Canada PR Through Nomination

If you want to immigrate to Canada as a provincial nominee, you need to obtain a nomination for permanent residence from a province or territory. The Provincial Nominee Program or PNP of Canada allows the provinces and territories of Canada to select immigration candidates according to their economic, labour market and demographic needs. The selected candidates are then nominated by the province/territory for permanent residence in Canada. With this nomination, the candidates can apply for permanent residence in Canada. So, the candidates who apply for permanent residence through PNP get a chance to settle in the province or territory they want.

In the past few years, especially after COVID-19, PNP has emerged as a leading pathway for Canada immigration. As per Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan for 2023-25, the country will be admitting more than 105,000 new permanent residents through PNP each year. By 2025, as many as 117500 new immigrants will be admitted through PNP.

Provincial Nominee Program is one of the fastest and easiest ways for obtaining permanent residence in Canada. All provinces and territories of Canada, except Quebec and Nunavut, have their own Provincial Nominee Programs. The eligibility criteria and selection process for each PNP is different. However, all decisions regarding permanent residence is taken by the federal government. So, obtaining Canada PR through nomination is a two-step process, where the first step is obtaining provincial nomination and the second step is obtaining the permanent residence.
There are two ways for obtaining provincial nomination

Nomination through Express Entry

All of the Provincial Nominee Programs of Canada have at least one stream aligned to the federal Express Entry. These streams, which are called ‘enhanced’ streams, allow Provincial Nominee Programs to select eligible candidates from the federal Express Entry pool.

There are two ways in which you will get a provincial nomination through an Express Entry-aligned stream:

The first is,

1. You create a profile in the Express Entry portal and also submit an Expression of Interest to the PNP of the province in which you want to settle.
2. If the PNP invites you to submit an application, you do so
3. Obtain a provincial nomination.

The second is,

1. Create an Express Entry profile
2. In the Express Entry profile, indicate your preference of the provinces where you want to settle
3. The provinces will select you from the Express Entry pool if eligible and invite you to apply for provincial nomination
4. Submit the application for provincial nomination
5. Obtain provincial nomination

Once you receive the provincial nomination, you will have 600 additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score points added to your total CRS score and this would guarantee you an invitation to apply for permanent residence in Canada in a subsequent federal Express Entry draw. It means, even those with a low CRS score can obtain permanent residence in Canada, if they have a provincial nomination.

Nomination through a non-Express Entry PNP stream

Some PNP immigration streams do not require the candidate to have an Express Entry profile. These are called base PNP pathways and the process of application involves:

1.Checking if you are eligible to apply under a particular ‘base’ PNP stream
2. Applying for provincial nomination directly to the PNP
3. If nominated, applying for permanent residence in Canada

Base PNP pathways comparatively take more time to process the applications compared to Express Entry-aligned pathways.

Provincial Nominee Programs

Following are the Provincial Nominee Programs of the provinces and territories in Canada:

• Alberta Advantage Immigration Program
• British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program
• Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program
• New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program
• Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program
• Nova Scotia Nominee Program
• Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program
• Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program
• Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program
• Yukon Provincial Nominee Program

Application processes for Provincial Nominee Programs

For Provincial Nominee Programs, there are three main types of application processes. These are:

1. Expression of Interest (EOI)
Some immigration streams under Provincial Nominee Program require the candidates to submit an Expression of Interest(EoI) the respective PNP. These PNPs hold Expression of Interest draws for candidates who have already submitted their Expressions of Interest. However, the criteria for selecting candidates in these draws change in each draw. While some draws invite candidates based on their EOI score, some other draws target candidates with work experience in a certain occupation, language ability and education. The PNP streams that apply Expression of Interest system include:

• Occupation In-Demand stream, Saskatchewan
• Express Entry stream, Prince Edward Island
• Skilled Worker Overseas Stream, Manitoba

2. Notification of Interest (NOI)

If a PNP stream selects candidates through Notification of Interest, the candidates need not submit an application. The province will select candidates directly from the Express Entry pool and invite them to apply for provincial nomination. Some PNP streams that apply Notification of Interest process are:

• Human Capital Priorities Stream, Ontario
• French-speaker Stream, Ontario
• Alberta Express Entry Stream
• Labour Market Priorities Stream, Nova Scotia

3. Applying Canada PR through nomination
There are also certain PNP programs that require the candidates to submit applications directly for nomination. These programs inlcude:

• Alberta Opportunity Stream
• Skilled Worker Stream, New Brunswick
• International Post-graduate Stream, British Columbia

Documents required while applying for a provincial nomination

Most of the PNPs require the candidates to submit the following documents along with the application:

• Documents to prove your identity
• Documents to prove your marital status
• Language test results to prove language proficiency
• Documents to prove your work experience
• Educational Credential Assessment(ECA) reports

Most of the PNPs also demand the candidates to demonstrate their intention to settle in the province, which will be nominating them.
Finding the right PNP stream

Canada has more than 80 PNP immigration streams. So, finding the right PNP immigration pathway for you is indeed a challenging task. You may seek the help of Canada immigration experts of CanApprove, who can help you to find the right PNP immigration pathway for you, based on your skills, work experience, other eligibility factors and preferences.

If you are interested to know more about migrating to Canada as a provincial nominee, contact CanApprove right away!