Restrictive permit

The restrictive permit is granted by the Collège des médecins du Québec to a physician in keeping with established guidelines. Issued for a period of one year, this permit is renewable. It is granted to physicians recruited to meet specific needs defined in manpower plans established by the government or to finishing residents, at certain conditions. This type of permit determines the nature of the professional acts that may be performed as well as the institution or institutions where they may be performed.

This pathway is open to physicians who are ready to practice and generally includes an evaluation period rather than postgraduate training.

This permit is restrictive in three aspects of practice:

1. The place: your right to practice is limited to a specific establishment;
2. The acts: the professional acts you are authorized to perform are specifically defined;
3. The duration: the permit must be renewed every year.

This pathway requires that the candidate meet a medical staffing need in a Québec health care establishment identified by the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS). With a view to meeting these needs, the ministère has created Recrutement Santé Québec (RSQ). RSQ is the portal of entry for all physicians with medical degrees from outside of Canada or the United States, who wish to obtain a restrictive permit to practice. The RSQ will help you find an establishment in a region that has needs in your discipline (family medicine or other specialty) and would like to sponsor you. Note that e-mail is the RSQ’s preferred mode of communication. In addition to presenting what is "Practicing in Québec", the RSQ website will provide you with the terms and conditions for financial assistance with a view to obtaining sponsorship and a restrictive permit to practice. However, this step does not concern the CMQ in any way.

Registration with RSQ is your first step in the process of obtaining a restrictive permit. The list of disciplines for which physicians are now being recruited, as well as the terms and conditions for financial assistance, may be found in the RSQ website. 

Please note that your sponsoring by an establishment as well as a proof of your success to the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Examination (MCCEE), or the United States Medical Licensing Examination/Step 2 Clinical knowledge (USMLE / Step 2 CK) or the Standard Certificate of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), are required before the application for eligibility is sent to the CMQ.

The process may be long, and all applications do not systematically lead to the issuance of a restrictive permit. Each candidate moves through the different steps at his or her own pace. For this reason, we encourage you to keep practicing your profession in your own country while your file is under study. If, however, you have already settled in Québec, we urge you to attend one of the information sessions offered by the CMQ. The ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (MICC) also offers information sessions for physicians who wish to settle in Québec.