Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot: Altona — Rhineland, Manitoba

The town of Altona and the surrounding municipality of Rhineland, located in the province of Manitoba, 100 km from Winnipeg, accept applications from immigration candidates under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot.

Photo: Jimmy Emerson, DVM / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is a program for foreigners who wish to live and work in small and remote communities of Canada. Among the communities participating in the program are the town of Altona and the municipality of Rhineland in Manitoba.

Participants in this pilot program must meet both federal requirements and community-specific criteria.

According to Altona — Rhineland requirements, applicants need to create and register an online profile on a platform managed by the local economic development corporation SEED.

The platform allows users to find job vacancies and respond to those that match their skills. One can set up automatic alerts that will notify of new job vacancies. Users can also upload their CVs that will be reviewed by SEED specialists and sent to local employers.

Altona — Rhineland uses a point system to select candidates. Applicants must score as many points as possible, based on the following requirements (it is not necessary to meet all the criteria at the same time):

  • the candidate has received a job offer in the agriculture, construction, food industry or financial services (one can get more points for a job offer in agriculture);
  • a job offer relates to an occupation categorized as NOC skill levels A, B or C (a NOC A or B occupation will get more points);
  • a job offer has been received from an employer who has been operating within the boundaries of the town of Altona or the municipality of Rhineland for at least 10 years or runs a business that has invested in this area at least C$250 thousand;
  • the employer will provide the candidate a workplace mentor for at least 6 months;
  • the candidate has a driver’s licence obtained in their home country;
  • for at least 6 months, a candidate aged 18 years or older lived in a place with a population of 10 thousand or less, located an hour’s drive from a major city;
  • the candidate has a relative or friend who is a citizen or permanent resident of Canada who has lived at least 2 years in Alton — Rhineland;
  • before submitting the application, the candidate spent at least a week in Alton — Rhineland;
  • the candidate is between 25 and 38 years old;
  • the candidate has a spouse or common-law partner with work experience or education in one of the following areas: agriculture, construction, education, financial services, food processing, health care, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, social services, technology, trade, transportation. 

Candidates wishing to get extra points for a family member or friend in Alton — Rhineland must submit a letter with the name, surname, and contact information of the family member or friend.

Candidates wishing to get points for work experience of a spouse or partner must provide a resume with a detailed description of past work experience, including the name of the employer, position and main responsibilities, dates and contact information of someone who could confirm the work experience.

Those who wish to get extra points for the education of a spouse or partner must provide a copy of educational credentials.

A list of job vacancies can be found on the Altona — Rhineland website.