Understanding the selection process

Following a decision by the governmentdecision published in the Gazette officielle du Québec on March 27, 2013, the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles is renewing its rules relating to the intake of applications according to immigration class.

To find out if you can submit an application for a selection certificate, consult the page Intake of applications.

Preparing your application

Prepare your application carefully to ensure faster processing. Assessing your file will be facilitated if it is complete and admissible, and includes: the Application for a Selection Certificate (Entrepreneur and Self-Employed Worker) or the Application for a Selection Certificate—Investor, the narrative document for you and your accompanying spouse or de facto spouse where applicable, the appendices duly filled out, the declarations, the payment of required fees, certified supporting documents, conforming and readable documents.

Preliminary evaluation of the application

Entrepreneur and Self-Employed Worker only

The Service aux Gens d'affaires à Montréal à la Direction de l'immigration économique internationale or the Québec Immigration office covering your country will verify whether all the documents have been included with your application and send you an acknowledgement of receipt. It will also send you a list of missing documents, indicating the deadline for providing them, where applicable. If these documents are not received by the deadline, your application will be refused without further notice.

Your file will be assessed only after all the required documents have been received.

Investor

Files submitted by applicants in the Investor subclass are considered complete when the application for a selection certificate is submitted.  Any incomplete application will be returned to the investor applicants, along with the fees charged.

If the application is complete, the Ministère, before examining the file, will invite applicants to update their files to document any new facts or changes in the value and distribution of their declared net assets. No documentation will be accepted after this step.

Selection interview and evaluation of your file

To be invited to a selection interview, entrepreneur and self-employed worker applicants must first have passed the preliminary evaluation of their application.

Investor applicants may also be called to a selection interview following the overall examination of the file.

The selection interview completes the evaluation process. Notice of an interview will indicate the date, time and place and the documents to bring with you. You may use the services of an interpreter for the interview.

During the interview, the immigration counsellor will check the information provided in your Application for a Québec Selection Certificate. Particular attention will be given, according to your immigration category, to:

Investor applicant
Your management experience, your investment agreement, your assets and their lawful acquisition.

Entrepreneur applicant
Your experience as a entrepreneur, ability to successfully carry out a business plan, efforts in acquiring a business in Québec, assets and their lawful acquisition.

Self-employed worker applicant
Your career and experience as a self-employed worker, your assets and their lawful acquisition.

The selection interview will last approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.

	USEFUL INFORMATION
	Selection missions for businesspeople are carried out in several countries at different times of the year. Some missions can take place on the same dates in a given territory. Consult the schedule of selection missions.

Possible outcomes of the selection interview

At the end of the interview, the counsellor may decide to:

Accept your application: If the evaluation is positive, the counsellor will inform you of the next steps to take. He or she will issue your CSQ immediately if possible or else mail it later.

Refuse your application: If the evaluation indicates that your application does not meet the selection criteria, the counsellor will issue a letter of explanation. He or she will inform you of your right to submit, under certain conditions, an application for administrative review.

Issue a letter of intent to refuse the application: The counsellor may issue an explanatory letter of intent to refuse your application that will allow you to submit new supporting documents. You will then have 60 days to provide the proofs requested. Failure to provide, by the set date, the documents requested, will result in your application being refused without further notice. You will then have the right to submit, under certain conditions, an application for administrative review.