If you studied or worked in Quebec, you may be wondering whether you can still apply to the PEQ (Programme de l’expérience québécoise), the program Quebec uses to select graduates and temporary foreign workers for permanent residence. You can, but only if you met one of two criteria on 19 November 2025, and only by 31 October 2026, when the first application window closes.
The PEQ reopened on 2 July 2026 and runs for two years, until 2 July 2028, but Quebec receives applications in windows. As of 6 October 2026, Quebec’s 5 October election has not changed the 31 October deadline.
Who can file by 31 October
You declare on the form which criterion you met on 19 November 2025, the day the earlier PEQ stopped:
- You held a Quebec diploma: a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate, a technical college diploma (DEC technique), or a vocational diploma (DEP) of at least 1,800 hours. A DEP followed by an ASP (attestation de spécialisation professionnelle) counts if the two total at least 1,800 hours.
- You had at least 24 months of Quebec work experience in a TEER 0 to 3 job.
The criteria do not apply to applications that only add or remove a family member of someone already selected.
TEER stands for Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities. Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC, called CNP in French) sorts jobs into TEER categories from 0 to 5, and French pages write FEER. The PEQ counts only TEER 0 to 3, not TEER 4 or 5.
The window comes from a ministerial order, a rule the immigration minister signs. Quebec accepts applications from 2 July to 31 October 2026, with no cap on their number. Quebec calls this window its first reception period.
Filing is not selection
Meeting one of the two criteria only lets you file. Quebec’s own explainer says you can meet a criterion and still be refused. Quebec then checks selection conditions, which differ for graduates and workers. The table shows only some of them; the explainer lists the rest:
| Condition | Graduates | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Physically in Quebec | At filing and throughout processing | At filing and throughout processing |
| Status and job | Valid status | Valid work permit and an eligible full-time TEER 0 to 3 job, at filing and throughout processing |
| Diploma or work history | Diploma issued within the 3 years before filing | 2 years of qualifying work within the 3 years before filing |
| French | Oral level 7, written level 5 | Oral level 7; written level not required |
- Quebec has dropped an earlier rule for graduates. It required either a program taught in French or three years of French-language study. Any eligible diploma now counts, whatever the language of instruction.
- A worker who had 24 months of work by 19 November 2025 but had to leave Quebec when their work permit ended can apply only after returning with a valid permit and an eligible full-time TEER 0 to 3 job.
How to file and what it costs
You apply in Arrima, Quebec’s online immigration portal, using the new forms (June 2026 versions or later). Quebec’s official PEQ pages are in French only, so look for Diplômés du Québec (graduates), Travailleurs étrangers temporaires (temporary foreign workers) and Arrima.
The fees are CAD 940 for the principal applicant, CAD 201 for a spouse or partner and CAD 201 for each dependent child. They are non-refundable and paid in Arrima by credit card only, by you or a third party. They are indexed each 1 January.
The PSTQ (Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés) is Quebec’s other skilled-worker route, which works by invitation. Quebec processes PEQ and PSTQ applications in parallel, with neither one expedited. If you file under both, you pay both fees, and Quebec refunds neither. Quebec has not renewed its earlier commitment to process PEQ applications within six months.
Later windows could open, but none is decided
The 31 October deadline ends the first window, not the PEQ. The immigration ministry says new windows could open before the program ends, depending on how many applications Quebec receives by 31 October. Nothing is decided or scheduled.
The ministerial order that sets the window expires on 2 July 2027, a year before the program’s own end date of 2 July 2028, and the minister can modify it at any time (section 52 of the Québec Immigration Act).
Quebec said in a 3 July notice that PSTQ invitation rounds would continue monthly through October, mostly for people who cannot use the PEQ. In its 10 June announcement it said that from November 2026 the number of PSTQ invitations would follow the number of PEQ applications received.
No PEQ change has been announced since the election
Quebec voted on 5 October 2026. As of 6 October, no change to the PEQ has been announced, and 31 October remains the rule. In preliminary results from Élections Québec, the Parti québécois (PQ) won 59 of 127 seats, short of the 64 needed for a majority. Its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, was premier-designate and had not yet been sworn in.
The PQ’s own plan page is a party platform, and nothing in it is in force. The platform calls for about 35,000 permanent immigrants a year and a moratorium on permanent economic immigration from outside Quebec, so that Quebec would choose its permanent residents from people already in Quebec on temporary status. It also calls for cutting temporary immigration by at least half, to a target of 250,000 to 300,000 non-permanent residents by the end of a four-year mandate. The party’s position on the reopened PEQ is not known.
If you do not qualify for the PEQ
If you met neither criterion on 19 November 2025, you cannot file in this window. The PSTQ is Quebec’s other route for skilled workers. Express Entry’s Canadian Experience Class does not replace the PEQ: IRCC, Canada’s immigration department, says on its Canadian Experience Class page (modified 24 September 2026): “You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec.” For routes in other provinces, see our guide to Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file if I graduated after 19 November 2025?
Not with that diploma, because you did not hold it on 19 November 2025. You can file only if you met one of the two criteria on that date, either with another qualifying Quebec diploma you already held or with 24 months of Quebec work in a TEER 0 to 3 job.
Can I file under the PEQ and the PSTQ together?
Yes. Each application has its own non-refundable fee, and Quebec processes them in parallel.
Is the 31 October date fixed?
It is the date in the ministerial order today. The minister can modify the order at any time (section 52), and as of 6 October 2026 no change to the PEQ has been announced.
Can I apply from outside Quebec?
No. Graduates and workers alike must be in Quebec when they file and throughout processing.
Official sources
PEQ page, how to apply, 10 June announcement, 17 June notice, ministerial order, Décret 898-2026, 3 July notice, Quebec explainer (Réouverture du PEQ en bref), PSTQ page and IRCC Canadian Experience Class page. The Quebec pages are in French.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and it describes published official rules rather than any individual case. Hadi Imani is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, licence R522575, practising in Toronto; that licence covers Canadian immigration only.
