This section covers immigration programs of Canadian provinces (states). Except Quebec, all such programs are referred to as Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP)

Express Entry under the PNPs:

With introduction of the Federal Express Entry system, most provinces have introduced additional streams and aligned their selection systems accordingly. The Applicants are required to meet all of the requirements of the Federal Express Entry system, and may be required to meet additional requirements of the province.

However, it is important to note that Nomination from a province will lead to an extra 600 CRS points under the Federal Express Entry system, resulting in faster Invitation to Apply.

The following provinces have introduced Express Entry (or similar) systems:

• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon

Useful details of Provincial Nominee Programs:

PNP immigration is a 2-step immigration process.

• The 1st step is a ‘nomination’ by a province – a positive selection decision, indicating that the province accepts the Applicant as a resident.
• The 2nd step is the decision by the federal government (CIC) to issue the PR visa after determining the medical and security admissibility factors.

All PNPs have specified criteria that must be fulfilled in order to succeed. Generally, the provinces want the immigrant to demonstrate a strong possibility of long-term settlement in the province. PNPs are attractive as the processing time is significantly lower compared to federal program.

At present, all the following provinces and territories of Canada have active PNPs:

Immigration categories in PNPs

Who can immigrate? The PNPs have provision for accommodating different groups of applicants. Many PNPs have points system for evaluation and certain no. of points are required to apply. However, scoring the qualifying points does not guarantee a successful nomination.

Some of the categories are:

• Skilled workers – Low- and High-skilled
• Self-employed & business people (more details in the Business Immigration section)
• Farmers
• International students
• Family- or community-support

For Skilled Workers, a job offer from an employer in the province is a requirement in most PNPs. Similarly for business applicants, a business plan and an exploratory visit is required.

Many provinces have also introduced special programs for international students graduating in Canada, family members of their residents and community supported immigrants.

Some provinces have additional special programs for select occupational groups (e.g. Saskatchewan has programs for Truck Drivers and Healthcare professionals)

Because of the wide range of provincial programs and frequent changes, we have not included specific province- wise and program- wise discussion here. However, Transcend provides assistance in all provincial programs and will entertain requests for assessment for any PNP.

Quebec Immigration Vs Provincial programs

The Quebec immigration program is referred to as such, due to the wider latitude it enjoys.

Other provinces have introduced special immigration programs for economic growth and development as also to address the skill shortages faced by them. These programs attract prospective immigrants to come and settle in the respective provinces.