Provincial Nominee Program

Provincial Nominee Programs correspond to the agreements signed by the provincial governments with the Federal government of Canada. These agreements allow individual provinces to select and nominate prospective immigrants to live and work in their particular provinces, based on their own selection criteria depending on the labour and economic needs of that particular province.

Each province is allowed to establish its own selection criterions & procedures to choose immigrants based on their ability to integrate and successfully settle in that province.

We present various Provincial Nominee Programs to suit your needs, qualification, assets capacity to invest and choice of destination in Canada. At present the following Provinces across Canada are taking part in this program:

Canada Provincial Programs

British Columbia Quebec Alberta Newfoundland
Saskatchewan Prince Edward Island Manitoba Nova Scotia
Ontario New Brunswick

Territories

Yukon Territory Northwest Territories Nunavut

Every province has implemented its own Provincial Immigration Program successively to promote immigration policies suited to a province’s particular needs with the exception of Nunavut.

Each of Canada’s provinces has its own requirement of particular immigrants to meet specific labor-market and economic needs such as skilled workers, Business people and others such as Students, Health Professionals & Farmers etc.

All PNPs have a need for skilled workers with degrees, diplomas & trades qualifications to fill shortages as well as their own business immigration programs planned to attract people with business backgrounds and sufficient capital to invest in a particular province.

PNP involves 2 main steps:

  • Complete the Provincial nomination process.
  • Province will issue you a Nomination Certificate.
  • After obtaining a provincial nomination, you have to make a separate application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for Permanent residence.

Skilled Workers:

Similar to the Federal Skilled Worker Immigration Program, applicants are selected on the basis of a point system intended to target individuals who will fill up the labour and economic needs of that province. Points are attributed on various basis, such as education, work experience, age, etc. Each province sets the number of points to be attributed to each category of immigrant.

For instance many skilled worker immigrants, who may not qualify under the Federal immigration regulations, have an alternative of applying under any one of the Provincial Nominee programs.

Applicants must intend to reside in the province in which they apply. They should have an approved Employment offer from a company located in the province. The provincial government must approve this offer of Employment. Once an applicant has been nominated under a program, the province of preference will issue the candidate a Provincial Nominee Certificate, with which the applicant is required to apply for Canadian Permanent Residency at the nearest Canadian Embassy or High Commission.

The skilled PNP involves the following steps:

  • Have an offer of employment from a company located in the Province.
  • Employment offer must be approved by the Provincial government.
  • Apply for the Provincial Nominee certificate.
  • Apply for Permanent residence at CHC.

The Province will issue a Nomination Certificate to successful candidates. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), via the visa offices, processes Work Permits and Permanent Residence applications in order to come to Canada.

PNP Advantages:

  • Provincial Nominees are not assessed on the six selection factors of the Federal Skilled Workers Program.
  • PNPs are attractive as the processing time is significantly lower compared to Federal immigration program.
  • Applicants are obligated to engage in any type of business / specified employment activity upon their arrival.
  • Applicants may pursue whatever business opportunities in Canada that they are interested in, once their initial investment is made.
  • Applicants have no conditions attached to their visa unlike the Federal Entrepreneur Category.

If you are successful in convincing a Province that you have a skill or business, which is in high demand for that particular Province, the Province will issue you a Nomination Certificate, provided you meet all other statutory and admissibility requirements of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). IRCC in turn will then issue a Permanent Immigrant Visa for entry into Canada.

Provincial Immigration streams may be looking for you by searching the Express Entry pool for eligible candidates and offer you an “Invitation To Apply” based on who meet specific criteria such as work experience in a specified occupation. But for this to happen you have to be in the Express Entry pool.

If you have questions regarding your eligibility to immigrate to Canada as a Provincial Nominee in either the Skilled or the Business category, we invite you to Contact us by completing the Free PNP Assessment Form so that we can ascertain if you qualify.

Wesley Immigration Consultants