Canada · Residency by investment
Québec Immigrant Investor Programme
VERIFIED AS OPEN, NOT SUSPENDED. This is contrary to widespread commentary. The QIIP was suspended from 2019 and relaunched on 1 January 2024 under dramatically stricter regulations. The Government of Québec's official investor page, last updated 22 December 2025, states that an application may be submitted at any time and that there is no maximum number of applications to be received. Several private sources still describe a 1,900-per-intake quota, with 1,330 reserved for China/Hong Kong/Macao. That quota framework derives from the 2024 regulations and is not reflected on the current official page. This is Canada's only remaining passive investor route to permanent residence.
The 2024 relaunch added a hard, unwaivable oral French requirement at Québec Level 7 (roughly CEFR B2) for the principal applicant. That single condition, not the money, is what killed the programme's traditional Asian market. It is also why intake is effectively self-limiting now. Advisers who quote the CAD 1.2M and skip the French are describing a programme that no longer exists.
Qualifying routes
CAD 1,000,000 investment for 5 years, returned without interest, plus a CAD 200,000 non-refundable contribution to Investissement Québec, Immigrants Investisseurs Inc. The CAD 200,000 is a fee, not an investment.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- 1.2M CAD
- Total landed cost
- CAD 1.2M committed, with CAD 200k of it gone permanently, plus Québec and federal processing fees adjusted every 1 January, plus counsel and French tuition. Add to that the opportunity cost of CAD 1M earning nothing for five years.
- Route type
- Residency by investment
- Timeline
- 2–4 years (Québec selection (CSQ) comes first, then federal PR processing. Both stages have been slow since the 2024 relaunch.)
- Physical presence
- You must intend to settle in Québec. The PR residency obligation is 730 days in every rolling 5 years.
- Family
- Spouse or common-law partnerDependent children
- Permanent residency
- PR is granted directly on federal approval of the Québec selection.
- Citizenship
- You need 3 years of physical presence in Canada out of the preceding 5.
- Language test
- CLB 4 English or French for ages 18–54
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- A net worth of at least CAD 2,000,000, legally acquired, alone or with an accompanying spouse.Two years of management experience in the five years preceding the application.CAD 1,000,000 five-year investment, plus a CAD 200,000 non-refundable contribution made through an authorised financial intermediary.Oral French at Québec Level 7 (roughly CEFR B2) for the principal applicant.Intent to settle in Québec.
- Oral French at Québec Level 7 (roughly CEFR B2) is mandatory for the principal applicant, with no waiver. This is a real B2 speaking-and-listening exam, not a formality.
- CAD 200,000 of the CAD 1.2M is a non-refundable contribution. It is a fee, not an investment.
- The CAD 1,000,000 is returned after 5 years without interest. At Canadian rates, that alone is a six-figure real cost.
- Selection by Québec is not admission to Canada. The federal government still runs security and medical admissibility checks and issues the PR.
- Intent to settle in Québec is a selection condition. Moving to Toronto or Vancouver on landing carries a misrepresentation risk.
- Landing makes you a Canadian tax resident on worldwide income, at marginal rates up to approximately 53.3% in Québec, and it starts the clock on the departure tax if you later leave.
- The programme was suspended once for five years (2019–2023) with little warning. The political risk here is demonstrated, not theoretical.
- Sources conflict on whether a per-intake quota currently applies. Confirm the live intake position with MIFI before committing funds.