Quebec Immigration French Requirements in 2026 (PSTQ and PEQ)

To immigrate to Quebec as a skilled worker in 2026, you need oral French at level 7 and written French at level 5 if your job is skilled (FEER 0, 1 or 2), or oral French at level 5 if it's an intermediate or manual job (FEER 3, 4 or 5). Those levels are on Quebec's own scale, the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français, not the NCLC scale used by federal programs.

Quebec chooses its own economic immigrants, and it changed its programs several times in 2025 and 2026. This guide covers the current rules from quebec.ca: the PSTQ (which replaced the old Regular Skilled Worker Program), the PEQ's temporary reopening, the accepted tests, how Quebec levels compare with NCLC, and how all this differs from moving elsewhere in Canada.

Quebec vs the rest of Canada: two systems

Quebec has its own agreement with Ottawa on immigration. For economic immigrants, it works in two stages:

1. Quebec selects you and issues a Quebec Selection Certificate (Certificat de sélection du Québec, CSQ).
2. IRCC admits you: with your CSQ, you apply to the federal government for permanent residence (health, security and admissibility checks).

That's why the federal French routes don't apply in Quebec. Express Entry is for people who plan to live outside Quebec. The Mobilité francophone work permit and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot only cover jobs outside Quebec. And the French CRS bonus means nothing to Quebec's selection system.

So the first decision is where you want to live. If you're still weighing it, our map of every French-friendly immigration pathway compares both sides.

The PSTQ: Quebec's skilled worker program

The Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ) replaced the Programme régulier des travailleurs qualifiés (PRTQ), Quebec's old Regular Skilled Worker Program, on 29 November 2024. Only people invited before that date could still apply under the PRTQ.

The PSTQ works like an invitation system:

1. Submit a declaration of interest in Arrima

   You create a profile on Quebec's Arrima platform with your main occupation, experience, education and French level. Your profile is ranked with points.

2. Get invited in your stream (volet)

   Quebec invites people stream by stream, based on its labour needs and your points. French is one of the scored criteria, for you and for your spouse.

3. Accept within 30 days and apply

   You have 30 days to accept an invitation in Arrima, then you submit your application for permanent selection with your proof of French.

4. Get your CSQ, then apply to IRCC

   Once Quebec selects you, you apply to IRCC for permanent residence.

French requirements by PSTQ stream

The PSTQ has four streams. Your stream depends on your main occupation and its FEER category (the second digit of the five-digit NOC code, "TEER" in English).

"Oral" covers listening and speaking; "written" covers reading and writing. Meeting the minimum gets you through the door, but French is also a ranking criterion in Arrima, so higher levels improve your chances of an invitation.

How Quebec levels compare with NCLC

Both scales have 12 levels and look alike, but each government publishes its own score tables. Quebec's correspondence table (version of 29 November 2024) groups levels like this:

So Quebec oral level 7 starts at B2: 400 in TCF listening and 10 out of 20 in speaking. Federal NCLC 7 on the TCF Canada needs 458 in listening and 10 in speaking. In practice:

• Listening and reading: Quebec's level 7 is easier to reach than NCLC 7 on the TCF.
• Speaking and writing: the /20 thresholds start at 10 on both scales.
• Level 5 vs NCLC 5: Quebec's level 5 starts at 300 in TCF listening; NCLC 5 starts at 369.

If you might apply both to Quebec and to a federal program, aim for the federal NCLC targets: they cover Quebec's too. Check your TCF scores against NCLC here, or use the full NCLC score converter:

Which French tests Quebec accepts

Quebec accepts more tests than IRCC. For the PSTQ, quebec.ca lists:

• TCF-Québec, TCF Canada and the general TCF (France Éducation international);
• TEFAQ, TEF Canada and the general TEF (CCI Paris Île-de-France);
• the DELF and DALF diplomas.

Your results must be two years old or less on the date you submit your application, taken at an approved centre, and issued by the test owner. Quebec also accepts some French-language secondary diplomas (French baccalauréat, Belgian CESS, Swiss certificat de maturité from a French-speaking canton) and, for Volet 3 only, some documents from a Quebec professional order.

There is no English requirement in the PSTQ. You can add IELTS results to your profile if you want, but nothing requires it.

Compare what each goal accepts with the picker below. One test, the TCF Canada or TEF Canada, works for both Quebec and federal programs; the Quebec-only versions don't count for Express Entry.

For a deeper comparison of the formats, read TCF Canada vs TCF Québec vs DELF.

The PEQ in 2026: abolished, then reopened

The Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ) was the fast route for Quebec graduates and temporary workers. Its recent history is a good example of how quickly Quebec's rules move:

• 6 November 2025: Quebec's 2026–2029 immigration plan announced the end of the PEQ, making the PSTQ the only selection route for skilled workers.
• 19 November 2025: the PEQ ended.
• 2 July 2026: the PEQ reopened for two years, until 2 July 2028, with the selection conditions that applied before each stream was suspended.
• 2 July to 31 October 2026: the current period during which Quebec receives PEQ applications.

To apply in this window, you must have met the PEQ's intake criteria on 19 November 2025:

• Quebec graduates: a Quebec bachelor's, master's or doctorate, a technical DEC, or a DEP (alone or with an ASP) of at least 1,800 hours.
• Temporary foreign workers: at least two years of Quebec work experience in a FEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 job.

PEQ French requirements

• Quebec graduates: oral level 7 and written level 5.
• Temporary foreign workers: oral level 7.
• Accompanying spouse: oral level 4.

For graduates, Quebec removed the old rule that the program of study had to be completed in French. The French levels themselves still apply, and Quebec may test them in an interview.

Other 2025–2026 changes that involve French

• Temporary workers renewing after three years: since 17 December 2025, people applying for a new Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program after three years of work in Quebec need oral French at level 4.
• Lower targets: Quebec's 2026 plan aims for about 45,000 new permanent residents, including 28,275 skilled workers.
• Pilot programs closed: Quebec's permanent immigration pilots for food processing workers, orderlies (préposés aux bénéficiaires) and AI, IT and visual effects ended on 1 January 2026.

Worked examples

These are illustrative examples, not real cases.

Example 1: Sofia, 29, software developer in Colombia (FEER 1). She'd go to Volet 1: she needs oral level 7 and written level 5. Her TCF Canada: 430 listening, 415 reading, 9 out of 20 writing, 10 speaking. Listening (430) and speaking (10) fall in Quebec's level 7–8 band; reading (415) is above level 5, and writing (9) sits in the level 5–6 band. She meets the minimum, but higher French would raise her Arrima ranking. Note that 430 in listening is only NCLC 6 federally, so she wouldn't qualify for the French Express Entry draws with the same result.

Example 2: Mehdi, 33, warehouse supervisor in Laval with a work permit. By 19 November 2025 he had 2.5 years of Quebec experience in a FEER 2 job. He can apply to the PEQ temporary workers stream before 31 October 2026 if he proves oral level 7. His wife needs oral level 4.

Example 3: Julie, 24, nurse aide trained in France, still abroad. Her job is FEER 3. Volet 2 needs one year of Quebec experience, which she doesn't have yet. Her realistic options are a Quebec work permit first, or a job outside Quebec through Mobilité francophone or the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot, which are federal routes.

Quebec or the rest of Canada?

If you can reach NCLC 7 in all four skills, you keep both doors open. Our language requirements finder lays out every program's minimum by skill, and French for Express Entry covers the federal side in depth.

What to do next

1. Get a quick estimate of your level

   Take the free 10-question French level check. It takes about three minutes.

2. Test yourself under real conditions

   Do a free timed mock test, then compare your scores with Quebec's table above and with NCLC.

3. Work on the skill that holds you back

   For Volet 1 or the PEQ, the oral skills decide most cases. Practise with TCF speaking practice or TEF speaking practice, or unlock AI-marked practice with Premium.