The immigration candidates in Quebec already possessing the Quebec Certificate of Selection are facing a long wait. There is a difficulty in approval owing to low immigration quotas.
STATISTICS
Presently there are 41,200 approved applicants in the system seeking Quebec immigration, but the CAQ decision for reducing the quotas has stretched the waiting time. Additionally, these approved candidates are apart from the 18,000 files which wait at the processing stage for the QSWP. Furthermore, the CAQ government has the intention to scrap them totally. Moreover, The Applicants having the CSQ should reach the federal government to seek permanent residence. The Federal officials have to complete the checking of a criminal record and medical tests prior to issuing approval. From 2015 onwards, Quebec has annually requested approval of 25,000 cases. With the CAQ provincial government, the present figure is only 19,500. The approved candidates now have to wait for around two years for the processing of their PR applications.
COURT INTERVENTION
Moreover, a judge has issued an order to the CAQ for continuing with the processing of applications for the QSWP in the existing rules. Furthermore, after this decision, the immigration ministry in Quebec said in a statement that it will start processing the applications and also give decisions on applications to obtain a Certificate. The Ministry will also contact the candidates while it proceeds with processing these applications. This was the decision after CAQ attempted to suspend 18,000 applications while trying to pass an immigration law. Bill 9 will lead to the cancellation of applications. Currently, there is a debate in the National Assembly of the province over this issue. I will impact on 45,000 individuals including dependents, under the QSWP.
| Applications | Dependents |
| Number of pending applications | 18,000 | 45,000+ |
| How many working/studying in Quebec | 3,700 | 9,250 |
| Number of applications concluded monthly 2015 | 2,000 | 5,000 |
| Number of applications accepted monthly 2015 | 1000 | 2,500 |
The future of applicants having a pending application
Furthermore, there is Evidence to suggest that MIDI will only issue 1,000 approvals from the candidates in the pool of pending applications in 2019. Some of the applications have outdated documents, and fail to meet the amendments made in August 2018. The ministry has to follow a reasonable processing time.
Candidates presently working/studying in the province will get the invitation seeking a place in the Quebec Experience Program. After meeting the necessary rules, they will also get a priority in processing and will be away from the impact of Bill 9. Finally, a majority of the applicants, outside Quebec, will not get relief from this judgment. Furthermore, when the law comes into force, the applications not receiving approval by that date will stand cancelled under Bill 9.
