Provincial Immigration

All the provinces have their very own immigration policies. These are known as the PNP and in order to promote these policies so they suit the individual needs of the area, they are catered to the selection for economic needs. Based on this, provinces are now having a more increasing role when it comes to economic immigrants. In 2013, 80,000 immigrants were selected by the provinces and Quebec counted for around 40,000 of this number. Quebec is actually the only province that has the legal right to select its very own immigrants whereas other provinces have the right to nominate. In 2015 however the number of immigrants that are allowed into the Province of Quebec is going to increase so this is something to keep in mind.

With all immigration programs in Canada, the allocation process continues to experience delays and this keeps on playing an important role for policy specialists and managers. Canada however as a destination, attracts plenty of interest and this means that it far surpasses the processing capacity that a lot of other programs have to offer.

Applying for admission into Canada will follow a more expedited process and this can take between 9-15 months in most cases and this is especially the case if it is under PNP. In some instances however if you are not qualified for admission under a federal program you may be allowed into the area under a PNP and you may even be able to get a temporary work visa in the mean time, which means that you can get early entry into Canada for you and your dependents as well.

So how do these programs work in general? A qualified employee will normally nominate a worker under the expedited process and once this has been approved it will mean that the application can then go through. Even though this residence would be for a permanent residence, it would bypass the federal selection process, meaning that it is much faster and much more efficient. During the initial stages the qualified employer or the sponsor will receive temporary work permits which allow them to perform missions outside of Canada. In certain cases this can be done outside of the port of entry while those who have applied for permanent mission have their applications processed. In a lot of cases you can conclude all of these formalities without having to return to your original place of residence so this is something that you should certainly keep in mind.

The skilled worker PNP has the exception of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec. This requires the sponsor to support the application for the admission. Without an approved employer, the application itself will either not be approved or it will be passed over so other applications get priority.

If you want to qualify as a sponsoring employer you will need to make sure that you put in a sufficient effort to hire local Canadians from the area. You will also need to make sure that you are competitive and that the terms of employment are actually relevant to the job required. Between these provinces, variations still do exist however and these conditions may determine whether or not a foreign worker is eligible for an occupation in Canada.

If you do want to qualify as a sponsored employee then you need to make sure that the position being filled conforms to the skill level of O A or B. Alternatively, they would need to meet a project that is designed for a specific skill. Pilot programs have been put in place to help low skilled workers but these are limited in scope and a lot of provinces have variations when it comes to low skilled occupations as well. If you are qualified to come to Canada under a PHP then you may also be able to come under a temporary work permit. This allows you to come into Canada early and it also allows your dependents to be processed faster as well.

Under all of the PNPs however it is very important that you understand and asses the advantages of going forward with the work permit or the PNP. Work permits that have been issued to low skilled workers are limited to 24 months and they cannot be extended under the current rules. Work permits for skilled workers however can be extended and this can be done for between 4-7 years.

Discussions between multiple provinces and the government have resulted in pilot workers receiving lower levels of formal training. clearly this is an area where development, familiarity and experience is needed to understand the issues involved with each application and this would be a major advantage to any prospective applicant.