Quebec business immigration: investors, entrepreneurs and the self-employed.

Three programs for three business profiles

Quebec has no Provincial Nominee Program, and the federal Start-up Visa and Self-Employed Persons Program are separate. A business immigrant who wants to settle in Quebec applies to the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) for permanent selection. These programs do not use a points grid; each has mandatory conditions, and missing one cannot be offset by strength elsewhere.

Conditions that apply to all business programs

• Age: Entrepreneur applicants must be at least 18 at the time of submission. The Investor and Self-Employed condition pages do not state an applicant age.
• Education: a diploma obtained before you apply, equivalent to a Quebec secondary school diploma, or a full-time program of at least one year equivalent to a Quebec DEP or ASP (secondary) or AEC (college). A Quebec-issued program must be at least 600 hours (secondary) or 900 hours (college). An educational credential assessment from Quebec is not required to apply.
• French: spoken French at level 7 or higher on the Quebec scale, with proof even if French is your first language: a recognized test (TCF, TEF, DALF, DELF and related Quebec versions) less than two years old when you apply, or an accepted secondary diploma from France, Belgium or Switzerland. MIFI may interview you to verify your level.
• Financial self-sufficiency: a commitment to cover your essential needs, and those of accompanying family members, for three months after you become a permanent resident.
• Values attestation: the attestation of learning about democratic and Quebec values within 60 days of the request. A spouse aged 16 or over and dependent children aged 18 or over also need it.
• Net worth: must be lawfully acquired. You must prove its origin and accumulation, and your included spouse must prove theirs even if their assets are not needed to meet the minimum. Gifts received in the six months before you apply do not count.
• Ineligible sectors: payday loans, cheque cashing, pawnbroking or pledge loans, and sex-industry products and services. The Entrepreneur Program also excludes property trading, leasing, brokerage, development and planning.

Investor Program: conditions and obligations

This is a mandatory-condition program with no points total. Quebec's conditions page was updated on August 6, 2026.

Quebec's page lists six authorized intermediaries as of January 1, 2024: Arton Investments, Sherbrooke Street Capital (SSC), Dubeau Capital, Société de fiducie Blue Bridge, Trust Eterna and Valeurs mobilières Peak. The page's own update date is later, but confirm the list on Quebec's intermediaries page before you sign anything.

Investor timeline: application, investment, work permit, stay and CSQ

1. Prepare and signSign the investment agreement with an authorized intermediary. Prepare the narrative document and evidence of management experience, net worth and its origin, education and French.
2. Mail the application to MIFIApplications are accepted at any time. The mandatory forms are the Application for permanent selection (Investors program) and the guide to writing the narrative document; both are in French only. A spouse included in the application also completes the narrative document. Attach a Declaration of Consent if a child under 18 is included without the other parent. The 2026 review fee is $18,241 for the principal applicant, with $0 for a spouse and $0 per dependent child. It is non-refundable.
3. Investment and contributionWhen MIFI requests it, the intermediary makes the CAD $1,000,000 investment and the CAD $200,000 contribution within 120 days.
4. Notice of intent to select and work permitOnce you hold a notice of intent to select, you can apply online to IRCC for the open work permit for Quebec investors. IRCC refuses the application if you apply more than 6 months after the notice was issued. Your spouse or common-law partner and dependent children can get open work permits as family members.
5. Stay in QuebecComplete the 12 months within two years of the work permit being issued, and send proof to MIFI.
6. CSQ, then permanent residenceAfter Quebec confirms selection and issues the CSQ, apply to IRCC for permanent residence.

Payment details for the review fee: pay in Canadian funds by Canada Post money order or Canadian bank draft payable to the Minister of Finance of Quebec, with your name printed on the back. Cash, personal cheques, traveller's cheques and credit cards are not accepted for the Investor fee. Mail the complete application in one envelope to the Direction du regroupement familial et de l'enregistrement, MIFI, 207-1200 boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec H2X 0C9. Using a paid representative is optional and gives no priority.

Entrepreneur Program: three streams

The Entrepreneur Program has three streams, each with its own form, business plan and support requirements. Quebec's conditions pages for these streams were last updated on July 9, 2025 (Streams 1 to 3). A notice of intent to select can be issued before every condition is met, which lets you apply for a federal work permit and begin setting up the business.

Stream 1: innovative business

For people who start an innovative company or carry out an innovative project, supported by an eligible organization. There are two profiles:

• Start-up of an innovative company: you may start alone or with up to three other applicants. Your contribution to the original capital must be at least 10% of the business's value, alone or with an included spouse. The conditions page does not state a minimum experience or net worth for this stream.
• Carrying out an innovative project: you have lived in Quebec for at least two years, are authorized to work there, and have complied with your stay conditions. You hold at least 10% of the paid-in capital of the business, alone or with an included spouse.
• Support organization and plan: an organization with a Quebec establishment submits an innovation service offer with your application, showing that it has sufficient and suitable resources. You also submit a business plan using the official guide (French only).

Stream 2: business start-up

Both profiles need a business plan on the official French template. The conditions page does not mention a deposit for Stream 2.

Stream 3: takeover

• Company in the process of being acquired: net worth of at least CAD $600,000, and takeover expenses of at least CAD $300,000 in the Montreal Metropolitan Community or CAD $150,000 elsewhere. You must make the takeover offer within two years of submission, in line with the plan.
• Acquired company: net worth of at least CAD $300,000, at least two years of living in Quebec with compliance with your stay conditions, and no takeover-expense condition.
• Both: you acquire control alone or with an included spouse. Partners cannot control the business, and in the company-in-the-process-of-being-acquired profile they cannot apply themselves. In that profile the business must have operated for at least five years. For both profiles, the business must not have been acquired in the preceding five years by people selected under the Entrepreneur Program. You need an organization specialized in business takeovers, with a Quebec establishment, to support you through the whole transfer and to give a service offer. A takeover plan on the official French form is part of the application.

Fees and filing for all entrepreneur streams

Fees effective January 1, 2026: $1,272 for the principal applicant, $201 for a spouse or partner and $201 for each dependent child. They are non-refundable. For Streams 1 and 2 (the pages we could confirm) you can pay by credit card with the card-payment form, or by Canada Post money order or Canadian bank draft payable to the Minister of Finance of Quebec; check the Stream 3 page for its payment methods. Mail one complete envelope to the same MIFI address as above. Forms and business plan templates are French-only, and documents must be in French or English or accompanied by a French translation from a recognized translator.

Self-Employed Worker Program

Quebec updated this conditions page on June 25, 2026.

1. ExperienceAt least two years of experience in your profession, in your own name, within the five years before you apply. Experience from an ineligible sector does not count.
2. Net worthAt least CAD $100,000, lawfully acquired. Gifts received in the six months before you apply do not count. You may share it with an included spouse or partner.
3. Start-up depositA deposit with a financial institution that has a Quebec location: CAD $25,000 outside the Montreal Metropolitan Community and CAD $50,000 inside it. MIFI asks for the deposit a few weeks after it sends the letter confirming your file is open.
4. Education, French and authorizationThe common education and French conditions apply. If your profession is regulated in Quebec, you must either hold an authorization to practise or have proof of partial or full recognition of your training dated no more than five years before you apply.
5. Application and feeMandatory forms: Application for permanent selection, Self-Employed Worker Program (A0520TF), its appendix (A0523FO) and the narrative document guide. The 2026 fee is $1,272 for the principal applicant and $201 each for a spouse and each child.

This is not a NOC points program. The occupation matters for regulation and for the evidence of independent practice, not for a score.

The Quebec stage in outline

1. Choose the exact program and streamForms are not interchangeable between programs.
2. Prepare the documentary fileAssets and their lawful accumulation, management or self-employment experience, business plan, support organization or intermediary, education, French and the narrative document.
3. Submit by mailAll three programs accept applications at any time, with no maximum. Include the fee and complete forms. Incomplete applications can be returned unprocessed.
4. Respond to verification or interview requestsMIFI may verify your French level and your documents.
5. Notice of intent and post-selection commitmentsIn the takeover stream, entrepreneurs who meet all conditions except the offer to purchase and the takeover expenses may receive a notice of intent to select and can apply for a federal work permit to continue setting up the business.
6. CSQIf you are selected, MIFI issues the CSQ. Complete any investment, deposit, business-start or stay commitments that apply to your program.

After submission you can add or remove family members. Override (derogation) requests are exceptional and at the Minister's discretion.

The federal stage and work permits

Applying to IRCC after the CSQ

IRCC requires an online application in the Permanent Residence Portal. Use the document checklist that matches your category: IMM 5722 for investors and entrepreneurs and IMM 5784 for self-employed persons. Core forms include IMM 0008, Schedule A (IMM 5669), IMM 5406 and IMM 5562, with Schedule 5 (Declaration of Intent to Reside in Quebec) and Schedule 6 (investors and entrepreneurs) or Schedule 6A (self-employed). Upload a scan of your CSQ. Your CSQ stays valid until IRCC decides your application, even if its date passes. Police certificates are required for each country where you lived six months or more in a row since age 18, and a medical exam and biometrics may be required.

Work permits while you wait

• Investors: the open work permit for Quebec investors (with a notice of intent to select, within 6 months of the notice) or a bridging open work permit.
• Entrepreneurs: an employer-specific work permit may be available under the federal instructions for Quebec entrepreneurs. IRCC describes the details in a French-only guide, so ask us to review it for your stream.
• Self-employed persons: an employer-specific work permit may be available, but only after you receive a CSQ.

Which route fits you?

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Quebec: Immigrate to Quebec to do business
• Quebec: Investor conditions
• Quebec: Applying as an investor
• Quebec: Authorized financial intermediaries
• Quebec: Entrepreneur programs
• Quebec: Entrepreneur Stream 1, innovative business, conditions
• Quebec: Entrepreneur Stream 2, business start-up, conditions
• Quebec: Entrepreneur Stream 2, applying
• Quebec: Entrepreneur Stream 3, takeover, conditions
• Quebec: Self-Employed Worker Program
• Quebec: Self-employed conditions
• Quebec: Self-employed, applying and fees
• Quebec: Immigration Plan 2026
• IRCC: Quebec investors, entrepreneurs and self-employed persons
• IRCC: Quebec business, how to apply
• IRCC: Work permit options for Quebec business applicants
• IRCC: Open work permit for Quebec investors, who can apply
• IRCC: Fee list

This page is general information about Canadian immigration law and policy as of the date above. It is not legal advice for your situation. Programs, forms and fees change often; check the official sources before you apply.