Effective as of November 23, the increased eligibility requirements for graduates applying for the Québec Experience Program and the Regular Skilled Worker Program will impact students already in Québec, many of whom have been left scrambling for ways to fulfill the new criteria.
Both programs, which are major pathways to permanent residency and used by international students, were suspended last month by the Quebec government and are due to resume no later than June 30, 2025. The new language requirements that recently came into effect were initially approved in November 2023.
Under the new rules, which take force when the programs resume, students have to complete three years of post secondary studies in French, or they must have taken 75% of their university, college and vocational program courses in French, with overseas and exchange programs counting towards the threshold.
Theses, master’s dissertations internships and research laboratories may be completed in another language as long as three-quarters of other course credits are taken in French.
Institutions have had to adapt to the changes at short notice, preparing students with extra French provisions so they can meet the new requirements to apply for the PR programs after graduation .
“Even students who started in English will need to do all the final exams in French, so we’re offering free French courses for six months and then they can start the program in French,” Veronica Cartagenova, vice president of global business development at Canada College told The PIE.
Even students who started in English will need to do all the final exams in French
Veronica Cartagenova, Canada College
However, Canada does not allow students to work while taking language courses and most students do not have the funds to support themselves for six-months without working.
“We’ve had students fainting in class because they haven’t eaten enough food,” said Cartagenova, adding that the college’s student numbers and diversity would both be damaged by the changes.
“Though the ministry of immigration says they need to do only 75% in French, some courses like nursing are not compatible between English and French, so they need to do the entire program in French now,” she said.
On November 25, Québec’s French language commissioner Benoit Dubreuil recommended an 85% target of higher educational courses taught in French, with the goal of gradually increasing it.
“The current proportion, where more than one student in five studies in English at college and university, seems to us to be too high,” said Dubreuil in a report due to be tabled in the National Assembly on November 27.
“The demographic, economic and technological changes of recent decades have caused the use of French to decline in several areas of social life, first and foremost work and culture.
“Also, the gaps are now visible between younger and older generations, which suggest further declines in the years to come,” he said.
The provincial government announced Québec’s Immigration Levels Plan on October 31, including targets to reduce the number of admissions to permanent residence from the projected 15,000 – 19,000 to 13,500 – 15,000 in 2025, and prioritising the French language.
The changes follow ten months of policy updates that have wreaked havoc on Canada’s international education sector, which is still adapting to the IRCC’s most recent announcement earlier this month ending the Student Direct Stream and Nigeria Student Express which enabled fast-track processing for students from certain countries.
