Canada immigration news: Canada has moved to expand the Rural & Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) – although it will not add any new communities to the program.
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced several changes to take effect in the fall, including the expansion of existing areas and an increase in the number of qualifying jobs.
Communities will also be allowed to participate for a more extended period – until August 24 – while Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have also moved to decrease the required settlement funds.
The 11 RNIP communities are:
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“Rural and northern communities face unique economic and demographic challenges, and the expansion of RNIP announced today makes it that much easier for communities to fill their critical labour market needs,” Fraser said.
“They also expand community boundaries so that employers in remote areas can access the program, helping to support economic development and growth in smaller communities across the country.”
As of June 30, 1,130 new immigrants have arrived in RNIP communities, helping address labour shortages in key sectors such as health care, hospitality and food services, retail, manufacturing and transportation.
IRCC estimates the RNIP could welcome 125 new immigrants and their family members each year, with a maximum of 2,750 applicants accepted for processing.
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The RNIP 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:
RNIP Participating Communities
Community | Community website |
North Bay, ON | www.northbayrnip.ca |
Sudbury, ON | www.investsudbury.ca/how-can-we-help/immigration-options/ |
Timmins, ON | Timmins RNIP |
Sault Ste. Marie, ON | www.welcometossm.com |
Thunder Bay, ON | www.gothunderbay.com |
Brandon, MB | www.economicdevelopmentbrandon.com |
Altona/Rhineland, MB | www.seedrgpa.com |
Moose Jaw, SK | www.moosejawrnip.ca |
Claresholm, AB | www.claresholm.ca/rural-northern-immigration-pilot |
Vernon, BC | www.rnip-vernon.ca |
West Kootenay (Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson), BC | www.wk-rnip.ca |
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.
Work Experience
International Students
Candidates who are international students are exempt from needing work experience provided they meet the following requirements:
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
2) Language Requirements
Candidates must meet the 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
3) Educational Requirements
Candidates must have a Canadian high school diploma or an equivalent foreign credential with an accredited educational credential assessment (ECA) report.
4) Settlement Funds
Candidates must prove they have enough money to support themselves and 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 | $8,722 |
2 | $10,858 |
3 | $13,348 |
4 | $16,206 |
5 | $18,380 |
6 | $20,731 |
7 or more | $23,080 |
5) Intention to Reside
To participate in the pilot, you must plan to live in the community.
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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