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:
- You apply directly to the province or territory for nomination outside of the Express Entry stream.
- Meeting the eligibility of the province or territory that nominates you is a must
- After the province nominates you, submit a paper application for Permanent Residence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
- The paper-based process takes longer than the Express Entry process.
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 the province or territory has nominated you
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
- Once IRCC invites you to apply, submit an electronic application to 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, the government announced:
- 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 that helps Atlantic Canadian employers hire eligible applicants for jobs they cannot fillhttps://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/eligibility/find-national-occupation-code.html 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
International graduates hired via the Atlantic Immigration Pilot do not need work experience.
The employer must also meet specific 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 must also meet specific 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 must also meet specific 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
- All hours must fall within 1 occupation, but you can work for various employers.
- A minimum of 12 months must pass to accumulate these hours.
- These working hours can be inside or outside Canada.
- If you worked in Canada, you must have held a valid work authorization.
- Do not count hours you are not paid for (volunteering or unpaid internships don’t count).
- Hours from self-employment also do not count.
This work experience should comprise
- Nearly all of the main duties and all the vital duties registered in your National Occupational Classification (NOC)
- The activities listed in the lead statement 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:
- A credential from a post-secondary program of 2 years or more and you
- Were studying as a full-time student for the full length of the 2+ years
- Obtained the credential no more than 18 months prior to your application for permanent residence
- You lived in the community for at least 16 of the last 24 months while studying for your credential
- A master’s degree or higher and you
- Were studying as a full-time student for the length of your degree
- Had your degree no more than 18 months prior to your application for permanent residence
- You lived in the community for the full duration of your studies.
Ineligible Programs for International Students
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
- You received a scholarship or fellowship that requires you to return 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 recognized organization confirming your foreign credential equals Canadian secondary school (high school).
- The ECA report should be less than 5 years old on the date of your application.
- If a defined organization issued the ECA report, that organization must have had authorization before it issued the original report.
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.
Proof of funds must also cover any family members not travelling 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)
Jobs by Industry
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.
IRCC refunds fees for applicants whose applications it rejects after the cap is reached.
