilled worker candidates with an Arrima profile

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Quebec has started issuing its first invitations to Quebec Skilled Worker Program candidates with an Expression of Interest profile in the province’s Arrima system.

Invited candidates began receiving email notifications on Thursday, July 4.

Those who received an invitation have 60 days to submit a complete application for a Quebec Selection Certificate (Certificat de sélection du Québec, or CSQ).

The Arrima system was launched in September 2018 to manage the bank of candidates for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

Candidates use Arrima to create an Expression of Interest profile that is then submitted into the bank of QSWP candidates.

Find out if you are eligible for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program

The Government of Quebec said the first invitations through Arrima will prioritize candidates who either have a validated job offer with a Quebec employer or who meet one of the following conditions:

had their application for a Quebec Selection Certificate terminated on June 16, 2019, and were a temporary resident of Quebec when they had applied; or
had their application for a Quebec Selection Certificate terminated on June 16, 2019, and were working or studying in Quebec at that time.

June 16, 2019, was the date when reforms to Quebec’s immigration laws were passed that cancelled around 16,000 pending applications to the QSWP.

The cancelled applications had all been filed prior to the introduction of Arrima, which Quebec’s Immigration Ministry (MIDI) says is more conducive to matching immigration candidates to the specific labour needs of employers around the province.

Candidates who fall into one of the two prioritized groups affected by the reforms and who have not yet created an Arrima profile have until December 16, 2019, to create one if they wish to be invited to apply for a CSQ.

MIDI said there will be several invitation rounds between now and January 16, 2020, for the prioritized candidates described above.