Chinese migrants the focus of Canadian immigration plan for Quebec

The Quebec Canadian immigration program is steadily becoming more popular with Chinese, although the numbers are not yet large. Only 200 Chinese apply each month for a permanent Canadian Visa, but that figure is double what it was last year and five times what it was two years ago.

The immigration program is based on a system of points for various attributes includ education, work experience and language skills and aims to give Quebec a growing stream of young, well-educated, skilled Chinese.

The province has partnered with French culture and language learning centre Alliance Française to help the migrants learn French to qualify.

Under the 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec has exclusive responsibility for choosing its own immigrants from overseas, and once prospective immigrants have  enough points to earn a Quebec “Selection Certificate,” their visa applications and certificates are submitted to Canadian authorities. There is a final federal health and security check for applicants before the Canadian visa is issued.

The application process takes around about a year.

Compared with a decade ago, Quebec has increased its annual immigrant intake by 50 per cent, from about 32,500 in 2000 to almost 49,500 last year. That amounts to one in every five new migrant coming to Canada arriving in Quebec.

Montreal has seen its annual immigrant intake rise steadily by 14 per cent since 2005.

---

The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people make their Canadian Visa application to the Canadian Embassy.