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Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) has emerged as the next best alternative to the Express Entry system for foreign workers, business individuals & international graduates looking to obtain permanent residence in Canada.
Even during the current travel restrictions owing to the pandemic, Canadian provinces and territories have made adjustments to their immigration programs to welcome new immigrants.
PNPs continued to hold nomination draws amid service closures and travel restrictions in 2020. IRCC, the federal body for immigration affairs, also supported well by holding Express Entry draws where only PNP candidates were nominated to apply for Canada PR.
You may take this free assessment online to determine your eligibility to qualify for Canada PR under various PNP streams.
Here is an overview of special coronavirus measures among Provincial Nominee Programs that affect prospective immigrants.
Alberta
The federal government is only processing Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA), for selected 27 occupations in Alberta including computer engineers, physicians, and graphic designers, among others. LMIAs will also be processed if they were approved under the Global Talent Stream.
Other changes under AINP include:
- Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holders who submitted an application to the Alberta Opportunity Stream on or after November 1, are eligible to apply even if they are not working in an exempt occupation.
- Alberta Express Entry stream candidates can apply for a provincial nomination regardless of their occupation.
You can visit the province’s official COVID-19 page for more information.
British Columbia
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is still holding weekly immigration draws. In fact, the BC PNP nomination draw was the first in 2021, ahead of IRCC’s Express Entry.
The province has excluding occupations in sectors such as tourism, hospitality, retail, and personal services as a part of their coronavirus measures. The full list of these 31 excluded occupations is available on the BC PNP’s August 31 news release. However, the province will soon reintroduce these excluded occupations, once the pandemic situation subsides.
You can visit the province’s official COVID-19 page for more information.
Manitoba
Prospective immigrants who lost their job and started working again do not have to work for six more consecutive months in order to be eligible to submit an Expression of Interest with the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP).
For more information, you may visit the province’s official COVID-19 page.
Ontario
Ontario is allowing candidates to submit incomplete applications, as long as an explanation letter is attached with it. In 2020 alone, Ontario nominated 8,050 immigration candidates for permanent residence, despite the pandemic.
Ontario will soon switch to the Expression of Interest model to accept applications for the Employer Job Offer Category. It will make immigration to the province a less cumbersome process.
More details are available on the province’s official COVID-19 response page.
Saskatchewan
The province is regular in conducting nomination draws to invite eligible candidates for Canada PR. Under the temporary relaxation rule, eligible nominees under SINP can avail of a six-month extension to apply for permanent residency to the federal government.
More information is available on the province’s COVID-19 page.
Atlantic Canada
It includes the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland & Labrador.
New Brunswick is temporarily accepting applications from laborers for the Skilled Worker stream, while Prince Edward Island focused on ensuring that immigrants who were already in the province remained on their path to permanent residency.
Nova Scotia is focused on attracting health-care professionals during the pandemic, through the Labour Market Priorities Stream, and the Labour Market Priorities for Physicians stream.
Newfoundland and Labrador are offering a new immigration program for skilled workers. It is specially tailored for graduates of Memorial University, and workers with experience in an in-demand occupation.
Territories
The Yukon Nominee Program does not require foreign nationals to meet the standard of full-time work hours, while the Northwest Territories has a new online portal for immigration applications to be submitted online.
Canada is planning to bring in more than 80,000 new immigrants per year through the PNPs according to the new Immigration Levels Plan for 2021-2023. As an aspirant willing to work and settle in Canada now is your best time to plan.
If you are interested to obtain permanent residence in Canada, get expert legal guidance and documentation support from qualified consultants at CanApprove.
