In order to apply for employment outside the province of Québec, one must have an occupation that falls within the Canada Occupations List. This is not the case in Quebec itself.
To qualify as an independent immigrant under certain Quebec regulations, the applicant need only establish that if (s)he is admitted to the Province of Quebec, s(he) will have full-time permanent employment.
Employment offers may be considered to be validated, attested or family sponsored.
VALIDATION
Frequently, a Quebec employer will have difficulty finding qualified individuals in the local labour market to fulfil an offer of employment.
In these circumstances, the employer will request the immigration authorities to validate the offer of employment. In order for the said validation to be approved, the employer must demonstrate that he has reasonably tried to train or hire a resident of Quebec, in particular , by publishing notices in the local newspapers, in both French and English.
Once the said validation is approved, the applicant shall receive 15 points towards his minimum required score of 50 points. Individuals with validated job offers must also show six months of previous work experience unless they receive a written statement from their employer confirming that he is willing to hire an inexperienced person in that position.
ATTESTATION
However, because of the Quebec labour market and the constraint imposed on the employer when evaluating the possibility to validate the offer of employment, it is not always possible to validate this employment offer.
This would result in the rejection of many independent immigrants who have a strong capacity to integrate into Quebec society, and who also have employment offers although they can't be validated.
Once again, the employer must establish that the employment is full-time and that the employee will be paid by salary and not commission.
Further, the specific vocational training (as outlined in the Canadian Classification and Dictionary of Occupations) must be equal to a level six, which in practice is the minimum score automatically awarded to this type of applicant.
Furthermore, the employer is only allowed three attested employment offers a year. No points are awarded for an attested job offer, and the applicant must prove that he has two years minimum work experience in the same field.
The attested applicant must receive a total of 60 points to be successful on his application. Further, the attested applicant must prove his strong ability to adapt to Quebec society based on his personal attributes, motivation, and knowledge of Quebec.
Knowledge of French - especially in this category - is most helpful.
FAMILY SPONSORED EMPLOYMENT
Quebec recognises that, in certain circumstances, an employer residing in Quebec would prefer to employ members of his family who do not reside in Canada.
Due to these circumstances and the fact that one of the goals of the immigration policy of Quebec is the reunification of families, a special procedure exists to facilitate the entry of this type of independent immigrant.
To qualify for this special procedure, the employer must be a permanent resident of Quebec and own at least 50 per cent of the business where the independent immigrant will be employed.
Under the family employment category, the applicant need only receive 30 points to be successful in his claim. The family sponsored employment applicant must also prove his strong ability to adapt to Quebec society.
INDEPENDENT WORKERS WITHOUT JOBS
In addition, Quebec also possesses an occupation list whereby individuals may be admitted to Quebec as independent immigrants without a job offer based on the fact that these individuals' professions are deemed in demand.
This allows these individuals easier access to immigrate, which in turn benefits the economic development of Quebec. The candidate must receive a score of 60 points and show a very strong ability to adapt to Quebec Society, and prove a minimum of six months work experience.
