Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot
The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is designed to help bring new skilled worker immigrants to smaller communities.
The five-year federal immigration pilot is designed to help smaller communities with aging populations and labour shortages, which struggle to attract and retain new immigrants.
It is a community-driven program that aims to spread out the benefit of immigration.
To be included in the pilot, communities must:
- Have a population of 50,000 or less and be located at least 75km from the core of a Census Metropolitan Area, OR
- Have a population of up to 200,000 people and be considered remote from other larger cities, according to the Statistics Canada Remoteness Index.
Steps to Permanent Residence
- Candidates must check they meet both the federal government eligibility requirements and community-specific requirements (see below).
- Find an eligible job with an employer in one of the participating communities (listed below).
- Candidates with a job offer can submit an application for recommendation to the community.
- Candidates with a community recommendation can apply for permanent residence.
RNIP Participating Communities
|
Community |
Community website |
|
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 |
|
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West Kootenay (Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson), BC |
In order to be eligible for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program (RNIP), potential candidates need to meet all IRCC eligibility requirements as well as requirements established by the participating community. The candidate must:
- have a recommendation from one of the designated communities
- have one year of qualifying work experience in the past three years (a minimum of 1,560 hours) or 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 – 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
- meet or exceed the educational requirements- A Canadian high school diploma or the foreign equivalent with an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from a designated organization
- meet or exceed the language threshold for the NOC skill type/level of
the job being offered. The minimum requirements for each NOC skill type/level
are as follows
NOC 0 and A: Minimum language score of a CLB 6 is required
NOC B: Minimum language score of a CLB 5 is required
NOC C and D: Minimum language score of a CLB 4 is required
- intend to live in the community; and
- prove that he/she has sufficient funds to support their and their family’s transition into the community. The minimum required amount is as follows:
|
Number of family members |
Funds required (in Canadian dollars) |
|
1 |
$8,722 |
|
2 |
$10,858 |
|
3 |
$13,348 |
|
4 |
$16,206 |
|
5 |
$18,380 |
|
6 |
$20,731 |
|
7 or more |
$23,080 |
For more information or to see if you qualify, please make an enquiry with one of our qualified and experienced Migration Consultants.