Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced Wednesday that Ottawa was Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Project (RNIP) a permanent immigration program this fall and it also launched two new pilot projects to increase the capacity of rural communities to attract more immigrants, particularly French-speaking ones.

“I am here to confirm that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will make the RNIP permanent,” Miller said in Sudbury on March 6.

The new permanent program will be called the Rural Immigration Program (RIP) and will launch this fall along with the new pilot programs.

The two new pilot projects will be the Rural Immigration Pilot Project (RCIP) and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot Project (PIC).

CHIN will launch in fall 2024.

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This new pilot project will attempt to ensure that rural communities continue to have access to programs that address labor shortages and help local businesses find the workers they need. It will provide pathways to permanent residency for newcomers who can help overcome severe job shortages and who want to live long-term in these small communities.

The PICF, which will also be launched this fall, will aim to increase the number of French-speaking newcomers settling in French-speaking minority communities outside Quebec and will help ensure the economic development of French-speaking communities in a minority situation. minority, while helping to restore and increase their demographic weight.

Number of French speakers expected to increase with new pilot program

“It has the capacity to double the number of people coming to this community,” Miller said in Sudbury.

Businesses in northern Ontario's largest city were concerned about the impending end of the RNIP this year and had called on Ottawa to make the RNIP permanent.

In an open letter to local MPs Viviane Lapointe and Nickel Belt Marc Serré, the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce insisted that the RNIP become a permanent program.

“If you talk to any business owner and our members, a big challenge they've had over the last few years is finding a talented, skilled workforce and the… program is something that facilitates that,” said Geoffrey Hatton, president of the organization. chamber of commerce and president and CEO of Spectrum Telecom Group, was quoted as saying CTV News.

“Twenty percent of our staff are recruited from abroad, so this is a big impact for us.”

By the end of last year, 4,595 new arrivals had obtained permanent residence through the RNIP.

The latest data from IRCC reveals that Canada welcomed 2,855 new permanent residents thanks to the RNIP.

Ontario received the lion's share of RNIP immigrants last year, 1,865, while British Columbia welcomed 665 new permanent residents through the program.

Thanks to the RNIP, Manitoba welcomed 190 new permanent residents last year, Saskatchewan 90 and Alberta 45 in 2023.

This year, the RNIP is off to a strong start with the arrival of 680 new permanent residents through the program in January alone.

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The findings of a report from the Northern Policy Institute, Community Immigration Pilot Brings in Economic “Pennies”: How the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is Growing the Local Economy in Thunder Bayhighlight the importance of this immigration program for rural and northern communities.

“The RNIP helps attract immigrants to smaller communities by providing a path to permanent residency,” the report states.

“In turn, this gives communities the opportunity to select workers with the skills most sought after by their local industries and who are most likely to settle and stay in that northern or rural community for the long term.

“In doing so, the RNIP benefits both skilled immigrants and smaller communities.”

Eleven communities participate in the RNIP

To be included in the pilot project which has been extended until the launch of the permanent version later this year, communities must:

• have a population of 50,000 or less and be located at least 75 km from the core of a census metropolitan area, or;
• has up to 200,000 inhabitants and is considered remote from other large cities, according to Statistics Canada's remoteness index.

Here are the communities participating in the pilot program:

Applicants for immigration via the RNIP must meet federal and EU eligibility conditions.

Federal requirements include qualifying work experience or an international student exemption.

Applicants must have one year (1,560 hours) of full-time or part-time work experience within the last three years, but this experience does not need to be continuous or with a single employer. However, it must include most of the main and essential tasks listed in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) and unpaid and independent hours do not count.

Applicants who are international students are exempt from the requirement to obtain work experience provided they hold a master's or doctoral degree or:

• has graduated from a postsecondary program of at least two years in the recommended community;
• have studied full-time for two years or more;
• received the title no later than 18 months before the date of application for permanent residence, and;
• they were in the community for at least 16 of the last 24 months spent studying for the degree.

Those who have obtained higher degrees must still:

• have studied full-time for the duration of their degree in the recommended community;
• obtained the diploma no later than 18 months before applying for permanent residence, and;
• lived in the community throughout their studies.

RNIP applicants must meet language requirements

There are basic minimum language requirements for the RNIP, with the required level based on job classification under the National Occupational Classification system. Applicants must also hold a Canadian high school diploma or equivalent foreign diploma with an accredited Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report.

Language proficiency can be demonstrated using the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) or Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) standards.

These results must be submitted on a designated language test and be less than two years old at the time of application.

Under this program, applicants must demonstrate that they have enough money to support themselves and their family members while they settle into their community. This includes family members who may not come to Canada.

Applicants already working legally in Canada are exempt from settlement fund requirements.

This money cannot be borrowed from another person and proof of funds may include:

• bank account statements;
• documents showing real estate or other investments (such as stocks, bonds, debentures or treasury bills), or;
• documents that guarantee payment of a specified amount, such as bank drafts, checks, traveler's checks or money orders.