On This Page, You Will Find:
- What the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program is and why it reopened in 2024
- Net worth, management experience and education requirements
- The French-language requirement and when it must be met
- The investment, the non-refundable contribution and the financial intermediary requirement
- Fees and how to apply
- The Quebec residency commitment and the path from CSQ to permanent residence
- Frequently asked questions
The Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP) is Canada’s only economic immigration category built entirely around passive investment. Unlike Quebec’s entrepreneur and self-employed worker streams, the QIIP does not require an applicant to manage, operate or work in a business in Quebec. Applicants instead make a fixed, government-guaranteed investment and meet a set of experience, education, language and residency conditions.
The program was suspended for more than four years and reopened on January 1, 2024, with a substantially rebuilt set of conditions. This page reflects the program as it currently stands under Quebec’s Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI), not the pre-2024 version of the QIIP that circulated for years online.
Program Status: Open Since January 1, 2024
The QIIP was suspended on October 31, 2019, while Quebec redesigned its selection conditions. It reopened on January 1, 2024, and Quebec’s government states the program will remain open indefinitely, with no fixed intake windows and no cap on the number of applications it will accept in a given period. This is a significant change from the pre-2024 program, which operated on limited annual intake periods and application quotas.
Because there is no quota, prospective applicants do not need to time their application around an opening date. The Ministère instead reviews applications in the order they are received.
Who Can Apply: Net Worth, Experience and Education
To be considered for permanent selection under the QIIP, a candidate must meet all of the following conditions:
- Net worth of at least CAD $2,000,000, lawfully acquired. This net worth may be shared with an accompanying spouse or common-law partner, though donations received in the six months before the application must be excluded, and the accompanying spouse or partner must also demonstrate the lawful origin of their own assets.
- At least two years of management experience acquired within the five years preceding the application. Experience in payday-loan or cheque-cashing businesses, or in the production, distribution or sale of pornographic or sexually explicit products or services, does not qualify.
- A minimum education level equivalent to a Quebec Secondary School Diploma (or a recognized one-year full-time vocational or college-level program), obtained before the application is submitted.
- Spoken French at a minimum of level 7 on the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français (see below).
An applicant will also be asked, once their file is opened, to obtain an attestation confirming they have learned about democratic values and Quebec values. This applies to the applicant and to an accompanying spouse aged 16 or older and dependent children aged 18 or older.
The French-Language Requirement
Since the 2024 relaunch, the QIIP includes a mandatory French oral-proficiency requirement, something the earlier version of the program did not have. Applicants must demonstrate spoken French corresponding to at least level 7 on the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français (the Quebec French proficiency scale) – measuring oral expression and oral comprehension.
This must be proven with a recognized test result or diploma that is less than two years old at the time the application is submitted. Accepted evaluations include the TCF, TCF Québec, TCF Canada, DELF, DALF, TEF, TEF Canada and TEFAQ, issued by France Éducation international or the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris Île-de-France. A small list of French-system secondary diplomas is also accepted in place of a test. Even native French speakers must submit one of these documents. The Ministère may also call an applicant for an interview to verify the level of French declared in the application.
The Investment, the Contribution and the Financial Intermediary
Applicants do not send their investment directly to the Quebec government. Instead, the investment and the required contribution must be made on the applicant’s behalf by an approved financial intermediary – a trust company or investment dealer that has signed a participation agreement with MIFI and with Investissement Québec Immigrants Investisseurs Inc., and that has had its head office and executive management in Quebec for at least three years.
Through that intermediary, the applicant must complete:
- A five-year term investment of CAD $1,000,000, guaranteed by the Gouvernement du Québec. At the end of the five-year term, the intermediary reimburses the $1,000,000 without interest, within 30 days.
- A non-refundable financial contribution of CAD $200,000, which funds Quebec’s Business Assistance – Immigrant Investor Program and its labour-market development fund.
Both amounts must be completed within 120 days of the Ministère’s request, once the file has otherwise been found to meet the program’s conditions. Many applicants finance the $1,000,000 investment through a loan arranged by the financial intermediary rather than paying the full amount themselves; financing terms, and any associated fees or interest, vary by intermediary and are separate from the government’s fees.
Application Fees
Quebec adjusts QIIP fees every January 1. Effective January 1, 2026, the fee to have a permanent-selection application reviewed under the Investor Program is:
- Principal applicant: CAD $18,241
- Accompanying spouse or common-law partner: $0
- Each accompanying dependent child: $0
This fee is paid in full, in Canadian funds, by postal money order or bank draft made out to the Minister of Finance of Québec – personal cheques, cash and credit cards are not accepted. The fee is non-refundable even if the application is ultimately refused. This is separate from the $1,000,000 investment and the $200,000 contribution described above, and separate from any federal IRCC permanent residence fees paid later in the process.
How to Apply
The application process runs in stages:
- Submit the permanent-selection application to MIFI at any time, using the mandatory French-language application forms and a narrative document, along with the application fee.
- Ministère review. MIFI verifies the application against the program’s conditions (net worth, experience, education, French, and the source of funds) and may call the applicant for an interview.
- Notice of intention to select. Once the conditions are met and the investment and contribution are confirmed, MIFI issues a notice of intention to select from Québec. The applicant must apply to the Government of Canada for a work permit within six months of that notice.
- Temporary stay in Quebec. With the federal work permit in hand, the applicant (and an accompanying spouse) settle temporarily in Quebec to complete the residency commitment described below.
- Québec Selection Certificate (CSQ). Once the residency requirement is met and reported to MIFI, the applicant receives the Certificat de sélection du Québec.
Applicants may use an authorized representative to prepare and submit the application, and can add or remove a family member after submission through a separate update process.
The Quebec Residency Commitment
The pre-2024 QIIP asked for six months of residency in Quebec. That is no longer the requirement. Under the current program, within two years of the work permit being issued, the applicant must complete a stay in Quebec of at least 12 months in total. At least six of those months must be completed by the principal applicant personally; the other six months may be completed by the principal applicant or by the accompanying spouse or common-law partner. Once this stay is complete, the applicant must notify MIFI by mail with supporting documentation before a CSQ can be issued.
From the CSQ to Canadian Permanent Residence
The QIIP, like all of Quebec’s economic immigration categories, is a two-step process. Quebec selects the candidate and issues the Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ), but it is the Government of Canada, through IRCC, that decides whether to grant permanent residence. After receiving the CSQ, the applicant and any accompanying family members must submit a separate application for permanent residence to IRCC, which includes standard medical examinations and background and security checks. A CSQ can also support renewal of a work permit while that federal application is pending.
Combined provincial-and-federal processing for Quebec’s investor category has historically taken several years; current applicants should check IRCC’s published processing-time tool for the Business Class (Quebec) category for the most up-to-date estimate before making plans, since published times change frequently and are not investor-specific.
How the QIIP Compares to Other Quebec and Canadian Options
Investors who do not want a passive-only structure may look instead at Quebec’s active entrepreneur and self-employed worker categories, or at other provinces’ entrepreneur immigration streams. Investors and businesspeople who are more interested in employment-based economic immigration may also want to review Quebec’s points-based Quebec Skilled Worker Program, though it does not offer the QIIP’s passive-investment structure. For a broader look at Canada’s options in this space, see our overview of Canada’s business and investment immigration programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program currently open?
Yes. The QIIP reopened on January 1, 2024, after being suspended since October 31, 2019, and Quebec’s government has stated it will remain open with no fixed application periods and no cap on the number of applications received.
Do I need to speak French to qualify for the QIIP?
Yes. Applicants must demonstrate spoken French at a minimum of level 7 on the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français, proven with a recognized test result or diploma less than two years old at the time the application is submitted. This applies even to native French speakers.
How much do I need to invest, and do I pay it myself?
The program requires a five-year, government-guaranteed investment of CAD $1,000,000 plus a non-refundable contribution of CAD $200,000. Both amounts are made on the applicant’s behalf by an approved financial intermediary, not paid directly to the government, and many applicants finance the investment through that intermediary rather than paying it in full themselves.
How long do I have to live in Quebec under the QIIP?
Within two years of receiving a federal work permit, the applicant must complete a total of 12 months of residency in Quebec. At least six of those months must be completed personally by the principal applicant, and the remaining six may be completed by the principal applicant or their accompanying spouse.
Does a CSQ mean I have permanent residence?
No. The Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) means Quebec has selected the applicant, but permanent residence is a separate decision made by the Government of Canada through IRCC after a further application, including medical and security checks.
What does the application cost?
Effective January 1, 2026, the fee to review a principal applicant’s QIIP application is CAD $18,241, with no additional fee for an accompanying spouse or dependent children. Quebec adjusts this fee every January 1, and it is separate from the $1,000,000 investment, the $200,000 contribution, and any later federal IRCC fees.