Canada’s Immigration Pathway: Provincial Nomination Program

Canada’s provincial nomination program is an easy way to settle in Canada. It is an accessible way for immigrants to attain permanent residency of Canada. It was first launched in the year 1998. Today it is the leading way to immigrate to Canada as a skilled worker. It is quite different from Canada’s Express Entry Program, and is specific to a particular province or territory. Except for Quebec and Nunavut, every Canadian province has its own PNP program and certain eligibility criteria based on their economy and demographics.

Upon evaluating your application, province will nominate the successful applicant for a PNP to apply to the federal government for permanent residency. Final decision is approved at national level by Federal Government. Therefore, this is 2 step process.

STEPS INVOLVED IN APPLYING IN PROVINCIAL NOMINATION PROGRAM

• Determine your eligibility: To determine the best place to move, consult the list of territories and provinces. To determine your eligibility, make sure you check the requirements of each PNP.
• Apply to chosen PNP: Directly submit your application to your preferred province or territory.
• Attain nomination certification: If your file successfully fulfils every aspect and requirements, the territory or province will nominate you for Canadian PR
• Submit your application for PR Canada: Apply to Canadian Federal government for permanent residency.

 There are two ways to apply in PNP:                                

• Base PNP process: Applicant can directly apply for nomination for a chosen province or territory. If nominated, one can submit an application for permanent residency on portal.

• Express Entry process: Applicant must create an express entry account and apply under express entry aligned PNP. Receive additional 600 points upon obtaining express entry stream nomination. Wait until you receive nomination for permanent residency and then apply for PR through express entry system.

ELIGIBILITY FOR PROVINCIAL NOMINATION PROGRAM

Eligibility for PNP is specific to territory or province chosen. These eligibility criteria depend on province economic and labour market requirements. Below are the list of provinces offering PNP and their eligibility criteria:

1. British Columbia
2. Ontario
3. Alberta
4. Manitoba
5. Nova Scotia
6. Saskatchewan
7. Prince Edward Island
8. Newfoundland and Labrador
9. New Brunswick
10. Northwest Territories

DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS:

Some basic requirements for PNPs are as follow:

• Language Skills result
• Primary applicant application form
• Valid passport
• Educational documents (ECA report)
• Proof of funds
• Recent colour photographs
• Medical certificate
• PCC (Police clearance certificate)
• Identity proof
• Spouse and dependent documents

PROCESSING TIMELINES:

The application process determines the time it takes to process Provincial Nominee Programs.

It will take between 1-2 years to process a Non-Express Entry application. However, if you apply under the Express Entry system it will take around six months.

PNP DRAWS IN 2022:

Around 53,00 candidates were invited through PNP draws in Canada in the year 2022. Based on specific eligibility criteria, every province nominated numbers of candidates for PNP draw.

Below is the number of invitations sent out by specific province in 2022.

PROVINCE	NUMBER OF INVITATIONS
Alberta PNP	2,320
British Columbia PNP	8,878
Nova Scotia PNP	162
Saskatchewan PNP	11,113
Manitoba PNP	7,469
Ontario PNP	21,261
Prince Edward Island PNP	1,854