rural and northern immigration pilot

RNIP participating communities

The rural and northern immigration pilot (RNIP) is community-driven, which means that taking part communities take the initiative to attract new immigrants, match them with available jobs in the area, promote a welcoming neighborhood, and establish connections between newcomers and established residents of the neighborhood as well as with local services for settling in.

The following 11 communities are participating in the pilot:

1. North bay, Ontario
2. Sudbury, Ontario
3. Timmins, Ontario
4. Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
5. Thunder bay, Ontario
6. Brandon, Manitoba
7. Altona/Rhineland, Manitoba
8. Moose jaw, Saskatchewan
9. Claresholm, Alberta
10. Vernon, British Columbia
11. West Kootenay (trail, castlegar, rossland, nelson), British Columbia

To be considered eligible to participate in the pilot, the community must:

• Have a population of 50,000 people or less and be located at least 75 km from the core of a census metropolitan area or up to 200,000 people and be considered remote from other larger cities (using statistics Canada’s index of remoteness)
• Be located in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, northwest territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Yukon;
• Have job opportunities;
• Have an economic development plan;
• Have a local economic development organization that can manage the pilot for your community;
• Have the capacity to settle new immigrants in the community by having or developing:

• • Relationships with local or regional immigrant-serving organizations
  • Opportunities to connect newcomers with established members of the community, such as through mentoring or networking
  • Access to key services like education, housing, transportation, and health care

How to immigrate through the RNIP

Eligibility requirements for candidates

To be qualified for the RNIP, prospective applicants must meet the following federal conditions as well as those established by the participating municipality where they wish to relocate.

The federal criteria are:

• Have a recommendation from one of the designated communities
• Have one year of continuous 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
• Meet the language threshold for the NOC skill type/level of the job being offered
• Have sufficient funds to settle and support themselves and their family in the community
• Have an intention to live in the community
• Community recommendation

A community recommendation is based on the candidate’s:

• Intention to live in the designated community
• Job offer and the community’s economic needs
• Work experience and skills
• Ties to the community
• Recommendations are made by a designated community economic development organization.

Work experience

Eligible candidates must have:

• A minimum of 1,560 hours (one year) of paid work experience in the past three years;
  • The work experience must be in one occupation but can be with different employers
  • The work experience can be obtained in Canada or outside Canada
  • The work experience can be accumulated during the 3 years preceding the application, regardless of breaks in employment
  • Self-employed work experience is not eligible

Candidates must have completed all of the primary duties and all of the essential duties mentioned in their profession's national occupational classification (NOC), in addition to the lead statement's list of activities.

Please be aware that international students who are recent graduates may be excluded from the work experience requirement if they are:

• From a full-time post-secondary program of a least 2 years, or
• From a full-time master's program or higher

Education

Candidates must have:

• A Canadian high school diploma or the foreign equivalent;
  • Diplomas obtained outside Canada must have their equivalency confirmed by an educational credential assessment (ECA) report from a designated organization.
  • The ECA report must be less than five years old at the time of application

Individuals who have graduated from a post-secondary program in the community that is recommending them are exempt from the work experience requirement if they graduated with:

• A degree, diploma, certificate or trade or apprenticeship from a post-secondary program of 2 years or more and:

1. Were a full-time student for the entirety of the 2+ years
2. Obtained the credential within 18 months before the application for permanent residence
3. Were in the community for at least 16 months of the last 24 months of study

OR

• A master’s degree or a PhD and:

1. Were a full-time student for the entirety of the degree
2. Obtained the credential within 18 months before the application for permanent residence
3. Were in the community for the entirety of the degree

Individuals who cannot apply as international students include those who:

• Studied at distance for more than half the program
• Studied English or French for more than half the program
• Received a scholarship or fellowship that requires they return to their home country to apply their studies

Job Offer

A genuine full-time, permanent job offer in one of the participating communities must be presented by prospective candidates. The pay must be at least the minimum wage specified in the Canada Job Bank for that NOC, and the candidates' prior experience must show that they are capable of carrying out the job's responsibilities.

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

• 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

Additionally, the employment offer must be at the same skill level as the NOC that best matches the candidate's work experience, or one skill level higher or lower. However, NOC-rated skill level d candidates are required to have a work offer in the same field.

Language requirements

The minimum language requirement is based on the NOC skill type or level that applies to the candidate’s job offer.

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

Funds

Candidates must show they have the financial resources necessary to maintain themselves and their family if they immigrate to Canada. They cannot borrow money from anyone; they must have these resources on hand.

The following documents can be used as proof of funds:

• Bank account statements
• Documents that show real property or other investments (such as stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills, etc.)
• Documents that guarantee payment of a set amount of money payable to you (such as banker’s drafts, cheques, traveler’s cheques or money orders)

The minimum required amount is as follows:

Number of family members (including those you support who aren’t immigrating with you) & funds you need (in Canadian dollars):

1  ®  $8,922

2  ®  $11,107

3  ®  $13,654

4  ®  $16,579

5  ®  $18,803

6  ®  $21,207

7 or more  ®  $23,611

Note: individuals working legally in Canada at the time of application are exempt from the settlement funds requirement.