Rural & Northern Immigration

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Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is community-driven, which means participating communities take the lead in attracting new immigrants and matching them with local job vacancies, promoting a welcoming community, and connecting newcomers to established members of the community and local settlement services.

The Process

About the Process

There are 4 steps to applying for permanent residence under this pilot.

1. Check that you meet both

IRCC eligibility requirements and

the community-specific requirements.

2. Find an eligible job with an employer in one of the participating communities.

3. Once you have a job offer, submit your application for recommendation to the community.

4. If a community recommends you, apply for permanent residence.

Each community will also have its own

• additional eligibility requirements

• job search process

• community recommendation application process

This pilot is community-driven, meaning the communities will

• evaluate prospective candidates who

best fit the economic needs of these community

have a genuine employment opportunity that meets their community requirements

have the intention of staying in the community.

• recommend candidates for permanent residence to IRCC for a final decision

• connect newcomers with settlement services and mentoring opportunities with established members of the community.

Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot — Participating Communities

The following communities are participating in the pilot.

• 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

How to Immigrate under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

Who can apply?

In order to be considered for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program, potential candidates must meet the following federal criteria as well as requirements established by the participating community where they are hoping to settle. You must

• Have a recommendation from one of the designated communities

• Have one year of continuous work experience in the past three years (a minimum of 1,560 hours)

• Have graduated from a publicly funded post-secondary institution in the recommending community

• Have a genuine job offer to work in one of the designated communities

• Meet the language threshold for the NOC skill type/level of the job being offered

• Have sufficient funds to settle and support themselves and their family in the community

• Have an intention to live in the community

How to Immigrate under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

Who can apply?

For International Students

You’re exempt from the work experience criteria above if you’re an international student who graduated with

1. A credential from a post-secondary program of 2 years or longer and you

• were studying as a full-time student for the full duration of the 2+ years

• received the credential no more than 18 months before your application for permanent residence

• 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

• were studying as a full-time student for the duration of your degree

• got your degree no more than 18 months before your application for permanent residence

• were in the community for the length of your studies

How to Immigrate under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

Who can apply?

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 requires you to return to your home country to apply what you learned

Language requirements

You must meet the minimum language requirements based on the NOC category that applies 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 must submit your results from a designated language test. These results must be less than 2 years old when you apply.

Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

Community Recommendation

A community recommendation is based on the candidate’s:

• intention to live in the designated community

• job offer and the community’s economic needs

• work experience and skills

• ties to the community

Recommendations are made by a designated community economic development organization.

How to Immigrate under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

Who can apply?

Settlement funds

Unless you’re already working legally in Canada when you apply, you must prove you have enough money to support yourself and any family members while you get settled in your community.

You must prove you have enough money to support any family members you may have, even if they’re not coming to Canada with you.

You can’t borrow this money from another person. You must be able to use this money to pay the costs of living for your family (even if they’re not coming with you).

Your proof can be 1 or more of the following

• bank account statements

• documents that show real property or other investments (such as stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills, etc.)

• documents that guarantee payment of a set amount of money payable to you (such as banker’s drafts, cheques, traveller’s cheques or money orders)

The amount of money you need to support your family depends on the size of your family.