Responsibilities under the Canada-Quebec Accord
Under the terms of the Canada-Quebec Accord, which was signed in 1991, Quebec is responsible for the selection of applicants destined to the province of Quebec. Those selected by the province are issued a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ).
Canada retains responsibility for all of the following:
- determining whether immigrants are admissible to Canada by conducting security, criminal and medical background checks
- defining categories and classes of immigration, and setting the annual national immigration levels of immigration with input from Quebec
- enforcement.
Canada will only admit immigrants selected by Quebec if they meet admissibility requirements under Canadian law.
The Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) is the Quebec ministry that deals with immigration to that province. They are responsible for:
- assessing skilled workers, investors, entrepreneurs, and self employed applicants destined to Quebec against the Quebec selection criteria
- issuing a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) if an applicant meets Quebec selection criteria.
The IRCC processing office is responsible for:
- assessing the applicant on statutory grounds once a CSQ has been issued
- issuing the permanent resident visa if all requirements are met.
Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ)
The CSQ is a document issued by MIDI that indicates that an applicant has been selected by the province. Before a visa can be issued by IRCC to an applicant destined to Quebec, a CSQ must be issued.
IRCC will not issue a permanent resident visa to any applicant destined to the province of Quebec who does not hold a valid CSQ (if expired, the CSQ must be renewed).