Quebec invites 32 immigration candidates in latest skilled worker program selection round

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Quebec's Ministry of Immigration has released details of an invitation round held September 4 in which 32 candidates with an Arrima profile were invited.

The invitations went to candidates who had an Expression of Interest profile and a valid job offer, as well as foreign nationals working as diplomats, consular officers, or representatives of an intergovernmental organization such as the United Nations in Quebec.

The number of people invited dropped significantly compared to previous draws. The July 17 draw, which had similar eligibility requirements, rendered 259 invitations to apply for permanent selection.

What is Arrima?

Arrima was introduced in 2018 to receive Expression of Interest (EOI) profiles for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP) and manage its bank of candidates.

An EOI is not an application. It is a way for candidates to notify Quebec's Ministry of Immigration that they would like to be considered for a Quebec Selection Certificate (Certificat de sélection du Québec, or CSQ).

A CSQ allows a candidate to apply for permanent residence in Quebec.

Arrima replaced the previous first-come-first-served approach to accepting applications to the Quebec Skilled Worker Program.

Under the EOI system, candidates create a profile in Arrima and are issued a score based on human capital factors including age, education, area of training, work experience and French proficiency.

Candidates are then invited to apply for a CSQ based on either their scores or other factors such as labour shortages in the province's outlying regions.

If candidates receive a CSQ they can then apply for permanent residence through Canada's federal immigration ministry, which verifies medical and criminal admissibility.