Prime Minister François Legault, surrounded by Immigration Minister Christine Frischit and French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge, announced this measure at a press conference in Quebec City on Wednesday where he presented the government's updated immigration plan.

Legault said the message would be very clear to students as it is to workers. In the future, if you want to come to Quebec for more than three years, and if you want to be received as a permanent immigrant, you need to speak French.

The immigration plan, which includes lower target numbers than expected for new immigrants to Quebec, and the new rules requiring temporary foreign workers to pass a French language test, is part of the government's plan to stop what Legault and his ministers described as the decline of the French language in Quebec.

Roberge also said about the language data in Quebec that the indicators in all areas are red.

French at work, French at home, and consumption of culture and media in French.

The Legault CAQ government had previously forecast an increase in the number of permanent immigrants it would accept to 60,000. But in the updated plan presented today Wednesday, they set the target number at 50,000 for 2024 and 2025.

The government usually sets expectations beyond two years, but this time, Legault said they want to examine the data after accepting 50,000 immigrants annually and see the impact on the French language before deciding whether to set new targets or not.

However, the 6,500 students qualified for immigration to Quebec through the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) were not included, as they can stay in Quebec after completing their studies at one of the French-speaking universities.

The French language test, which temporary foreign workers present in Quebec under the PTET program (Temporary Foreign Workers Program) will now have to pass if they want to renew their permit after three years, will verify that workers can speak French at a basic level.

Agricultural workers will be exempt from the test.

Frischit also said that employers will be required to provide work time for workers to learn French. But she said the details of this requirement are still being settled.