PNP

Provincial nominees
One of Canada’s provinces or territories can nominate you to settle and work there.

Here is a list of the provinces and territories currently participating in this program. Since the criteria vary among the provinces, you should visit their websites for more information.

PNP AND EXPRESS ENTRY
 
APPLICATION PROCESSING TIMES

Provincial and federal roles and responsibilities
Provinces have the authority and responsibility to establish their own criteria for nomination, insofar as the criteria are not incompatible with national immigration policy, while the federal government maintains its responsibility for applying statutory admissibility criteria and exercising ultimate selection authority as described in the Regulations.
 
CIC is responsible for:
  • assessing the candidates’ admissibility;
  • assessing their eligibility under R87; and
  • rendering a final decision on their eligibility as members of the provincial nominee class (R87(2)).
In accordance with section 9(1) of IRPA and further elaborated by s.7.2 of OP7b, the provinces have the sole authority and responsibility for establishing their own criteria for nomination. See also section 87 of IRPR.

Every provincial nominee agreement obliges the immigration or visa officer to consult with an official of the nominating province regarding the intention to refuse before the refusal is actually made.

Receiving the provincial nomination certificate
When an individual is nominated by a province for selection in the provincial nominee class, the
province sends the certificate of nomination directly to the visa office.
 
Receiving the application for immigration
Some provinces will ask the applicant to complete the immigration application and send it directly
to the appropriate visa office. Other provinces may choose to assist the nominee with the completion of the application and send the nominee's application to the visa office on his or her behalf.
In either case, the visa office may create a file before receipt of the nomination spreadsheet.
 
Substitution of evaluation
(3) If the fact that the foreign national is named in a certificate referred to in paragraph (2)(a) is not a sufficient indicator of whether they may become economically established in Canada and an officer has consulted the government that issued the certificate, the officer may substitute for the criteria set out in subsection (2) their evaluation of the likelihood of the ability of the foreign national to become economically established in Canada.
 
Refusing the application

There are three bases upon which a provincial nominee who meets all statutory admissibility
requirements can be refused a visa:

- The officer has reason to believe that the applicant does not intend to live in the province that has nominated them;

-The officer has reason to believe that the applicant is unlikely to be able to successfully establish economically in Canada;

- The officer has reason to believe that the applicant is participating in, or intends to participate in, a passive investment or an immigration-linked investment scheme as defined in R87(5) to
R87(9) of the Regulations.

In each case, the officer must have some evidence to support this belief and overcome the
presumptions implied by the provincial nomination. Every provincial nominee agreement obliges
the immigration officer to consult with an official of the nominating province regarding the intention
to refuse before the refusal is actually made (Please see Appendix B for Provincial Contact
Information).

If the officer, after consulting with the province, still intends to refuse, R87(4) requires that a
second officer concur with the decision to refuse, before it can be made official. Both officers’
names should be clearly recorded in the CAIPS notes.
 


Operational Bulletin 251 - November 24, 2010
Examination of Members of the Provincial Nominee Class at Ports of Entry and CIC Inland Offices
This operational bulletin (OB) provides instructions regarding the examination of individuals in the Provincial Nominee (PN) class seeking permanent resident status who indicate that they never intended or no longer intend to reside in the nominating province or territory.
 
Processing times for provincial nominee applications processed by visa offices outside Canada can be found here.

Provincial nominees and work permits

Section 5.27 of FW 1 deals with the issuance of work permits to provincial nominees.
 
Under R204(c), work permits can be issued to prospective or actual provincial nominees.
 
The applicant must present a letter from the province stating that they have been nominated and requesting a work permit. It is not necessary for the visa office to have received the nominee’s application for permanent residence before issuing a work permit. Spouses of provincial nominees are entitled to open work permits regardless of the skill level of the principal applicant.
 
1. Temporary Foreign Worker Provincially Selected (TFW-PS)

Under the terms of Temporary Foreign Worker Annexes that have been negotiated with certain provinces/territories, they have the authority to have the requirement for a labour market opinion waived for work permit applicants named in a written request from the province or territory.
 
This authority is based on section 204(c) of the IRPR. Provisions respecting this authority might vary
slightly from province to province and for greater certainty the wording in the appropriate annex
should be referred to.
 
To date, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Yukon Territory have such agreements in effect.
 
2. Foreign Worker Nominated by a Province or Territory (PNP)

(See OP 7b for more information)
A person who has been nominated by a province or territory for permanent residence and is employed or has a job offer * from an employer based in that province may be issued a work permit without requiring an LMO.

In order for this provision to be applied, the application for the work permit must include a letter from the provincial or territorial government that confirms:

• that the foreign national has been nominated for permanent residence by the province.
• that the nominated individual is urgently required by the provincial-based employer who has
made the foreign national a job offer.

The duration of the work permit should be equivalent to the duration of the job offer.

“PNP” should be entered in the “Remarks” field to facilitate differentiating between the PNP and the TFW-PS provincial/territorial selection types.
References: