Provincial Nominee Programs
The Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) allow Canadian provinces and territories to nominate individuals who wish to immigrate to Canada and who are interested in settling in a particular province. The PNP offers many advantages, including shorter processing times than most Federal Immigration programs.
Provincial Nominee Programs
The minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship is authorized, with the approval of the governor in council, to enter into agreements with the provinces and territories for the purposes of the IRPA (s 8). Foreign nationals who are nominated by a province “may become permanent residents on the basis of their ability to become economically established in Canada” (IRPR, ss 87(1), (2)).
The PNP51 allows a province or territory to nominate qualified workers and experienced business professionals for permanent resident status, so long as they intend to settle and live as permanent residents in the province.
The PNP provides provinces with the benefits of targeted recruiting and the selection of foreign nationals who can help meet the local labour market and economic needs of each province, such as filling a skills shortage or attracting specialized occupational skills. Unlike the FSWP and FSTP, the PNP may include the selection of professions that do not require university or college degrees.
The province or territory must first enter into an agreement with the federal government to establish a PNP because the responsibilities are shared between the two levels of government. The PNP agreements allow the provinces to conduct their own recruiting and selection of foreign nationals, who are nominated and must then undergo an assessment by IRCC.
Provincial nomination offers a valuable route to Canadian permanent residence. The Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) allow Canadian provinces and territories to nominate individuals who wish to immigrate to Canada and who are interested in settling in a particular province. Each Canadian province and territory (except Nunavut and Quebec) has its own unique Provincial Nominee Program. Each PNP has at least one immigration stream that is aligned with the federal Express Entry immigration selection system, with over 80 provincial immigration streams in total.
General Application Procedures for a
Provincial Nominee Program
Each province and territory has different immigration categories or processing streams for a foreign national to submit an application for permanent resident status. For example, many provinces have an investor, entrepreneur, or student category, even though such programs do not exist at the federal level. Considering this fact, it is important to note that a foreign national can qualify under a PNP by proceeding through one of the following processes:
Only select provinces have a PNP category that is processed through the EE process. For example, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has a Human Capital category that can be accessed only through the EE system.
The applicant should select the province/territory in which he intends to reside and review the various provincial/territorial immigration categories available. If the applicant qualifies for one of the PNPs, he may submit an application directly to the province or territory for determination.