Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program – RNIP

New federal immigration program to support rural and northern communities

This article outlines the new Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program. You will learn about the key eligibility requirements for federal and community, language, experience and other requirements you need to satisfy the eligibility criteria. An example from Sault Ste. Marie community to help you to compare your situation with the eligibility requirements.

Government of Canada announced a new federal immigration program earlier this year to support the rural and northern communities. The Rural and Northern Immigration pilot is a five-year pilot program is a community-driven program to meet the diverse labour market needs of smaller communities. The primary objective of this program is to support smaller communities with the benefits of economic immigration. Like all other programs, Canada uses the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system for employment-related matters.

This RNIP program is inspired by the Atlantic Immigration pilot program which was launched in March 2017.

Participating Communities

Here is the list of participating communities. YCI would continue to add more communities when they are approved.

Community	Community website
North Bay, ON	https://northbayrnip.ca/
Sudbury, ON	https://investsudbury.ca/why-sudbury/move-to-sudbury/rnip/
Timmins, ON	www.timminsedc.com
Sault Ste. Marie, ON	www.welcometossm.com
Thunder Bay, ON	https://gotothunderbay.ca/
Brandon, MB	www.economicdevelopmentbrandon.com
Altona/Rhineland, MB	www.seedrgpa.com
Moose Jaw, SK	https://www.moosejawrnip.ca/
Claresholm, AB	www.claresholm.ca
Vernon, BC	https://rnip-vernon-northok.ca/
West Kootenay (Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson), BC	https://wk-rnip.ca/

Eligibility Criteria for RNIP

The Rural and Northern Immigration pilot has two sets of eligibility criteria that you need to satisfy to be eligible for this program.

Federal Eligibility Criteria for RNIP

1. You must have qualifying work experience or graduated from a publicly funded post-secondary institute from the recommending community.
2. You must meet or exceed the language requirements. Minimum language proficiency depends on your employment.
   1. NOC A or O: CLB/NCLC 6
   2. NOC B: CLB/NCLC 5
   3. NOC C: CLB/NCLC 4
3. You must have a Canadian high school diploma. If you have international education then you must provide an educational credentials assessment report proving you meet the education criteria. The report must not be more than 5 years old.
4. You must satisfy the settlement funds requirement similar to the Express Entry route. You don’t need to provide settlement fund proof if you are already working in Canada.
5. You must plan to live in the selected participating community.

Community Eligibility Criteria for RNIP

Community specific eligibility criteria must be met for the community you are interested in.

1. Eligible past work experience
2. Eligible past studies
3. Valid job offer from an eligible employer in that community

It is important to note that the communities may be assigned a maximum number of recommendations it can make under this pilot program.

Job Offer Requirements

The job offer must be:

• Full time – a minimum of 30 hours per week
• Non-seasonal
• Permanent – must not have any contract end date
• The wage must either meet or exceed Job bank’s minimum wage for the NOC of the job offer
• You must have relevant past work experience demonstrating that you can do the duties related to the job offer

Below is an example of an eligibility assessment from Sault Ste. Marie community under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program

Applicant must score 70 or above in this community’s scoring system as outlined below.

A. Job offer in priority NOC group – 55 points

1. NOC-11 – Professional occupations in business and finance
2. NOC-21 – Professional occupations in natural and applied sciences
3. NOC-30 – Professional occupations in nursing
4. NOC-31 – Professional occupations in health (except nursing)
5. NOC-40 – Professional occupations in education services
6. NOC-74 – Other installers, repairers and servicers and material handler
7. NOC-75 – Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations
8. NOC-76 – Trades helpers, construction labourers and related occupations
9. NOC-22 – Technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences.
10. NOC-32 – Technical occupations in health
11. NOC-34 – Assisting occupations in support of health services.
12. NOC-44 – Care providers and educational, legal and public protection support occupations
13. NOC-72 – Industrial, electrical and construction trades
14. NOC-75 – Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations
15. NOC-76 – Trades helpers, construction labourers and related occupations
16. NOC-92 – Processing, manufacturing and utility supervisors and central control operators
17. NOC-94 – Processing and manufacturing machine operators and related production workers
18. NOC-95 – Assemblers in manufacturing
19. NOC-96 – Labourers in processing, manufacturing and utilities
20. NOC-07-09 – Middle management occupations in trades, transportation, production and utilities
21. NOC 6321 – Chefs
22. NOC 6322 – Cooks

Applications with other NOC codes may also be considered only at the Community Recommendations Committee’s discretion.

B. Applicant’s age on the day the application is received

1. 18 – 36 years of age – 6 points
2. 37 – 47 years of age – 3 points
3. 48 years of age or more – 0 points

C. Previous work experience in the priority NOC group (listed above)

1. 2 years – 2 points
2. 3 years – 4 points
3. 4 years – 6 points
4. 5 years – 8 points
5. 6+ years – 10 points
6. Minimum of 1 year continuous full time experience in above NOC group with last 5 years – 8 points

D. Previous study in a post secondary institution in the community

1. 2+ years of study within the past 5 years – 6 points
2. 1 year within past 5 years – 3 points

For applicants who are already a resident of the community.

E. For applicants who are already a resident of the community

1. If a candidate owns and lives on the owned property within the community – 8 points
2. If candidate leases property and lives on that property within the community – 4 points

F. Personal ties to the community

1. An immediate family member who is a permanent resident of Canada or a Candian citizen living in the community for at least one year – 10 points
2. An extended family member or a friend who is a permanent resident of Canada or a Candian citizen living in the community for at least one year – 5 points

If you never lived in the community.

G. The applicant has visited Sault Ste. Marie for at least 5 nights within the past three years and met with at least 2 employers in their line of work during their visit – 8 points

H. The applicant has authentic knowledge of and interest in a recreational, cultural, or lifestyle activity found in Sault Ste. Marie – 5 points

For applicants with Spouse or common law.

I. The applicant’s spouse or common-law partner has a valid job offer for a job in one of the priority NOC groups identified above – 10 points; or

The applicant’s spouse or common-law partner has at least two years of work experience (full-time and continuous) within a priority NOC group – 5 points

J. The applicant’s spouse or common-law partner has English or French language skills that exceed CLB/NCLC 5 in all categories. A designated language test is needed to support this.

Language proficiency:

Canada only recognizes the designated language test to support the language requirements evidence for the new Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program.

English

1. Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP)
   1. Only the General Test is accepted
   2. CELPIP – LS test is not accepted
2. Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP)
   1. Only General Training test is accepted
   2. Academic test is not accepted

French

1. TEF Canada: Test d’évaluation de français (TEF) – You must submit results from these TEF tests as proof of your French-language skills
   1. Compréhension écrite
   2. Compréhension orale
   3. Expression écrite
   4. Expression orale
2. TCF Canada : Test de connaissance du français (French only) – You must submit results from these TCF Canada tests as proof of your French-language skills
   1. Compréhension écrite
   2. Compréhension orale
   3. Expression écrite
   4. Expression orale

Application

You can apply for permanent resident status after you receive approval from the community.