Provincial Immigration via Provincial Nominee Program
Immigration to Canada via Provincial
Nominee
Canada is a federation of 10 provinces
and 3 territories. The federal and provincial governments share
jurisdiction over immigration in order to assist provinces to fill
the gaps in their economies and help them to cover the labour
shortages. Immigration with the support of the Canadian province is
a good alternative for those who do not get enough points in Express
Entry because of age or lack of language skills.
All provinces
except Quebec (which has its independent immigration policy) and
Nunavut (which doesn't have its provincial immigration program) have
their own immigration programs with multiple immigration streams
within the programs. All provincial programs are united under the
Provincial Nominee Program.
As of 2020, there are 80+ immigration streams in all provincial
programs. Provincial immigration always consists of the provincial
stage and the federal stage. During the provincial stage of your
application, you apply for the support of the province. If selected
by the province, you receive a Certificate of the Provincial
Nomination. Being a provincial nominee significantly increases your
chances to obtain permanent residence in Canada.
Some provincial programs are still paper-based, while some are
aligned with the Federal selection system Express Entry. Depending
on the type of stream, the federal stage could be processed on paper
or electronically. The current trend is more and more streams become
linked to Express Entry.
Depending on your specific case we will select the province where
your chances of being selected will be the highest. Provinces
usually select candidates based on their ties with the specific
province (higher education or past/current employment in the
province) or their main occupation (if there is a shortage in this
occupation in the provincial labour market).
Immigration to Canada through Provincial Nominee Program
Stage 1: Preparing your initial document package
During this stage, you will receive instruction regarding the
language tests and obtaining your Education Credential Assessment (ECA).
These documents are required to register you in the Express Entry
system. We will also provide the full list of documents we will need
in order to process your application. In some cases, we might need
additional documents, required by the specific province.
Stage 2: The Expression of Interest to
the Province and/or Express Entry Profile Creation
Some provinces have their own provincial Expression of Interest (EOI)
systems, while some others select candidates directly from the
Express Entry pool. Depending on the case, we will create your EOI
for the respective province. We will also need you to provide us
with your language tests and Education Credential Assessment
certificate to register you in the Express Entry system and the Job
Bank. We claim all the factors for which we want you to get points
in the system and list all your personal information.
Stage 3: Invitation to Apply for the
Provincial Nomination
Once your EOI/Express Entry profile is created, the provincial
government knows that you are willing to immigrate to that province.
As for the provinces, whose programs are linked to Express Entry, we
indicate your interest to settle in the specific province within
your Express Entry profile. In the first case, the province may
invite you through the provincial EOI system. In the second case,
you will get a Notification of Interest of the province in your
Express Entry profile.
Stage 4: Application for the Provincial
Nomination
After the invitation from the province, we will submit your full
application for a provincial nomination, supported by the proper
documents. Some provinces may require the payment of the processing
fee.
Stage 5: Certificate of Nomination
When your application for a provincial nomination is approved, you
will receive a Certificate of Nomination from the respective
province. Depending on the provincial program, we will file your
application to the federal government.
Stage 6: Federal Stage
The nomination of the province enables us to submit your application
for permanent residency to the Federal government. Depending on the
stream and the program, the federal stage can be a paper application
or electronic - via the Express Entry. If the provincial stream
through which you were nominated is linked to Express Entry, your
nomination will be added to your profile. The nomination will add
600 points to your profile, which in turn almost guarantees that you
will receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence in
Express Entry in the next round. If your provincial program flow is
not associated with Express Entry, we will send the entire package
of documents by mail.
Stage 7: Becoming a Permanent Resident
This stage is the longest in the whole process. The Federal government will check your application for completeness and assess that you satisfy all the requirements of the immigration program. During this stage, you will have to pass the medical exam and background check. The background check consists of criminality and security assessments. In some cases, the IRCC may request additional documents to make a final decision. Once all checks are cleared, you will receive a Ready for Visa email with the request to send your passports or passport copies to the Visa office. 3-4 weeks after that you will get a Confirmation of the Permanent Residency. With this document, you will be able to come to Canada and do the landing. After the landing, you will be officially a Permanent Resident of Canada.