Increased flexibility in immigration pilot
Image Credit: IRCC
From Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is a community-driven program that spreads the benefits of economic immigration to smaller communities. It helps these communities attract the workers they need by creating a path to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers.
Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced changes to make the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) more flexible for applicants and welcomed the first two practical nurses under the Pilot to Sault St. Marie. He said he was proud to welcome Alexander Nangpukin Likilasua and Brilla Mercy Kunjumon (pictured), who are working as licensed practical nurses in Sault Ste. Marie, and was grateful for their service and dedication to their patients during the pandemic. “Newcomers have played an outsized role in our hospitals and long-term care homes during the pandemic,” said Mendicino. “They also account for roughly one in four of Canada’s licensed practical nurses – like Alexander and Brilla – and one in three of our family doctors and pharmacists. We’re going to continue working to ensure that the benefits of immigration are felt in cities and towns across our country.”
Under the changes, candidates will no longer have to obtain eligible work experience over a continuous period of time. Instead, they can demonstrate that they have accumulated the required one year of eligible work experience (1560 hours) in the three years preceding their application, even if there were breaks in their employment. The policy applies to all applications received under the Pilot, as well as all future applications going forward.
Altering this requirement ensures that candidates are not penalized for short breaks in their employment history, including temporary work interruptions or layoffs caused by the pandemic.
Individuals must still meet all other existing admissibility and program requirements, including the recommendation process in the participating RNIP community in which they wish to settle.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has also introduced a temporary measure that allows RNIP applicants who are waiting for a decision on their permanent residence application to apply for a work permit without being penalized due to processing delays caused by the pandemic.
Participating RNIP communities are: Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Timmins and North Bay, Ontario; Gretna-Rhineland-Altona-Plum Coulee and Brandon, Manitoba; Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; Claresholm, Alberta; and West Kootenay and Vernon, British Columbia. Communities are responsible for candidate recruitment and the recommendation for permanent residence.