Provincial Nominee Program

The Provincial Nominee Program in Canada program is for workers who:

• Has the skills, education, and work experience which will contribute to the economy of a province or territory
• Would want to live in that province, and
• Has an interest in becoming a Permanent Resident

Note that every province or territory has its own streams or immigration programs and requirements, for example:

• Students
• Business people
• Skilled workers
• Semi-skilled workers

Paper-based process:

• Application is in the province or territory for nomination which is not an Express Entry stream
• Meeting the eligibility of the province or territory that nominates you is a must
• After being nominated, you should submit a paper application for a Permanent Residence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
• The application process will take some time and are longer as compared to the Express Entry

Express Entry process:

This is an online application process and there are two ways you can apply:

• By contacting the province or territory and applying for a nomination under the Express Entry stream
• When the province or territory agreed to nominate you, you may now create an Express Entry profile or if you already have one, update your profile and show that you have been nominated

Or

• Create a profile in the Express Entry and show the provinces or territories you are interested in

• When you receive a notification of interest from the province or territory in your account, you may contact them directly
• Then you apply to their Express Entry stream and if you are nominated, the province or territory will offer it to you, and you can accept that electronically

For both cases:

• You should meet the eligibility requirements
• Submit an Express Entry profile and then show that you have met the minimum requirements, which includes being eligible for one of the immigration programs
• When you are invited to apply, you should then submit an electronic application to the IRCC

Choose a province or territory

For you to be nominated by a province or a territory, you should follow all the instructions on the website and contact them directly:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon

Atlantic Immigration Pilot

The pilot assists employers in Atlantic Canada to hire foreign skilled workers who would like to immigrate to Atlantic Canada and international graduates who intend to stay in Atlantic Canada once they graduate.

On March 1, 2019, it was announced that:

• A 2-year extension of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot
• Changes that give international graduates more time to apply
• More flexibility for hiring healthcare professionals
• Changes to the requirements for temporary work permit applications (starting May 1, 2019)

About the pilot

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot is a route to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers and international graduates who would like to work and reside in one of Canada’s 4 Atlantic Provinces: Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia

As of June 1, 2019, your spouse or common-law partner can apply for an open work permit if:

• You have a work permit through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, and
• Your job is listed as Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A, B, or C in the National Occupation Classification.

The Provincial Nominee Program in Canada is an employer-driven program intended to assist employers in Atlantic Canada to employ eligible applicants for jobs they have been incapable to meet locally.

To immigrate to Atlantic Canada through the pilot, you should be a fresh graduate of a publicly funded institution in Atlantic Canada or a skilled worker who meets the program requirements.

You can be residing abroad or currently in Canada temporarily.

You should be given a job offer from a specified employer in Atlantic Canada to take part in the pilot.

If you obtain a job offer from an employer:

• Ask for a copy of the employer’s Confirmation of Designation, or
• Tell them about the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and ask them to consider becoming designated, if they aren’t already

Requirements

There are 3 programs in the pilot that employers can employ you through. You might be eligible for more than 1 program, but you can only apply through 1.

For all 3 programs, you must demonstrate evidence that you meet the language, education and work experience conditions and that you come up with sufficient money to sustain you and your family when you arrive in Canada.

Atlantic International Graduate Program

In this program you should:

• Have a degree, diploma or other credentials from a publicly funded institution in an Atlantic province
• Have resided in an Atlantic province for a minimum of 16 months in the 2 years before obtaining your degree, diploma or credential
• Take a language test to demonstrate you can converse in English or French
• Demonstrate you can provide for yourself and your family when you arrive in Canada

Work experience is not needed for international graduates hired via the Atlantic Immigration Pilot.

The employer should also meet particular requirements.

Atlantic High-Skilled Program

In this program you should:

• Have labored in management, professional or technical/skilled job for a minimum of one year
• Have at least a Canadian high school diploma or comparable education
• Take a language test to demonstrate you are able to converse in English or French
• Show you can provide for yourself and your family when you arrive in Canada

The employer should also meet particular requirements.

Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program

In this program you should:

• Have worked in a job that needs a high school education and/or job-specific training for a minimum of one year
• Have at least a Canadian high school diploma or comparable education
• Take a language test to demonstrate you are able to converse in English or French
• Show you can provide for yourself and your family when you arrive in Canada

The employer should also meet particular requirements.

Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is a community-driven program. It’s intended to distribute the advantages of economic immigration to smaller communities by establishing a pathway to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers who would like to work and reside in one of the participating communities.

Participating Communities:

Community	Community website
North Bay, ON	Coming soon
Sudbury, ON	Coming soon
Timmins, ON	Coming soon
Sault Ste. Marie, ON	www.welcometossm.com
Thunder Bay, ON	www.gotothunderbay.com
Brandon, MB	Coming soon
Altona/Rhineland, MB	www.seedrgpa.com
Moose Jaw, SK	Coming soon
Claresholm, AB	Coming soon
Vernon, BC	Coming soon
West Kootenay (Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson), BC	Coming soon

This pilot is community-driven, indicating the communities shall be:

• Evaluate potential applicants who:
  • Best fit the economic requirements of these community
  • Have a legitimate employment prospect that meets their community requirements
  • Have the purpose of residing in the community
• Endorse applicants for permanent residence to IRCC for a final ruling
• Associate newcomers with settlement services and mentoring opportunities with reputable representatives of the community

Who Can Apply?

To be qualified for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program, you should meet all IRCC qualified conditions. You must

• Have qualified work experience or have graduated from a publicly funded post-secondary institution in the advocating community
• Meet or surpass the language requirements
• Meet or surpass the educational requirements
• Prove you have enough money to provide for your move into the community
• Plan to reside in the community
• Meet community-specific conditions

Work Experience

You should have 1 year of constant work experience (at least 1,560 hours) in the preceding 3 years.

To assess your hours of work experience

• Count the hours worked in part-time and full-time jobs
  • The hours should be in 1 occupation, but they can be with various employers.
  • The hours should be over a time of at least 12 months.
  • These working hours can be within or beyond Canada.
  • If you worked in Canada, you should have been permitted to work in Canada.
• You should not count hours you are not paid for (volunteering or unpaid internships don’t count)
• You should not count hours when you were self-employed

Your work experience should comprise

• Nearly all of the main duties and all the vital duties registered in your National Occupational Classification (NOC)
• The activities registered in the lead declaration of your NOC

You can see which duties are involved by exploring your job title on the NOC web page.

International Students

You are exempted from the work experience criteria if you are an international student who graduated with:

1. A credential from a post-secondary program of 2 years or more and you
   1. Were studying as a full-time student for the full length of the 2+ years
   2. Obtained the credential no more than 18 months prior to your application for permanent residence
   3. Were in the community for at least 16 of the last 24 months spent studying to get your credential
2. A master’s degree or higher and you
   1. Were studying as a full-time student for the length of your degree
   2. Had your degree no more than 18 months prior to your application for permanent residence
   3. Were in the community for the period of your studies

You cannot apply as an international student if your credentials are from a program in which:

• Studying English or French made up more than half of the program
• Distance learning made up more than half of the program
• A scholarship or fellowship was awarded that necessitates you to come back to your home country to utilize what you studied

Language requirements

You should meet the minimum language conditions founded on the NOC category that pertains to the job offer in the community. This can either be the

• Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) or
• Niveaux de compétence Linguistique canadiens (NCLC)

The minimum language requirements for each NOC category are:

• NOC 0 and A: CLB/NCLC 6
• NOC B: CLB/NCLC 5
• NOC C and D: CLB/NCLC 4

You should present your scores from a chosen language test. These scores should be less than 2 years old when you apply.

Educational requirements

You should have:

• • A Canadian high school diploma or
  • An educational credential assessment (ECA) report, from a defined organization or professional body, indicating that you achieved a foreign credential that’s equivalent to Canadian secondary school (high school)
  • The ECA report should be less than 5 years old on the date of your application.
  • If the ECA report was released by a defined organization, the original report should have been released on or after the date the organization was authorized.

Settlement Funds

Except you are currently working legally in Canada when you apply, you should demonstrate you have sufficient money to provide for yourself and any family members whilst you get settled in your community.

You should demonstrate you have sufficient money to care for any family members you may have, even if they’re not going to Canada with you.

Agri-Food Immigration Pilot

This pilot program is an industry specific. It is intended to assist the labour needs of the Canadian agri-food sector, especially in meat processing and mushroom production.

The pilot seeks to entice skilled, non-seasonal workers who can economically establish in Canada, and who help the continuing labour needs of the agri-food sector.

This pilot will last for three years.

Process

As an applicant, you must find a job with an employer within one of the industries and occupations registered as suitable for the pilot. If you have qualified Canadian work experience, a qualifying job offer and are successful in applying for permanent residence, you can work and live in Canada as a permanent resident and work on the way to becoming a Canadian citizen.

Supplementary facts on how individuals may submit an application for permanent residence through this pilot will be accessible in March 2020.

Eligible industries and occupations

Industries are categorized by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). You can see particular industry designations by exploring the industry codes beneath on the NAICS website. To boost your application by getting a job offer, your employer will need to make available this information.

The qualified industries for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot are:

• Meat product manufacturing (NAICS 3116)
• Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, including mushroom production (NAICS 1114)
• Animal production, excluding aquaculture (NAICS 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124 or 1129)

Eligible Jobs

Eligible jobs for the pilot are categorized by the National Occupational Classification (NOC) code. You can see what responsibilities are engaged by exploring your job title on the National Occupational Classification website. For each qualified industry, qualified jobs are listed below.

For meat product manufacturing:

• Retail butchers (NOC B 6331)
• Industrial butchers (NOC C 9462)
• Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers (NOC B 8252)
• Food processing laborers (NOC D 9617)

For greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, including mushroom production:

• Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers (NOC B 8252)
• General farm workers (NOC C 8431)
• Harvesting laborers (NOC D 8611)

For animal production, excluding aquaculture:

• Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers (NOC B 8252)
• General farm workers (NOC C 8431)

Limits by occupation:

To make sure that a variety of labour needs are met, there will be yearly limits on the number of applications that will be administered for each occupation.

There will be a limit of:

• 50 applications received with a qualified job offer to work as a farm supervisor or specialized livestock worker (NOC B 8252)
• 1,470 applications received with a qualified job offer to work as either an industrial butcher (NOC C 9462) or as a retail butcher (NOC B 6331)
• 730 applications received with a qualified job offer to work as a food processing laborer (NOC D 9617).
• 200 applications received with a qualified job offer to work as a general farm worker (NOC C 8431).
• 300 applications made with an eligible job offer to work as a harvesting laborer (NOC D 8611)

This pilot will last for three years. For the first and final years of the pilot, these caps adjusted (prorated) based on the remaining period for that year under the pilot.

Fees will be refunded for applicants who submit an application that is rejected as a result of the caps being reached.