Rural & Northern Immigration Pilot Program

Rural & Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) Program is a community led immigration program, designed in 2019, to provide aids to small rural communities by attracting skilled foreign workers. The primary focus of this program is to support skilled foreign workers who wish to work & live in one of the participating communities, to gain permanent residency. The participating communities are located in various provinces, which include Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia & Alberta. The current participating communities are:

· North Bay, Ontario

· Sudbury, Ontario

· Timmins, Ontario

· Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

· Thunder Bay, Ontario

· Brandon, Manitoba

· Altona/Rhineland, Manitoba

· Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

· Claresholm, Alberta

· Vernon, British Columbia

· West Kootenay(trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson), British Columbia

These participating communities are required to submit an economic development plan, supported by a local economic development organization that can manage the pilot. These communities are not only required to demonstrate that they have employment opportunities available for newcomers but also having the ability to support the settlement of newcomers.

Eligibility Requirements:

In order to apply for permanent residence under this pilot program, applicants are required to meet both the federal government eligibility requirements and community-specific requirements. They must:

1. Have the intention to live and work in the community to participate in the pilot

2. Meet the minimum language requirements, based on the NOC category

a. NOC 0 and A: CLB/NCLC 6

b. NOC B: CLB/NCLC 5

c. NOC C and D: CLB/NCLC 4

3. Obtain Canadian high school diploma or Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) that shows completion of a foreign credential equal to the Canadian high school diploma

4. Obtain a full time job offer to work in any one of the participating communities. The job must be genuine, permanent and in line with the duties laid out in the job description

5. A proof of funds confirming that they have the ability to financially support themselves and their dependents into the community

6. Must have at least 1 year of accumulative work experience in the last 3 years

7. Have temporary resident status (if applying from Canada)

8. Meet additional requirements specific to their chosen community as each community participating in this program has its own set of community-specific criteria

Process to apply:

Once an applicant fulfills all community specific eligibility, federal selection criteria and has a full-time permanent job offer with a local employer, then they will be required to send the job offer letter along with all the supporting documents including their resume, language test results, education qualifications, work credentials, application, etc. to the board managing the pilot in the community of their choice, to obtain community recommendation. Each community has its own recommendation process and the processing time of applications can vary. One may also be eligible for a 1-year work permit if they have applied for permanent residence under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot. However, the work permit is only for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot and only allows one to work for the employer who offered them the job, in the participating community. Spouses or common law partners are also eligible to apply for an open work permit at the same time.

The program is a wonderful opportunity for skilled foreign workers and even international graduates who have studied within Canada and wish to settle in rural & northern communities in Canada. Contact our legal immigration expert to find out if you are eligible to apply for permanent residence under the Rural & Northern Immigration Pilot Program.