​WHO CAN APPLY?

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To be eligible for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program, applicants must meet all IRCC eligibility requirements. The applicant/candidate 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 that they have enough money to support their transition into the community

• intend to live in the community

• meet community-specific requirements

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​WORK EXPERIENCE

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Applicants need 1 year of continuous work experience (at least 1,560 hours) in the past 3 years. Applicants work experience must include

• most of the main duties and all the essential duties listed in National Occupational Classification (NOC)

• the activities listed in the lead statement of applicants NOC

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INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS​

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International students are exempt from the work experience criteria above if they graduated with:

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

   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 their application for permanent residence

   3. were in the community for at least 16 of the last 24 months spent studying to get their credential

   or

2. A master’s degree or higher and 

   1. were studying as a full-time student for the duration of their degree

   2. got their degree no more than 18 months before submitting their application for permanent residence

   3. were in the community for the length of your studies

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Applicants cannot apply as an international student if their credentials are from a program in which

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• 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 them to return to their home country to apply what they learned

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LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

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Applicants 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:

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• Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) or

• Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC)

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The minimum language requirements for each NOC category are

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• NOC 0 and A: CLB/NCLC 6

• NOC B: CLB/NCLC 5

• NOC C and D: CLB/NCLC 4

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Candidates must submit their results from a designated language test. These results must be less than 2 years old when the application is made.

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EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

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Applicants must have one of the following:

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• 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 they completed a foreign credential that’s equal to a Canadian secondary school (high school) or post secondary certificate, diploma or degree

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SETTLEMENT FUNDS

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Unless candidates are already working legally in Canada when they apply, they must prove that they have enough money to support themselves and any family members while they get settled in their community. They must prove that they have enough money to support any family members they may have, even if they’re not coming to Canada with them.

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JOB OFFER ​

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Potential candidates must have a genuine, full-time, permanent, job offer in one of the participating communities. The wage must meet the minimum wage listed for that NOC in the Canada Job Bank and the candidates’ previous experience must demonstrate that they can perform the duties of the job offered.

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The Government of Canada defines a genuine job offer as one that:

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• must meet the needs of the employer

• the employer must actively be in the business for which the offer has been made

• the employer must be able to fulfill the terms of the offer

• the employer must have complied with all employment laws and rules in the past

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Additionally, the job offer must be of the same skill level or one skill level above or below the NOC that best applies to the candidate’s work experience. Candidates whose NOC is rated skill level D, however, must have a job offer in the same occupation.