IMP+ open work permit for Quebec Skilled workers

Quebec has opened up a new pathway to bring in skilled workers who have been selected by the province and are awaiting permanent residence.

The International Mobility Program Plus (IMP+) is a new work permit option for permanent resident applicants selected by Quebec. It is a way for Quebec to attract skilled workers to the province in order to ease the current labour shortage.

In general, foreign skilled workers selected by Quebec would have to wait until their application for permanent residence was approved before they were allowed to live and work in the province. With the IMP+ work permit, an applicant who has been selected for permanent residence by Quebec, but who is currently living abroad, can move to the province and begin working and settling there much sooner.

In order to qualify for an open work permit under the IMP+, a foreign national must:

• live outside Quebec when they apply;
• possess a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) proving that they have been selected for permanent residence under the Regular Skilled Worker Program or Permanent Immigration Pilot Program for workers in the artificial intelligence, information technology, and visual effects sectors;
• received an invitation letter from the Ministry of Immigration, Foreign Affairs, and Integration (MIFI) under the IMP+ program;
• submit a complete application for a work permit.

An open, province-specific work permit will be issued to the applicant if the application is approved, and will be valid for three years.

For the year 2022, the cap has been set at 14,700 IMP+ applications. In 2023, the annual cap on accepted applications will be set at 7,350.

IRCC had already expanded bridging open work permit eligibility in August 2021 to cover skilled workers who had already applied for permanent residence while working temporarily in Quebec. This allowed workers to continue working while their application for permanent residence was being processed.

An agreement between Quebec and Canada stipulates that both levels of government participate in the decision-making process regarding immigration. It is the province of Quebec that selects immigrants in certain categories, namely economic immigrants, who wish to come to the province. For their permanent residence applications, the federal government makes the final decision.

IMP+’s launch ensures that Quebec-selected applicants’ options are more closely aligned with those available to applicants from other provinces and territories. Applicants who have been nominated for permanent residence under other federal-provincial/territorial immigration agreements are generally eligible for a work permit when they apply for permanent residence with IRCC.

The Government of Canada reported that over 25,000 Quebec skilled workers had been admitted as permanent residents in 2021, almost double the roughly 12,000 admitted in 2020 amid significant pandemic-related restrictions.