The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

The Rural and Northern immigration Pilot (RNIP) is a pathway to permanent residency for skilled foreign workers who aspire to settle in one of the following communities in Canada:

• North Bay (Ontario)
• Sudbury (Ontario)
• Timmins (Ontario)
• Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario)
• Thunder Bay (Ontario)
• Brandon (Manitoba)
• Altona/Rhineland (Manitoba)
• Moose Jaw (Saskatchewan)
• Claresholm (Alberta)
• Vernon (British Columbia)
• West Kootenay (Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson) (British Columbia)

What is the RNIP?

The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is a community-based initiative. It is intended to distribute the benefits of economic immigration to smaller communities by providing a path to permanent residence for qualified foreign workers who wish to work and live in one of the participating areas.

Canada promotes applications for permanent residence from those who have skills, education, and job experience that will benefit the Canadian economy.

What are the must haves for the RNIP?

To find out whether you are eligible for the RNIP, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has outlined a few requirements.

The applicant must:

• Intend to live in the community permanently.
• The following work experience is required:
  • In the past three years, you must have worked for at least a year in any full-time (or part-time equivalent) capacity in any occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification (NOC);
    • Due to COVID-19 work interruptions, it is not necessary that this work experience is continuous.
  • You must have carried out the actions outlined in the NOC’s lead statement; you must have completed a significant portion of the NOC’s main duties, including all of the essential duties;
  • You must have worked for pay—volunteer work or unpaid internships are not accepted);
  • You could have worked abroad or in Canada (as long as you were legally permitted to work there temporarily)
  • International students are exempt from the work experience requirement if they have a master’s degree or higher or have obtained a post-secondary degree that was longer than 2 years. More details about his exemption can be found here.

      *Self-employment is not included in the work experience calculation.

What kind of job offer do I need for the RNIP?

You need a job offer that is:

• From a full-time, non-seasonal employer operating in the community
• Valid for an indeterminate period of time (with no end date),
• At the same skill level, one level above or below the NOC that corresponds to your job experience.

It should be noted that the position you are being offered must be in the same industry as your experience.

What other requirements must I fulfill for the RNIP?

The designated Economic Development Organisation (EDO) of a participating community must first endorse you before you can apply to immigrate to Canada through the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to find a participating community.

For a recommendation:

• you must apply directly to the EDO.
• Every EDO has unique guidelines for recommending and applying.

Note: IRCC has the power to use the current admissibility and selection standards to reach a final determination about an application for permanent residence. This covers background checks in terms of security, criminal history, and health for applicants who have a reference from a community member. This is independent of the EDO process.

Education requirements for the RNIP

You must fulfil the following educational qualifications in order to apply for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot:

• A legitimate high school diploma, post-secondary certificate, or degree that is valid and equal to its Canadian equivalent must be held by you.
• An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) is required if your studies were not finished in Canada in order to demonstrate that your coursework is equivalent to a secondary or post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree in Canada.
• The ECA report you submit must be no older than five years as of the application date.

Language requirements for the RNIP

The applicant must fulfill the minimal language criteria in the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) or the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) for speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

The requirements are based on NOC categories:

• NOC 0 and A: CLB/NCLC 6
• NOC B: CLB/NCLC 5
• NOC C and D: CLB/NCLC 4

It is required that you take a language exam, and you must submit the results with your application.

If you have previously taken a language exam, the scores you got cannot be older than two years at the time your application is submitted.

For more help with the RNIP and to consider your paths to permanent residency, contact Sawubona Canada today!