Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program

The goal of the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program is to attract experienced foreign workers to Canada’s least populated regions, which are the northern part of the country, as well as smaller provincial communities that are popular with immigrants.

For towns and villages that have declared a need for skilled immigrants, the program will be open at different times.

The standards for selecting potential workers, the search process and the recommendation process vary from one region of Canada to another. However, there are common aspects of the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program that apply to all immigrants who apply under this program:

• Get a job offer;
• Be recommended by the region of your choice;
• At least 1 year of uninterrupted work experience (1,560 hours) in the last 3 years (work experience can be provided by different employers, but must be in the same profession). Work as an entrepreneur or self-employed person does not qualify for this criterion. However, it does take into account experience gained in Canada or outside the country, or education at a regional public educational institution;
• Fit the following federal selection parameters:

— Work experience in a skilled occupation that is quite popular in the selected region;

— English and/or French language skills (IELTS, TEF Canada or TCF Canada test required). It is important that your level of language competence also corresponds to one of the National Occupational Classification of Canada’s occupational classes according to the following criteria:

NOC 0 and A: at least CLB 6;

NOC B: at least CLB 5;

NOC C and D: at least CLB 4;

— The required education: This could be a high school diploma completed in Canada or a diploma assessment (evolution/verification/ECA), provided that you were educated in another country;

— Financial independence (Proof of Funds) to cover the adjustment period in Canada (settlement money);

— Prove your intent to settle in the selected area;

— Meet the special requirements of the province.

For example, the Sault Ste. Marie and Altona/Rhineland uses a scoring system to select candidates who score the highest number of points.

Immigrants who will be applying to Sault Ste. Marie must cross a passing threshold, which will be at least 70 points. They can be obtained in the following aspects:

• A job offer in one of the 22 priority occupations;
• At least two years of work experience in the chosen profession;
• Age: from 18 to 47;
• The immigrant applying for a job offer must have completed a university degree in the province;
• The foreign worker is a resident of Sault Ste. Marie at the time of application;
• The worker has personal ties to residents of that city:

— a first-degree relative (parents, sister or brother, or a child who is a citizen or permanent resident of Canada);

— Any other relative (grandparent, uncle, aunt, cousin, niece or nephew), friend or representative of a regional organization who is a permanent resident or a Canadian citizen;

• The immigrant applying must have been in Sault Ste. Marie in the last 3 years (the visit must include a meeting with at least 2 employers who are related to the chosen profession);
• The foreign worker must know about and be interested in the various areas of life in the city.