About Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs

The Canadian government made an agreement with local provinces in which they can nominate immigrants who wish to live, settle, and work in that particular province or essentially, immigrate to Canada. In order to receive a visa through the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), the candidate is required to choose a province they wish to live in and subsequently apply for a nomination. The province will then consider the application based on its immigration and labor needs, while also assessing your genuine intention to settle in the province.

For most provinces, Canadian immigration is an important part of not only boosting local economies and development in key sectors but also supporting an aging population.
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) that allow accelerated immigration processing according to provincial needs have been set up in most provinces in Canada. There are basically two types of PNP programs.

What are the different types of PNP?

The first type is the skilled worker PNP. This program will allow expedited processing for skilled workers that have a job offer from a local provincial business in an occupation or business sector that meets local provincial needs. The following may also be requirements for some PNP streams:

• job offer from a local employer;
• work experience in the province/territory; and
• adaptability and familial ties to someone living in the province.

 

The second type of program is a business immigration program. Most business immigration PNPs allow expedited immigration processing if the applicant does some variation of one of the following in the province:

• establishes a new business.
• invests money, or
• enters a joint venture with a local business.

What are the processing times for PNP applications?

With the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applications, the first step is for the application to be approved by the province. In most cases, this first step is completed quickly. The provincial processing time can range from two weeks to nine months depending on the province. PNP approval is commonly called being “nominated” by the Provincial Nominee Program.
After the PNP approval, the second step is federal approval consisting of police, medical and security checks are still required. This generally takes 6-8 months at most but can be longer depending on individual cases. After PNP nomination has occurred the PNP can assist the nominee to obtain a work visa on an expedited basis, before immigrating to Canada

How does this process work?

When applying for permanent residence through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) under the Canadian immigration system, there are two main options you can choose from:

• Apply directly to a province or territory
• Express Entry-linked process

Direct Application Process

Applying for a provincial nomination directly to your chosen province means that you will have to submit a paper application via mail or courier. This is generally a long process and could take anywhere from 15 to 19 months to find out whether or not your application has been successful.

Express Entry Application Process

Taking the Express Entry-linked route has two pathways:

• Expression of Interest – when you create your Express Entry profile you can express interest in a particular province or territory. This allows a province to select your profile directly from the Express Entry draw pool and send you a provincial nomination, provided you have the skills and experience that they are looking for; or
• Apply through a Provincial Nominee Express Entry Stream – Almost every province in Canada has an Express Entry stream along with a list of in-demand occupations.

The benefits here are faster processing, averaging at about six to eight months, as well as having a higher chance of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence