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The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) is a community-driven program. It’s designed to spread the benefits of economic immigration to smaller communities by creating a path to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers who want to work and live in one of the participating communities.

About the process

There are 4 steps to applying for permanent residence under this pilot.

  1. Check that you meet both
    1. IRCC eligibility requirements and
    2. the community-specific requirements.
  2. Find an eligible job with an employer in one of the participating communities.
  3. Once you have a job offer, submit your application for recommendation to the community.
  4. If a community recommends you, apply for permanent residence.

Each community will also have its own

  • additional eligibility requirements
  • job search process
  • community recommendation application process

Participating communities

CommunityCommunity website
North Bay, ONhttps://northbayrnip.ca/
Sudbury, ONhttps://investsudbury.ca/why-sudbury/move-to-sudbury/rnip/
Timmins, ONwww.timminsedc.com
Sault Ste. Marie, ONwww.welcometossm.com
Thunder Bay, ONhttps://gotothunderbay.ca/
Brandon, MBwww.economicdevelopmentbrandon.com
Altona/Rhineland, MBwww.seedrgpa.com
Moose Jaw, SKhttps://www.moosejawrnip.ca/
Claresholm, ABwww.claresholm.ca
Vernon, BChttps://rnip-vernon-northok.ca/
West Kootenay (Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson), BChttps://wk-rnip.ca/

What you can expect from a community

This pilot is community-driven, meaning the communities will

  • assess prospective candidates who
    • best fit the economic needs of these community
    • have a genuine employment opportunity that meets their community requirements
    • have the intention of staying in the community
  • recommend candidates for permanent residence to IRCC for a final decision
  • connect newcomers with settlement services and mentoring opportunities with established members of the community

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