PILOTS PROGRAMS

What you can expect from a community

This pilot is community-driven, meaning the communities will

Assess 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

Who can apply

To be eligible for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program, you must meet all IRCC eligibility requirements. You must
Have qualifying work experience or have graduated from a publicly funded post-secondary institution in the recommending community
Meet or exceed the language requirements
Meet or exceed the educational requirements
Prove you have enough money to support your transition into the community
Intend to live in the community
Meet community-specific requirements
If you meet all of the requirements, you can start to look for an eligible job in the community.

Work experience

Exemption for accumulating work experience over a continuous period >Exemption for accumulating work experience over a continuous period

You can now accumulate qualifying work experience of at least 1 year of full-time work (or an equal amount in part-time) within the last 3 years, whether that work experience is continuous or not.
All other requirements for work experience and eligibility criteria must be met.
You need 1 year of continuous work experience (at least 1,560 hours) in the past 3 years. (See exemption above.)
To calculate your hours of work experience

Count the hours worked in part-time and full-time jobs
    The hours must be in 1 occupation, but they can be with different employers.
    The hours must be over a period of at least 12 months.
    These working hours can be inside or outside Canada.
     If you worked in Canada, you must have been allowed to work in Canada.
Don’t count hours you weren’t paid for (volunteering or unpaid internships don’t count)
Don’t count hours when you were self-employed
Your work experience must include
Most of the main duties and all the essential duties listed in your National Occupational Classification (NOC)
The activities listed in the lead statement of your NOC

We can assist you in understanding the duties and work experience that are involved.

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
  1. Were studying as a full-time student for the full duration of the 2+ years
  2. received the credential no more than 18 months before your application for permanent residence
  3. Were in the community for at least 16 of the last 24 months spent studying to get your credential
or
2. A master’s degree or higher and you
  1. Were studying as a full-time student for the duration of your degree
  2. Got your degree no more than 18 months before your application for permanent residence
  3. Were in the community for the length of your studies
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

What is a credential?

Credential here means a degree, diploma, certificate, trade or apprenticeship from a Canadian publicly funded institution in the community recommending you. You must also have had valid temporary resident status for the duration of your studies.

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 the results from a designated language test. These results must be less than 2 years old when you apply.

Educational requirements

You must have one of the following:

A Canadian secondary school (high school) diploma, or
A Canadian post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree, or
An educational credential assessment (ECA) report, from a designated organization or professional body, showing that you completed a foreign credential that’s equal to a Canadian secondary school (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree (your ECA report must be less than 5 years old on the date of your application).

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.

Find a job

As a candidate, you must have a genuine job offer to work in 1 of the participating communities. In addition to the requirements on this page, each community will have their own requirements and job search process. To find a job, you must follow the instructions on their websites. Once you have a job offer, and meet all the requirements, you can apply for a community recommendation.

Job offer requirements

The job you’re offered must meet all of these requirements:

The job must be full-time
   This means mean you work at least 30 paid hours per week
The job must be non-seasonal
   In general, this means you have consistent and regularly scheduled paid employment throughout the year
Your employment is permanent
   This means that there is no set end date
The wage must meet or exceed the Job Bank’s minimum wage for your job offer’s National Occupational Classification (NOC).
Your experience must show that you can perform the duties of the job offered

Skill level

Your job offer must be at the same skill level, 1 level above or 1 level below the NOC that matches your work experience.
Exception: If your experience is in NOC skill level D, then the job you’re being offered must be in the same occupation.
For example:

NOC 0 job offer: work experience in NOC 0 or A
NOC A job offer: work experience in NOC 0, A or B
NOC B job offer: work experience in NOC A, B or C
NOC C job offer: work experience in NOC B or C
NOC D job offer: work experience in NOC D

We’ll review the main duties of your job offer to confirm that it meets the NOC skill level.

Community requirements

Each community has its own recommendation process. We will guide you through the application process and the documentation you will require.

General requirements

For all community applications, you must
Prove that you meet all the requirements for the pilot
Have an eligible job offer
If a community recommends you, you can apply for permanent residence.

Community websites: Current participating communities

.

North Bay, ON
Sudbury, ON
Timmins, ON
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Thunder Bay, ON
Brandon, MB
Altona/Rhineland, MB
Moose Jaw, SK
Claresholm, AB
Vernon, BC
West Kootenay (Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson), BC

Information changes frequently. Contact us for up to date information.