Is the provincial nominee program a good option to migrate to Canada?

According to the British Columbia Labor Market Outlook, which provides a 10-year forecast of the flow of supply and demand for labor in the province, the Canadian province is expected to have 861,000 job openings between 2019 and 2029. Such opportunities in Canadian provinces make immigration candidates consider the provincial nominee program (PNP) to migrate to Canada.

The PNP immigration program introduced in 1998 to help the provinces and territories to welcome immigrants who will meet their specific labor needs. The PNP has become the fastest growing immigration pathway to Canada PR in recent times. The reason for this is the increase in the number of annual allocations to provinces by the federal government. This underlines the importance of PNP in Canada’s immigration policies.

PNP-pros and cons

The PNP has grown in importance and is today the second most popular immigration program in Canada after the Express Entry program.

The advantage of the PNP program is that it offers a pathway to permanent residence for people who are not able to meet the eligibility criteria for the Express Entry program. They can qualify for the PNP program if they have the required skills that will meet regional labor market needs.

There are two ways to apply for the PNP-Non-Express Entry method and Express Entry method.

In the non-Express Entry method, you will apply directly to the province or territory where you want to work. You will need to send a Notice of Interest (NOI) to the province and will receive an ITA for permanent residence if chosen. This process could take 15 to 19 months.

In the Express Entry method, you will have to create an online Express Entry Profile, during which you will be asked to indicate the province or territory in which you are interested. Then you will either have to apply directly for nomination depending on the province or territory, or you will be selected and notified by the province.

If you get a provincial nomination, you will get an extra 600 points to add to your CRS ranking, which gives you a leg up in the Express Entry draws and pretty much ensures that you will get an ITA for permanent residency. Then you will be expected to complete your Canadian Visa Application within 60 days of obtaining your ITA and it will take between 4-6 months to process it.

The disadvantage of choosing the PNP is that you will have to wait through a longer processing time for your PR visa which can be anywhere between 6 to 19 months based on the category.

Another disadvantage of the PNP is the higher processing fees. Apart from the federal processing fees, they will have to pay the PNP application fees which vary for each province. The federal fee is $1,325 for a single person applying for permanent residency. Couples should expect to pay 1,325 dollars each plus 225 dollars per dependent child. Additionally, there are additional biometric charges of 85 dollars for a single person or 170 dollars for a family.

After paying the federal processing fees, one has to pay the specific processing fees for the province one has chosen. The details are given below:

Though the PNP immigration program has a longer processing time compared to the Express Entry program and also has higher processing charges, it is the best bet for immigration candidates who do not have a high CRS score but have a job offer in Canada and it appears in the NOC list of the territory or province they have opted for.