Rural Northern Immigration Pilot
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The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is designed to help bring new skilled worker immigrants to smaller communities.
The five-year federal immigration pilot is designed to help smaller communities with aging populations and labour shortages, which struggle to attract and retain new immigrants.
It is a community-driven program that aims to spread out the benefit of immigration.
To be included in the pilot, communities must:
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Have a population of 50,000 or less and be located at least 75km from the core of a Census Metropolitan Area, OR
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Have a population of up to 200,000 people and is considered remote from other larger cities, according to the Statistics Canada Remoteness Index.
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Steps to Permanent Residence
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Candidates must check they meet both the federal government eligibility requirements and community-specific requirements (see below).
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Find an eligible job with an employer in one of the participating communities (listed below).
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Candidates with a job offer can apply for recommendation to the community.
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Candidates with a community recommendation can apply for permanent residence.
RNIP Participating Communities
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Community and Community website:
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North Bay, ON www.northbayrnip.ca
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Sudbury, ON www.investsudbury.ca/how-can-we-help/immigration-options/
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Timmins, ON Timmins RNIP
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Sault Ste. Marie, ON www.welcometossm.com
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Thunder Bay, ON www.gothunderbay.com
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Brandon, MB www.economicdevelopmentbrandon.com
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Altona/Rhineland, MB www.seedrgpa.com
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Moose Jaw, SK www.moosejawrnip.ca
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Claresholm, AB www.claresholm.ca/rural-northern-immigration-pilot
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Vernon, BC www.rnip-vernon.ca
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West Kootenay (Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson), BC www.wk-rnip.ca
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Federal Government Eligibility Requirements
1) Work Experience/International Student Exemption
Candidates must have qualifying work experience or have graduated from a publicly-funded post-secondary institution in the recommending community.
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Work Experience
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Candidates must have one year (1,560 hours) of full or part-time work experience in the last three years.
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The work experience does not need to be continuous; it just needs to be accumulated in the last three years.
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The work experience can be in more than one occupation and with different employers.
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It must include most of the main and essential duties listed in the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
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Unpaid and self-employed hours do not count.
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International Students
Candidates who are international students are exempt from needing work experience provided they meet the following requirements:
Scenario 1
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They graduated with a credential from a minimum two-year-long post-secondary program in the recommended community.
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They were studying as a full-time student for the full duration of two or more years.
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They received the credential no more than 18 months before the date of application for permanent residence.
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They were in the community for at least 16 of the last 24 months spent studying to get the credential.
Scenario 2
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They graduate with a master’s degree or higher
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They studied as a full-time student for the duration of the degree in the recommended community.
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They received the degree no more than 18 months before applying for permanent residence.
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They were in the community for the length of their studies.
2) Language Requirements
Candidates must have at least a Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) based on the National Occupational Classification of their job.
The minimum language requirements for each NOC category are
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TEER 0 and 1: CLB/NCLC 6
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TEER 2 and 3: CLB/NCLC 5
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TEER 4 and 5: CLB/NCLC 4
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3) Educational Requirements
Candidates must have a Canadian high school diploma or an equivalent foreign credential with an accredited educational credential assessment (ECA) report.
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4) Settlement Funds
Candidates must prove they have enough money to support themselves and their family members while they get settled in their community. This includes family members who may not be coming to Canada.
Candidates already working legally in Canada are exempt from settlement fund requirements.
Number of family members
Funds you need (in Canadian dollars)
1 = $2,367
2 = $2,947
3 = $3,623
4 = $4,399
5 = $4,989
6 = $5,627
7 or more = $6,265
5) Intention to Reside
To participate in the pilot, you must plan to live in the community.
Community-Specific Requirements
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Each community included in the pilot has its own set of community-specific requirements.
Please visit the website of each community (listed in the table above) to research community-specific requirements.
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Agri-Food Pilot
The Agri-Food Pilot is designed to help address labour shortages in specific agriculture and food-related industries. The three-year pilot opened on May 15, 2020 and will run until May 14, 2023.
The pilot is specifically aimed at the meat processing, year-round mushroom and greenhouse crop production and livestock raising industries. Candidates require Canadian eligible work experience and a job offer from a Canadian employer to qualify for the pilot.
What Industries Are Eligible for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot?
Eligible industries are classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
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Meat product manufacturing (NAICS 3116)
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Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, including mushroom production (NAICS 1114)
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Animal production, excluding aquaculture (NAICS 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124 or 1129)
What Jobs Are Eligible for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot?
1) Meat product manufacturing (NAICS 3116)
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NOC 63201 – Butchers – retail and wholesale
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NOC 65202 – Meat cutters and fishmongers – retail and wholesale
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NOC 94141 – Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
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NOC 82030 – Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
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NOC 84120 – Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
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NOC 85100 – Livestock labourers
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NOC 95106 – Labourers in food and beverage processing
2) Greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, including mushroom production (NAICS 1114)
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NOC 82030 – Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
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NOC 84120 – Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
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NOC 85100 – Livestock labourers
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NOC 85101 – Harvesting labourers
3) Animal production, excluding aquaculture (NAICS 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124 or 1129)
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NOC 82030 – Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
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NOC 84120 – Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
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NOC 85100 – Livestock labourers
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NOC 85101 – Harvesting labourers
Application Limits
Canada receives a limit of 2,750 applications each year.
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Agri-Food Immigration Pilot: Candidate Requirements
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12 months of full-time, non-seasonal Canadian work experience (at least 1,560 hours in the past 3 years) in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, in an eligible occupation.
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Canadian Language Benchmark level 4 in English or French in reading, writing, speaking and listening.
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Education at high school level or greater (Canadian equivalency).
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Indeterminate job offers for full-time, non-seasonal work in Canada, outside of Quebec, at or above the prevailing wage.
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The required settlement funds for candidates and dependents, unless already working in Canada.
Worldway Migration Services