Nova Scotia provincial Immigration program
1. Skilled Worker Stream
This stream of Nova Scotia’s provincial immigration program is based on two major considerations, i.e. to help provincial employers to hire and retain economically beneficial foreign skilled workers that are in shortage, and to facilitate the issuance of permanent immigration visa to those foreign skilled workers who have the skills that are compatible with Nova Scotia’s labour market. This is essentially an employer driven stream as the applicant must have confirmed full-time, permanent job offer to be eligible to apply. The subject job offer must be in certain selected types of jobs and occupations. The selectivity of occupations under this provincial immigration program gives a substantial discretionary leverage to the provincial immigration officers as the occupational demand might vary depending upon a change in provincial priorities.
A prospective applicant under the category should meet the following eligibility criteria:
• Full-time permanent job offer in a related field of study from a provincial employer.
• Salary and benefits that are part of the job offer must be according to prevailing rates in the province. Jobs with more than $10 per hour wages or more than $20000 annual salary are given priority.
• Job offer must not contravene any collective bargaining agreement or labour dispute.
• Must intend to settle permanently and has sufficient settlement support in Nova Scotia.
• Must have compatible and transferable qualifications, skills, experience, and should meet the provincial accreditation requirement or have a viable plan to obtain accreditation.
• Must meet certain age, education, experience and language proficiency criteria as determined by the province.
2. Family Business Worker Stream
This category of provincial immigration program helps local employers in hiring foreign workers that have skills that are in shortage, provided such workers are closely related to the Nova Scotian employers in the following capacity:
• Son or daughter
• Brother or sister
• Niece or nephew
• Maternal or Paternal uncles or aunts
• Grandchild
A prospective applicant under the category should meet the following eligibility criteria:
• Full-time permanent job offer in a related field of study from the related Nova Scotia employer.
• Salary and benefits that are part of the job offer must be according to the prevailing rates in the province. Jobs with more than $10 per hour wages or more than $20000 annual salary are given priority.
• Job offer must not contravene any collective bargaining agreement or labour dispute.
• Must intend to settle permanently and has sufficient settlement support in Nova Scotia.
• Must have compatible and transferable qualifications, skills, experience, and should meet the provincial accreditation requirement or have a viable plan to obtain accreditation.
• Must meet certain age, education, experience and language proficiency criteria as determined by the province.
• The family employer must demonstrate that they will provide all out assistance to the skilled worker and family to settle in Nova Scotia.
3. Non-dependent Child of Nova Scotia Nominees
This stream of provincial immigration program is a unique program that facilitates the unification of parents and children by creating an open window for immigration of non-dependent children of the immigrants who obtained permanent immigration visa through Nova Scotia’s provincial immigration program. Besides proving their intention of permanently living in Nova Scotia, the non-dependent children must be employable and economically beneficial with reference to the provincial labour market.
A non-dependent child under this category of provincial immigration program has to meet certain criteria in order to be eligible to apply for permanent immigration visa:
• Must have been named on parents’ permanent residence applications as non-accompanying dependents when they applied for their own permanent immigration visa under Nova Scotia’s provincial immigration program.
• Must meet certain age, education, experience and language proficiency criteria as determined by the province.
• Must have completed a minimum one year of post-secondary education from an accredited institution and have obtained a degree, diploma or certificate.
• The nominating parents must have established their residence in the province within six months of obtaining permanent immigration visa and continue to do so until arrival of the non-dependent child in Nova Scotia.
• The new immigrant parents must have been residents of Nova Scotia for at least three consecutive months immediately prior to submission of application under this provincial immigration program.
4. International Graduate
This employer driven category of provincial immigration program facilitates the issuance of permanent immigration visa to those international graduates who have already been working for the provincial employers for a minimum of consecutive three months and have been offered full-time permanent employment by the same employers. Only certain types of selective occupations are eligible to get the benefit of this permanent immigration visa regime.
Following criteria must be met by an applicant in order to be eligible:
• Must have completed and obtained a certificate, diploma or degree of a minimum duration of 1 academic year as a full time student from provincially-recognized post-secondary institution in Canada.
• Must have a valid work permit.
• The guaranteed job offer must be in the applicant’s relevant field of study and must:
o be for a level which meets the requirements of provincial immigration program regarding type and skill level.
o Salary and benefits that are part of the job offer must be according to the prevailing rates in the province. Jobs with more than $10 per hour wages or more than $20000 annual salary are given priority.
o Job offer must not contravene any collective bargaining agreement or labour dispute.
o Must intend to settle in the province permanently and has sufficient settlement support.
o Must have compatible and transferable qualifications, skills, experience, and should meet the provincial accreditation requirement or have a viable plan to obtain accreditation.
o Must have adequate compensation, sufficient to retain the worker in Nova Scotia.
o Have the qualifications, training, skills, and accreditation required for the job or a suitable plan to obtain the necessary training and skills. Must meet certain age, education, experience and language proficiency criteria as determined by the province.
5. Community Identified Stream
This special category benefits those prospective applicants who don’t qualify under any other category of provincial immigration program for permanent immigration visa. In order to apply under this program, the applicant must be identified through a letter from any of the listed provincial community organizations that have been mandated by the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration specifically for the purpose of this category. But such identified applicants must have longstanding ties with a Nova Scotia community and should be beneficially employable in the province.
The applicants must meet the prescribed eligible criteria in order to apply for permanent immigration visa under this stream of provincial immigration program:
• Want to settle in the identifying Nova Scotia community.
• Have adequate settlement support in the province.
• Must have compatible training and experience for employment in the area required by the identifying community.
• Must meet certain age, education, experience and language proficiency criteria as determined by the province.