Provincial Nominee Program

Types of Provincial Nominee Programs

  • Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP)
  • BC Provincial Nominee Program (BCPNP)
  • Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP)
  • New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP)
  • Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP)
  • Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP)
  • Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP)
  • Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)
  • Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP)
  • Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP)
  • Yukon Nominee Program (YNP)

This program is especially for all the workers who:

  • Wish to live in a specific province
  • Have all the necessary education, work experience, and skills to contribute to the economy of that particular territory or province
  • Want to become a permanent resident of the country

Every province and territory have their immigration programs or streams that target a specific group and needs. As an example, in an immigration program stream, a territory and province may target:

  1. Business people
  2. Students
  3. Semi-skilled workers
  4. Skilled workers

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to apply as a provincial nominee, you need to:

  • Fulfill the basic requirements of one of the several province or territory’s non-Express Entry streams
  • Be nominated under that particular stream

Different Application Options

There are different application options available for you and which one you choose is entirely dependent upon the PNP stream you wish to apply to. You may either apply using the paper-based process, or using the online process through Express Entry.

Irrespective of the province where you wish to live in Canada, it is mandatory for you to pass a medical examination and get a police check certificate.

Paper-Based Process

If you wish to sponsor your spouse or partner or dependent child and make them permanent citizens of the country, you may do so under the Canada family sponsorship program.

To do so, you need to be capable enough to:

  • Financially support them.
  • Ensure that they are never in need of any social assistance from the government of Canada.

How to Apply

Fill the Application

After receiving the nomination formalities from a specific province or territory, you can submit your application for permanent residence.

The application package that you need to submit will include:

  • Document checklist
  • Generic application form for Canada
  • Additional declaration/dependents
  • Schedule A – background/declaration
  • Additional family information
  • Schedule 4: Economic Class: Provincial Nominees
  • Schedule 4A: Economic Class:
  • Provincial Nominees – Business Nominees
  • Supplementary information – your travels
  • Separation declarations for minors traveling to Canada
  • Statutory Declaration of Common-law Union
  • Use of a Representative
  • Application for permanent residence: Guide for provincial nominees

Your application will be checked and if anything wrong is found in it or if it is determined that you were not truthful in your application:

  • Your application may get refused
  • You may be termed as inadmissible
  • You may get barred for a period of up to 5years from applying again for a permanent resident status

Pay the Fees for the Application

Talking about the application fees, it mostly includes:

  • Processing fees for you and any other person you wish to include in your application
  • RPRF or the Right of Permanent Residence fee
  • Biometrics
  • Third-party fees

Biometrics Fees

In most cases, you will have to pay a biometrics fee at the time of submission of your application.

If you fail to do so, you may have to experience delays. The biometrics fee covers the cost of a digital photo and the cost of collecting fingerprints.

Once you have paid the biometrics fee and submit a completed application, you will receive a letter stating that you need to give your biometrics and where you need to go for that.

You will have to show this letter when you give your biometrics.

You need to remember that you will have to give the biometrics in person and make sure to book a proper appointment beforehand.

Third-Party Fees

Based on your situation, you may have to pay third parties for:

  • Police certificates
  • Medical exams
  • Educational credential assessment
  • Language testing

Submit Your Application

You must check your application before you send it. While checking it, make sure:

  • You answer all the questions
  • Put your signature on the application and different forms
  • Include all the valid and supporting documents
  • Include the processing fees

If it is determined that your application is incomplete, it will be rejected and returned to you.

If there are any errors, you will have to fix it and re-send it.

After You Have Successfully Applied

Once you have successfully submitted your application, there are several things for you to do.

Changes to Your Application

If there are any changes to your application, then you need to inform about the changes as soon as possible to avoid any processing delays.

Get Your Photo and Fingerprints Taken

If your age is between 14 years and 79 years, you will have to provide your photo (biometrics) and fingerprints for each application that you submit for permanent residence.

This statement is true even if you have provided your biometrics in the past and are still valid.

  1. You will have to pay for the biometrics fee when you submit your application to avoid delays
  2. Get it done as soon as you receive the letter that asks you to provide your biometrics
  3. You have a maximum of 30 days to get this done from the date of the letter

You will have to inform if:

  • You wish to withdraw your application
  • The composition of your family changes such as a birth, death, marriage or divorce within the family
  • You change your immigration representative
  • Your email address or mailing address changes
  • A territory or province withdraws your nomination
  • You no longer wish to live in the province or territory that has nominated you

How Is Your Application Assessed?

Once you have successfully applied, it will be checked to see whether you have:

  • Paid youth processing fee
    Filled out the application properly
  • Included all the valid documents
  • Fulfilled all the requirements

If it is determined that some of your information is not true, then your application for permanent residence may get:

  • Refused
  • You may be termed inadmissible
  • You may get barred for a maximum of 5 years from applying for permanent resident status

You will be contacted to:

  • Confirm that your application is complete
  • Inform you what needs to be done and what will happen next

If your application is incomplete, it will automatically get rejected, and your processing fee is refunded.

If You Are Presently Working In Canada

If you already have an existing work permit and if it is about to expire, you may be eligible for a bridging open work permit. This permit will allow you to keep working while you wait for a final decision on your application for permanent residence.

To apply for a bridging open work permit, you will require a specific letter called “Acknowledgement of receipt – Application for permanent residence.”

Processing Times

The time needed to process your application is entirely dependent upon the visa office that handles your application. To avoid delays:

  • Inform about any changes to your personal information
  • Restrain from contacting the visa office that processes your application more than once about the same issue

Delays with your application may be inevitable if:

  • There are security or criminal problems
  • There is a need to do more background checks
  • Your family situation is not clear, which may include adoption or divorce that is still incomplete or child custody issues still unresolved
  • A visa office has to contact different other offices abroad or in Canada to verify your information

Police Certificates and Medical Exams

If you have applied through the paper-based process, you will be informed when you need to submit the following documents.

Police Certificates

f you have a criminal record, you may not be able to get permission to enter Canada. You will not be allowed to enter Canada is you pose a significant risk to Canada’s security.

Except for Canada, you will have to provide a police certificate from any territory or country where you have spent a minimum of 6 months in a row since the age of 18.

Some countries may take longer to provide a police certificate. Thus, it will be better for you to get them early.

Medical Exams

You will need a go through a medical exam before you enter Canada. Your family members also need to go through the exam even if they are not traveling with you. Your application will not be accepted if:

  1. Your health is a danger to the public health and safety of Canada
  2. Your health would cause too much demand on the Canadian health and social services

The Decision on Your Application

A decision will be made on your application based on the following factors:

  • You fulfill all the eligibility criteria for the program
  • Have the proper funds to support yourself and your family members upon arrival to Canada
  • You are admissible to Canada based on your medical exam, police certificate, and any other background information

Confirmation of Permanent Residence

Once your application gets approved, you will be asked for your passport or a photocopy of the passport. It depends on if you are from a country where you require a visa to enter Canadian soil. If you have not paid for the Right of Permanent Residence fee, you will have to pay it.

Once you pay the Right of Permanent Residence fee, you will be issued a:

  • COPR or a confirmation of permanent residence
  • Permanent resident visa (if you belong to a country where you require a visa)
  • Letter with important information about your COPR and other needs

The COPR that you receive will have your vital information along with your photograph. You need to check and see whether your information on the document is correct or not. It should match the information on your passport.

If there is anything wrong with the information on the COPR, you need to inform about it. It is mandatory for you to have your visa (if you require one) and COPR with you when you land in Canada.

Express Entry Process

In the Express Entry process there are 2 ways for you to apply:

  • You get in touch with the territory or the province and apply for a nomination under the Express Entry stream
  • If they agree to nominate you, then you need to create an Express Entry profile and show that you have been nominated

Or

  • You create an Express Entry profile and show the different provinces and territories that you are interested in
  • If one of the provinces or territories send you a “notification of interest” to your account, you can get in touch with them directly
  • You can apply to their Express Entry stream if you get nominated
In both the cases:
  1. You need to fulfill the basic eligibility requirements of the said province or territory
  2. You need to submit an Express Entry profile and prove it to the province or territory that has nominated you that you meet their basic requirements for Express Entry
  3. If you receive an invitation to apply, you need to submit an electronic application to IRCC