Arrima, Quebec immigration system

Quebec uses the Arrima expression of interest system to evaluate candidates who wish to immigrate.

Arrima is a system for evaluating and selecting candidates for immigration to the province of Quebec. It is similar to the federal Express Entry system. Candidates submit their applications online and get into the pool. Winners are determined based on the number of points they score.

How the Arrima system works

Immigration through Quebec programs that work through Arrima takes place in several stages:

Candidates fill out an expression of interest form on the online portal.
They receive points for their human capital factors and their response to Quebec’s labour market needs.
Those who scored the highest number of points receive invitations.
Selected candidates have 60 days to apply for the Selection certificate of Quebec.
After that, they can apply for permanent residency.

Points grid

The points system in Arrima is divided into two categories. You can get up to 580 points for human capital factors and up to 740 points for your response to Quebec’s labour market needs. In total, you can get up to 1,320 points, which are awarded as follows:

Human capital — maximum 580 points

1. Knowledge of French according to the Quebec Language Assessment Scale for Immigrants:

Language level	Points for principal applicant	Points for spouse
Listening
1 to 4	0	0
5, 6	32	9
7, 8	53	15
9, 10	63	18
11, 12	70	20
Speaking
1 to 4	0	0
5, 6	32	9
7, 8	53	15
9, 10	63	18
11, 12	70	20
Reading
1 to 4	0	-
5, 6	9	-
7, 8	15	-
9, 10	18	-
11, 12	20	-
Writing
1 to 4	0	-
5, 6	9	-
7, 8	15	-
9, 10	18	-
11, 12	20	-

2. Knowledge of two official languages (French on the Quebec Language Assessment Scale, English on the Canadian CLB scale):

French level	English level	Points for principal applicant
1 to 4	Any	0
5 to 8	5 to 8	25
5 to 8	9 to 12	50
9 to 10	5 to 8	50
9 to 10	9 to 12	67
11 to 12	5 to 8	67
11 to 12	9 to 12	80

3. Age:

Age	Points for principal applicant	Points for spouse
18 to 30 years old	130	110
31 years old	118	100
32 years	112	95
33 years	107	91
34 years old	100	85
35 years	95	80
36 years old	85	72
37 years old	78	66
38 years old	72	61
Thirty-nine years old	65	55
40 years	59	50
41 years old	46	39
42 years	33	28
43 years	20	17
44 years old	7	6
45 years old and over	0	0

4. Duration of work experience:

Duration	Points for principal applicant
Less than 11 months	0
12 to 23 months	30
24 to 35 months	50
36 to 47 months	80
48 months or more	100

5. Education level:

Education	Points for single applicant	Points for family applicants
Education	Points for single applicant	Points for principal applicant	Points for spouse
High school education	18	14	1
Completion of the 1-year program	54	42	6
Completion of the 2-year program	36	28	4
Technical diploma of completion of a 1— or 2-year program	63	49	7
Technical diploma of completion of a 3-year program or more	81	63	9
Bachelor's degree in a 1-year program	45	35	5
Bachelor's degree in a 2-year program	72	56	8
Bachelor's degree in a 3-year program or more	83	65	10
Master's degree	86	68	10
Postgraduate or doctoral degree	90	70	10

Response to Quebec’s labour market needs — maximum 740 points

This weekend Canada switches to winter time

Evaluation of applicant's profession	Duration of work experience	Points for principal applicant
The profession is not evaluated or supply and demand are balanced	Less than 12 months	0
	12 months or more	30
There is a small shortage of workers in the profession	Less than 12 months	0
	12 to 23 months	60
	24 to 35 months	70
	36 months or more	90
There is an acute shortage of workers in the profession	Less than 12 months	0
	12 to 23 months	70
	24 to 35 months	90
	36 months or more	100

2. Area of profession according to the provincial table:

Area	Points for principal applicant
Е	0
D	12
C	30
B	48
A	60

3. Diploma from an educational institution in Quebec:

Education	Points for principal applicant	Points for spouse
High school education	10	1
Completion of the 1-year program	20	4
Completion of the 2-year program	30	6
Technical diploma of completion of a 1— or 2-year program	35	7
Technical diploma of completion of a 3-year program or more	45	9
Bachelor's degree in a 1-year program	25	5
Bachelor's degree in a 2-year program	40	8
Bachelor's degree in a 3-year program or more	46	10
Master's degree	48	10
Postgraduate or doctoral degree	50	10

4. Duration of work experience in Quebec:

Duration	Points for principal applicant
Less than 6 months	0
6 to 11 months	20
12 to 23 months	60
24 to 35 months	70
36 to 47 months	80
48 months or more	100

5. Duration of work experience in Canada:

Duration	Points for principal applicant
Less than 6 months	0
6 to 11 months	8
12 to 23 months	15
24 to 35 months	20
36 to 47 months	25
48 months or more	30