PNP - Provincial Nominee Program

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Canada’s provincial nominee program allows the Canadian permanent residence interested in entering a specific Canadian province or territory.

Each province, except Quebec, operates several PNP streams designed by the provinces to help meet their unique immigration goals. Due to this, the eligibility standards and application procedures differ. Still, PNPs are the best option as the fastest pathway to Canadian permanent residence.

Since the decisions regarding Canadian permanent residence must be accepted at the national level by the federal government, no Canadian region can approve their status on their own. Due to this reason, the provincial programs are regarded as “nominee” programs.

The province will select the successful applicant for the PNP to apply for permanent residence to the federal government. That is, securing a provincial selection is always the crucial step in this two-part process. The first part involves the approval of the interested immigrants at the regional level and the second part is applying to the federal level.

Provinces and Territories

Each of Canada’s provinces and territories conducts its unique PNP to fulfill its financial and demographic needs. Thus, the program requirements and application processes differ greatly between provinces. Due to this, the interested candidates should discuss with their provinces to check their eligibility.

The Target

To apply under PNP, you must keep checking the opportunities that arise in your chosen province and the following list will help you towards this.

Note that the opportunities come and go quickly and the websites may also change frequently.

THE LINKS I HAVE ATTACHED, NEED TO BE LINKED TO THE NAME OF THE PROVINCE. IN OTHER WORDS, A CLIENT NEEDS TO HAVE AN OPTION TO CLICK ON THE NAME OF THE PROVINCE AND THE WEBSITE ATTACHED NEEDS TO OPEN IN A SEPARATE WINDOW.

How many PNPs are there in Canada?

There are a total of thirteen provinces in Canada and each of them operates its PNP program with multiple streams. Hence, there are over 80 different PNPs in Canada.

Express Entry Provincial Nominee Programs

Canada introduced Express Entry in 2015 to manage permanent residence applications through the major economic immigration programs. Since then, many Canadian provinces have come up with ‘enhanced’ PNP streams aligned with Express Entry. That is, some PNPs require an applicant to have an Express Entry profile to be eligible for the PNP.

If the candidate is nominated through a PNP aligned with Express Entry, they can then claim an additional 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points. This will virtually guarantee an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence in the next Express Entry draw. On the other hand, if the candidate is nominated through a PNP not aligned with Express Entry, they must submit a paper-based national application for permanent residence as a provincial nominee which can take quite a long to process than the electronic Express Entry applications.

What are the requirements for Canada’s PNPs?

Each PNP has separate requirements. Provinces and territories look for applicants with work experience as per the needs of their specific labour market besides their language proficiency, education, and skill set. To qualify, the applicant must prove that they have a true intention to live in that province or territory and will contribute to the local economy

How to apply for a Provincial Nominee Program in Canada?

To apply for a PNP in Canada, follow the below steps.

Find the PNP that is right for you: Check the list of provinces and territories at the top of this page where you'd like to immigrate and check the eligibility conditions for each PNP.
Apply to your chosen PNP: Directly apply to your chosen province or territory.
Obtain a Provincial Nomination certificate: for a successful application, the province or territory will nominate you to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
Submit your application for permanent residence: Apply to the Canadian government for permanent residence. You can do this online for the PNP aligned with Express Entry and if not, you have to submit a paper-based application.

How to apply through the Paper-Based Process?

To apply to a PNP not aligned with Express Entry, you need to apply through the paper-based process.

After nomination by a Canadian province or territory, you can submit your paper-based application for Canadian permanent residence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

You will also have to pass a police check and medical examination.

A paper-based application takes an average of 18 months to process against an average of 6 months taken by an electronic application submitted through Express Entry.