Saskatchewan signed a Provincial Nominee Program agreement with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in 1998. The Saskatchewan Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), officially the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP), was created to address provincial economic and labour market needs through immigration.
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Saskatchewan is one of Canada’s Prairie provinces, and its economy is based on agriculture and natural resources industries such as forestry and fishing.
Saskatchewan has an enhanced sub-category and base sub-category immigration programs. The enhanced sub-category is called Saskatchewan Express Entry, which is under the International Skilled Worker Category.
Saskatchewan Immigration Streams
Candidates looking to immigrate to Saskatchewan can choose from four different options:
- International Skilled Worker Category
- Saskatchewan Experience Category
- Entrepreneur and Farm Category
- International Graduate Entrepreneur Category
International Skilled Worker Category
The International Skilled Worker Category is for skilled workers who want to live and work in Saskatchewan. It consists of four pathways:
- Tech Talent Pathway: for skilled workers in one of 11 tech occupations.
- Employment Offer: for skilled workers with a job offer from a Saskatchewan employer.
- Occupations In Demand: for skilled workers with experience in an in-demand occupation in Saskatchewan, who do not yet have a job offer in the province.
- Saskatchewan Express Entry: for candidates already in the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Express Entry pool, have skilled work experience and an in-demand occupation in Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan Experience Category
The Saskatchewan Experience Category consists of six pathways:
- Skilled Worker with Existing Work Permit: for skilled workers who have been working in Saskatchewan for at least six months and have a valid work permit.
- Semi-skilled Agriculture Worker with Existing Permit: for semi-skilled workers who have been working for more than six months with a valid work permit for the employer offering the job, or who have previously worked in Saskatchewan at least six months. They must have a full-time job offer from an employer as a General Farm Worker or as a Nursery and Greenhouse Worker.
- Health Professionals: for physicians, nurses and other health care workers who have worked for at least six months in the province.
- Hospitality Sector Project: for food and beverage servers, food counter attendants, kitchen helpers or housekeeping and cleaning staff in Saskatchewan that have been working for at least six months in Saskatchewan.
- Long Haul Truck Driver Project: for workers at an approved trucking firm for at least six months in Saskatchewan.
- Students: for students who have graduated from a post-secondary institution anywhere in Canada, and who has worked in Saskatchewan for at least 24 months.
Entrepreneur and Farm Category
- Entrepreneur Sub-Category: for people who wish to invest in Saskatchewan by establishing, acquiring, or partnering in a business in the province and taking on an active management role in that business.
- Farm Owners and Operators Sub-Category: for experienced farmers with a large capital looking to invest in a farming operation and settle in Saskatchewan.
International Graduate Entrepreneur Category
The International Graduate Entrepreneur Category is for international graduates of eligible post-secondary institutions in Saskatchewan who plan to start a business. If a candidate is approved under this category, they must operate and manage a business in the province for at least a year to be eligible for a provincial nomination for permanent residence.
How does the Saskatchewan PNP work?
The first step in immigrating to Saskatchewan is to identify which stream category and sub-category you would be eligible for. The application procedure varies depending on the category.
In some cases, an immigration candidate would have to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) as a “pre-application”. Based on the answers you give while submitting your EOI, you will be granted a score. Those candidates with the highest scores are invited to apply through the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) website.
For the enhanced sub-category, the Saskatchewan Express Entry system is aligned with the federal government system used to manage permanent residence applications, and it gives each candidate a point based score on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The highest-ranking candidates are invited to apply for permanent residence during Express Entry draws. If you get a nomination from an enhanced provincial program, you automatically get an extra 600 CRS points, which essentially guarantees an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence.
In other cases, like for base streams, an EOI is not required and a candidate may be able to apply directly to IRCC.
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