Quebec business immigration programs

Compare Quebec business programs and eligibility thresholds.

Last verified: Aug 11, 2026

Frequently asked questions

How does the CSQ fit into the Quebec business immigration path?

All three Quebec business programs lead to the Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ), the provincial selection certificate that authorizes you to apply to IRCC for federal permanent residence. MIFI evaluates eligibility and capital criteria; once selected and a CSQ is issued, you file the federal application with IRCC for the medical, security, and admissibility review. The CSQ is the Quebec half; the federal permanent residence application is the IRCC half.

Why do the three programs have separate intake states?

Entrepreneur, investor, and self-employed are three distinct MIFI programs governed by separate Ministerial Instructions. Each opens, pauses, sets quotas, and resumes on its own calendar. Historically the investor program has had multi-year suspensions while entrepreneur streams stayed open. Each program's detail page embeds an eligibility checker; run it and the result reports that program's current intake status.

What level of French is required across the three programs?

The minimum for the principal applicant across all three programs is spoken French at level 7 or higher on the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français (roughly CEFR B2). Test results from TEF Canada, TEFAQ, TCF Canada, or TCF Québec are accepted. Lower French levels disqualify the file regardless of capital. The calculators on each detail page check this automatically.

How long does Quebec business immigration take?

Plan it as two applications with two queues, not one timeline. The Quebec stage runs from your selection application through MIFI's decision and the CSQ; the federal stage that follows is the IRCC permanent-residence application, and IRCC republishes that processing time rather than holding a fixed service standard, so read it from the live processing-times page instead of a quoted range. Plan for two distinct fee waves as well: MIFI fees first (per-program), then federal IRCC processing fees and right-of-permanent-residence fees later.