Provincial Nominee Programs: Pathways to Canadian Residency

Canada is a dynamic country with a lot of advancement. Every job seeker dreams of settling down here.

For this purpose, Provincial nominee programs come into picture also known as PNPs. These programs open a gate for the people looking to settle down in Canada. 

Every province except Quebec of Canada follows its own PNP depending upon the needs of economy and demography. These programs are specifically designed by provinces and thus the conditions and eligibility may differ. These are known as nominee programs because provinces cannot finally approve but can only nominate and the final decision depends on the federal government. Eventually, it can be said that these programs are the first step towards migration in Canada. After getting nominated at the provincial level, you need to apply for the approval at federal level. 

How to apply for the PNP?

Finding suitable PNP: In order to choose the PNP that is suitable for you, you need to check the list of various provinces and then check their eligibility criteria. 

Applying to chosen PNP: After selecting PNP for you, you need to apply to that particular province. 

Getting Provincial Nominee certificate: After successfully submitting your application, you will be nominated by the province or territory.

Submitted final application for PR: Finally, you need to submit your application to the federal government. If your application is according to the norms of express entry, you will get shortlisted.  

There are around 80 separate PNPs that operate in Canada. 

Express Entry PNP 

Canada introduced the concept of express entry in 2015 so as to manage various applications for permanent residence. So, some provinces have made it mandatory for the applicants to have an express entry profile as well.  

There is a comprehensive ranking system in the express entry program. You can claim 600 CRS points for provincial nomination. On the other hand, if you don’t follow the express entry route, you need to follow the non express entry route which takes much longer time for processing. 

Cost for immigration through a PNP

The cost of immigration varies according to the province or territory. This cost varies from $2300 to $3800 CAD while Ontario charges around $1500 CAD.

You can even get nominated even when you don’t have any job offer. But you need to process the required skills and the expertise. So, to become eligible you need to check the concerned conditions of various provinces and territories of Canada. 

These programs are designed so as to attract skillful people in the Canadian provinces. Having a good experience and connection in a province increases the chances of an applicant to get nomination. 

The overall processing time for am application varies from province to province but you can consider it around few months. 

No two PNPs have the same conditions and occur at different times of the year. For that you need to check their updates. 

Every province uses a point system to process an application. These points are based on age, experience, language, your connections in the province and educational qualification. 

Now the main question is how to increase the chances for nomination. 

Having a good connection in the province like having a relative or close friend will help you boost your application. Just merely applying via express entry will manifold your score. The other thing is the language proficiency. If you are speaking the particular language of the province without difficulty, you have better chances. 

You will get an Invitation to apply by the province and you need to apply within the deadline for nomination. 

Thus, it was a brief introduction of the PNPs for which you can apply to get permanent residence in Canada.