PEQ for students is suspended until Nov. 1st, except certain applicants
A new Ministerial Order has been published today by the Quebec government announcing changes to the Programme de l'Expérience Québécoise (PEQ).
The changes are effective immediately as of today, July 10th 2019, and only affect future applications, not those who have already applied to the PEQ program.
The PEQ program remains open for applicants who have 1 year of work experience in Quebec and are eligible to apply as a temporary foreign worker.
Suspension of intake of applications to PEQ program for Quebec graduates
As of July 10th, 2019 and until November 1st, 2019, it is no longer possible to apply to the PEQ program as a graduate of a Quebec, unless you meet the following 2 conditions:
You currently live in Quebec and your work permit is valid on July 10th and expires before November 1st, 2019.
You fall under one of the situations below:
a) You applied for a CSQ under the Quebec skilled workers category before August 2nd, 2018. This means you had an active MonProjet application which was part of the 18,000 applications paused by Bill 9.
b) You were living in Quebec on June 16th, 2019 and had a valid study or work permit
What happens to applications already submitted?
There are no current changes announced for applications from Quebec graduates to the PEQ program that have already been submitted before July 10th, 2019. This means that Immigration Quebec should continue to process these applications within the usual processing times.
Why are they closing the Quebec Graduate stream?
The reasons given in the ministerial order is that there has been a significant increase in applicants to the PEQ program during the last few years in the Quebec Graduates category. The Quebec Immigration Ministry also highlights the importance for them to select candidates with work experience in Quebec
What happens after November 1st?
The ban on PEQ applications for Quebec graduates should be lifted on November 1st, 2019, but we don't know if they will make policy changes at that time.
Feel free to book a free consultation with us to see if you are affected by the new PEQ regulations.
