Rural and Northern
Immigration Pilot Program

To be eligible for the RNIP program, eligible candidates must have at least one year (1560 hours) of work experience in the past 3 years.  To calculate your hours of work experience:

• The working hours must be in one occupation and can be with different employers.
• The working hours must be over a period of at least 12 months.
• The working hours can count whether the qualifying work experience was inside or outside of Canada

Working hours do not count if the work experience wasn’t paid (volunteering or unpaid internships) or were self-employed.

Eligible candidates must have completed a high school diploma or secondary education equivalent to a Canadian high school diploma (diploma equivalency must be confirmed by an educational credential assessment report from a designated organization such as WES)

International students who graduated from a publicly funded university are exempt from the work experience requirement if:

• The international student graduated from a credentialed post-secondary program that was 2 years or longer and was studying full time for the duration of the 2 or more years.
• Obtained the credentialing no more than 18 months before applying for permanent residence
• Were in the community for at least 16 out of the 24 months spent studying to get your credentials.

(Credential means a degree, diploma, certificate, or trade/apprenticeship from a Canadian public-funded institution in the community recommending you. Must also have valid temporary resident status during the duration of your studies)

OR

• Obtained a master’s degree or higher and were studying as a full-time student in the duration of your degree.
• Received your degree no more than 18 months before applying for permanent residency.
• We’re living in the community during the time of your studies.

International students are NOT exempt from the work experience requirement if:

• The student studies English or French in more than half of the program.
• The student participated in distance learning for more than half of the program.

The student received a scholarship or fellowship that required you to return to your home country to apply.

All participants must meet the minimum requirement based on the NOC skill type of level that applies to the job offer in the participating community. The minimum language requirement is as follows:

• NOC 0 and A: CLB 6
• NOC B: CLB 5
• NOC C and D: CLB 4

CLB is the Canadian Language Benchmarks and must submit your results from a designated language test and results cannot be older than 2 years old.

Eligible participants must have proof of funds to support themselves and their families when settling down in the community. Unless you’ve already been legally working in Canada when you apply – You must prove that you have enough money to support any family members you have, even if they are not coming to Canada with you. Proof of funds can be one or more of the following:

• Bank account statements
• Documents that show property or other investments (stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills, etc.)
• Documents that guarantee payment of a set amount of money payable to you (banker’s drafts, cheques, traveler’s cheques or money orders)

The amount needed to support your family depends on the number in your household. The minimum amount is as follows: