Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

Even though Canada welcomes countless immigrants every year, people tend to settle in two provinces, Ontario, and British Columbia. The reason is simple, these two provinces are the most developed and hot spots for jobs, education, and airport access. To attract people to other areas of Canada, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot was introduced. The goal of this pilot program is to offer a pathway to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers who want to live and work in the participating communities. 

There are six requirements you must meet to be eligible for this program.

1. Have work experience or graduate from a public post-secondary school.

You must have 1 year of full-time work experience within the past three years. This must be from 1 occupation, although, you may have different employers. For example, 3 months working for employer A as an accountant and 7 months with employer B as an accountant will equate to 1 year of full-time work experience in the same occupation. Unlike the other pilot programs, your experience can be from inside or outside of Canada. However, make sure your job duties reflect what is listed in the national occupational classification. Please go to the NOC website for details. 

If you are already in Canada as an international student, you might be exempt from needing qualifying work experience. You must:

1. Receive a credential from a public post-secondary institution for a program that is 2 years or more. During your studies you must have remained as a full-time student and lived in the community (you are applying for) for at least 16 of the last 24 months while studying to get your degree or diploma. You must also receive your diploma or degree no more than 18 months before you applied for permanent residence in the community. 

OR

1. Have a master’s degree or higher with the same conditions stated in A. 

 

1. Meet the language requirement.
2. Meet the educational requirement.
3. Have sufficient funds to support yourself.

For applicants who do not yet have a stable job in Canada, you have to provide proof of financial stability. This means having enough money to support yourself as well as any accompanying family member while you get settled in the community. The minimum required funds per family size can be found here.

1. Live in the community you applied to. 

The main goal of this pilot program is to have skilled foreign workers contribute to the economic and social fabric of the communities in rural and northern areas of Canada. 

1. Meet requirements of the community you applied to.

As mentioned earlier, each community will have specific requirements for the rural and northern immigration pilot. The requirements are determined by the needs of the community. Each area of Canada contributes to the economy in different industries. You can go to the community website to check for specific requirements. 

Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

After meeting the requirements to apply, you will need to find a job. It must be a full-time, non-seasonal job with an official job offer from a Canadian employer in the community. This job offer must be for a position that is either the same skill level, or 1 level above or below the NOC that matched your experience. However, if your experience matches NOC level D, it must be in the same occupation! For more details you can visit here. It is important for you to double check your experience and NOC level. 

Now that you have a job offer, you can move on to acquiring a community recommendation. As mentioned earlier in the article, each community will have different eligibility requirements. It is your responsibility to check that you meet the requirements of the community you wish to reside in. 

Once you have all the above requirements, you can apply for permanent residency in three steps. 

1. Complete all necessary forms and prepare required documents.

Make sure you triple check your information and provide the most recent information. 

1. Pay your online fees.

Always keep a copy of the receipt for your own record.

1. Submit your application.

Print the address clearly and check all your documents (including the receipt) to make sure you are submitting a complete package with true information. If your package is incomplete, your application will not be processed. 

For further assistance, do not hesitate to contact one of our licensed immigration consultants. We would love to help! 

 

 

Regards,

SmartImmigrant (Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot)

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