Provincial Nominee Program

Overview

Provincial Nominee Program

The Provincial Nominee Program lets participating provinces and territories nominate people who meet local immigration and labour-market needs. The province selects the nominee; IRCC still decides permanent residence and admissibility.

Choose a province before choosing a stream

Each participating jurisdiction creates its own worker, graduate, entrepreneur and other streams. Eligibility may depend on occupation, local work or study, a job offer, language, family ties or an invitation from the province.

Quebec has a separate immigration system, and Nunavut has no nominee program. A person interested in either destination must use the routes available there rather than a PNP application.

There are two federal application processes

An Express Entry nomination requires eligibility for both a provincial stream and one of the three federal Express Entry programs. After nomination acceptance, the profile normally receives 600 CRS points and can be considered for an invitation.

A non-Express Entry nominee applies for permanent residence through IRCC’s separate online process after receiving nomination confirmation. That route does not require federal Express Entry eligibility.

The intended destination must be genuine

A province nominates someone to settle there, and IRCC examines that intention. Research employment, licensing, housing and community connections and keep records that show why the location fits the household.

Plans can change for legitimate reasons, but a person who never intended to live in the nominating jurisdiction may face questions during processing or at arrival.

A nomination is not permanent residence

Nominees must still submit a complete federal application, give biometrics and medical information as instructed and pass criminality, security and other admissibility checks. They must also continue to meet nomination conditions.

Report changes to both authorities where required. A lost job, expired nomination, new family member or move to another province can affect the record before IRCC makes a final decision.