Moving to Canada from France: your visa and permit options

A French citizen has four ways to settle in Canada. If you’re 18 to 35, the Working Holiday permit (the PVTPermis vacances-travail (Working Holiday permit)The French name for the Working Holiday permit: an open work permit for French citizens aged 18 to 35, issued under International Experience Canada., as it’s known in France) gives you a 24-month open permit, handed out by lottery. With a job offer, three permits are possible: Francophone Mobility outside Quebec, Young Professionals, or a permit backed by an LMIA. That leaves the study permit and permanent residence, through Express Entry at the federal level or through the PSTQProgramme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiésQuebec’s program for selecting skilled workers for permanent residence. and PEQ in Quebec.

This applies to French citizens, including dual nationals who don’t hold Canadian citizenship. If you’re only coming on holiday, an eTA is all you need, but it never lets you work. If you want to settle, though, you’ll be dealing with two governments: immigration is shared between Ottawa and Quebec. IRCCImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship CanadaThe federal department that handles visas, work and study permits, permanent residence and citizenship. (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the federal department) issues permits and permanent residence everywhere; Quebec picks its own permanent immigrants and, for some temporary stays, requires a certificate of its own, the CAQ.

What are your options for moving to Canada?

Four questions tell you where to start: how old you are, whether you have a job offer, which province you’re aiming for, and whether you want to stay for good. If you’re thinking in French terms, a Canadian work permit is a lot like a titre de séjour salarié, often tied to one employer, while permanent residence is closer to the ten-year resident card: you live and work where you like without being a citizen.

If your answers overlap, say a job offer in Montreal at 34, the Canada visa finder lists the permits that fit your profile. The visas, Working Holiday and permanent residence page then has a guide for each route.

The Working Holiday permit: who qualifies, and on what terms?

The Working Holiday program, part of International Experience Canada (IECInternational Experience CanadaThe IRCC program that groups the Working Holiday, Young Professionals and International Co-op permits for young people from partner countries such as France.), gives you an open permit: you can work for anyone, anywhere in Canada, Quebec included and with no CAQ, for up to 24 months as a French citizen. You join a pool for free, then IRCCImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship CanadaThe federal department that handles visas, work and study permits, permanent residence and citizenship. randomly picks the candidates it invites to apply.

• Age: 18 to 35 inclusive on the day you’re invited.
• Funds: at least C$2,500 in an accountSource: IRCC, plus a return ticket or enough to buy one.
• Insurance: health, hospital and repatriation cover for the whole stay, checked when you land.
• One Working Holiday only: you can take part in IEC twice, for example a Working Holiday followed by Young Professionals, but never do two Working Holidays.
• No dependants: the permit doesn’t cover a spouse or children.

Signing up costs nothing; you only pay if you’re invited:

The Working Holiday permit is individual: a couple signs up twice and may be drawn months apart, which can mean one of you leaves first.

The 2026 season ends in October, and the 2027 quotas and calendar still hadn’t been published by mid-October. Sign up as soon as the pool opens, then buy the insurance that’s checked when you land: the guide to travel insurance and the Working Holiday permit sets out the cover you need.

With a job offer: Francophone Mobility, Young Professionals or an LMIA

Apart from the Working Holiday permit, most work permits are employer-specific: they carry your employer’s name. As a rule, the employer first needs a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) showing that no Canadian was available, which costs them C$1,000 per position and months of waiting.

The conditions for these permits use two Canadian scales. TEERTraining, Education, Experience and ResponsibilitiesThe six categories (0 to 5) of the NOC, which group jobs by the training and experience they require. ranks jobs by the training they need, from 0 for managers to 5 for jobs with no formal requirements. The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLBCanadian Language BenchmarksThe official 1-to-12 scale that measures English (or French, as NCLC) ability for immigration., or NCLC in French) rate your English or French from 1 to 12, and the safest proof for French is a TEF Canada or TCF Canada result. With those in mind, there are three permits to choose from, and two of them spare your employer the LMIA.

• Francophone Mobility: for a job outside Quebec, in almost any occupation except primary agriculture jobs at TEER 4 or 5. You need spoken French at CLB 5 or higherSource: IRCC. There’s no age limit and no quota: the employer submits the offer on the IRCCImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship CanadaThe federal department that handles visas, work and study permits, permanent residence and citizenship. portal and pays C$230, and you pay C$155.
• Young Professionals (International Experience Canada): aged 18 to 35, with an offer in your field that moves your career forward, anywhere in Canada. As with the Working Holiday permit, you have to be drawn; the employer pays C$230.
• LMIA-based permit: the default route, with no age or language requirement, but the heaviest for the employer. In Quebec, it comes with a CAQ.

For families, the rules tightened on January 21, 2025Source: IRCC. A worker’s spouse now only gets an open permit if the worker holds a TEER 0 or 1 job (management and occupations that need a university degree) or certain TEER 2 and 3 jobs, with a permit still valid for at least 16 months. Dependent children no longer get an open work permit, though they can go to school.

Once you have an offer, the next question is what it’s worth after tax. The guide to working in Canada breaks down real payslips and explains how to job-hunt from France, and the France–Canada salary calculator runs the numbers for your province.

Going to study: the study permit

A study permit is for people accepted by a designated learning institution. Outside Quebec, you usually also need a provincial attestation letter; in Quebec, you need the CAQ for studies instead. For applications submitted since September 1, 2026, IRCC asks a single person outside Quebec to show C$23,448 in fundsSource: IRCC, on top of first-year tuition and travel; Quebec sets its own amounts.

During term, you can work up to 24 hours a week off campus. Your spouse only gets an open work permit if you’re enrolled in a master’s program of at least 16 months, a PhD or certain professional programs.

If you’re still choosing a province, Quebec has an edge that only French students get: under a France–Quebec agreement, you pay far lower tuition there than other international students.

Staying for good outside Quebec: Express Entry

Outside Quebec, permanent residence mostly goes through Express Entry. You create an online profile, get a score (the Comprehensive Ranking System, or CRS) based on your age, education, experience and languages, and IRCCImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship CanadaThe federal department that handles visas, work and study permits, permanent residence and citizenship. invites the top profiles in regular draws. Provinces also pick candidates through their own nominee programs, which add points to your profile.

If you haven’t worked in Canada yet, you’ll apply as a Federal Skilled Worker. You’ll need one year of continuous skilled experience, CLBCanadian Language BenchmarksThe official 1-to-12 scale that measures English (or French, as NCLC) ability for immigration. 7 in English or French, and funds of C$15,263 for a single personSource: IRCC, the amount set in July 2025.

If you’ve already done a year of skilled work in Canada within the last three years, the Canadian Experience Class waives that proof of funds. The language level then depends on the job: CLB 7 for TEERTraining, Education, Experience and ResponsibilitiesThe six categories (0 to 5) of the NOC, which group jobs by the training and experience they require. 0 or 1, CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3.

There’s no age limit, but your score drops after 30 and age points reach zero at 45. French works the other way: it earns you extra points and access to draws reserved for French-speaking candidates, often with a lower cut-off score.

Your family comes with you: your spouse and dependent children under 22 are included in the application, and your spouse’s education and language count towards your score.

That’s why the most common path for a French citizen runs through a temporary permit: a year of skilled work on a Working Holiday permit or with Francophone Mobility opens the Canadian Experience Class. Draw cut-offs change every month, so check them on the official Express Entry page rather than on a forum.

Living in Quebec: CAQ, CSQ, PSTQ and the return of the PEQ

In Quebec, permanent residence takes two steps: the Quebec immigration ministry selects you and issues a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ), then IRCCImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship CanadaThe federal department that handles visas, work and study permits, permanent residence and citizenship. runs the medical exam and background checks before granting permanent residence. Express Entry can’t be used to settle in Quebec.

The Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQProgramme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiésQuebec’s program for selecting skilled workers for permanent residence.) works through expressions of interest: the ministry ranks profiles and invites the best. Quebec measures French on its own scale, and the four streams don’t ask for the same level:

• Stream 1, highly skilled: spoken French at level 7 and written at level 5Source: Québec.ca, one year of experience.
• Stream 2, intermediate and manual skills: spoken level 5, two years of experience, one of them in Quebec.
• Stream 3, regulated professions: level 7 or 5 depending on the occupation, with authorization from the relevant Quebec professional order (ordre professionnel).
• Stream 4, exceptional talent: no French requirement, but three years of recognized achievements within the last five.

In streams 1 to 3, a spouse coming with you must show spoken French at level 4. Every candidate signs a financial self-sufficiency contract covering their first three months in Quebec.

The Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), scrapped on November 19, 2025, was brought back for two years on July 2, 2026Source: Québec.ca. But it is only open to people who already met the conditions on November 19, 2025: graduates of an eligible Quebec program, or workers with two years of Quebec experience in a TEERTraining, Education, Experience and ResponsibilitiesThe six categories (0 to 5) of the NOC, which group jobs by the training and experience they require. 0 to 3 job who live in Quebec and still hold such a job. You need spoken French at level 7, plus written level 5 for graduates. The first intake closes on October 31, 2026Source: Québec.ca; more may open depending on how many applications come in.

If you’re still torn between Quebec and another province, the guide to choosing a province compares living costs and paperwork. Once you’ve picked your route, move on to the moving checklist: it takes you from the permit application to your first week in Canada.