Foreign Credential Recognition Loan (PRTCE) measure

The Foreign Credential Recognition Loan (PRTCE) measure is aimed at helping people who trained or received a diploma in another country and who are facing financial difficulties while working to have their professional qualifications and diplomas recognized in Québec. This financial assistance measure is managed by authorized organizations who will see to it that financial institutions grant low-interest loans to those who are eligible.

Eligibility

Only people who trained or received a diploma in another country are eligible to the PRTCE measure. They can be immigrants or people born in Canada who studied in a foreign country.

To be eligible, you must either

• Be a Canadian citizen, within the meaning of the Citizenship Act
• Be a permanent resident, within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
• Be a person to whom competent Canadian authorities have granted asylum under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

People holding a valid work permit delivered by the federal government can be eligible under certain conditions.

Asylum seekers and foreign students are not eligible to this measure.

The person looking to obtain a loan must

• Have qualifications issued in a foreign country or have received training and gained work experience in a foreign country
• Seek to have these qualifications or the training and work experience recognized (click on the link to find out about Regulated professions and trades );
• Wish to work in a field corresponding to or related to their studies
• Show that they have financial needs (the needs will be analyzed by the organizations authorized to manage the measure) and that they do not have access to comparable assistance
• Submit an application for financial assistance to one of the authorized organizations, which must issue a favorable opinion

Financial Assistance

The measure allows for loans of up to $15,000 to eligible candidates so that they can pay the costs associated with getting their qualifications recognized. This amount is not included as income when employment assistance benefits are calculated. This amount is also entirely excluded from the calculation of benefits paid under last-resort financial assistance programs.

Participants can be eligible to more than one loan if they can demonstrate that they need supplementary sums to complete the process for recognition of their qualifications from foreign countries, as long as they have repaid any loan granted as part of the measure for which they were in default.

Applying

Applications can be submitted to the following authorized organizations:

• Microcrédit Montréal
• Moulin microcrédits

For more information about this measure, please contact your region’s Services Québec office .

End date

Participants will be able to obtain a loan until March 31, 2024.

The loan repayment period is determined when participants draw up their agreement with the authorized organization.