Sault Ste Marie, Ontario and Altona — Rhineland, Manitoba are starting to accept applications from immigration candidates under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot.
With the full launch, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) will allow employers to recruit eligible foreign workers in 11 locations across the Canadian provinces.
Applicants who receive a recommendation from a participating community will be able to apply for permanent residence with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The first local sites dedicated to the pilot program were launched on November 15 in the following communities:
Sault Ste Marie and Altona — Rhineland currently accept applications from candidates with a full-time job offer from a local employer.
Thunder Bay only accepts inquiries from local employers who would like to participate in the pilot project. They will be able to post job vacancies on the local website from December 1, 2019. Thunder Bay will start accepting applications from immigration candidates on January 2, 2020.
According to IRCC, other communities participating in the program will launch their websites in the near future.
Each of the 11 communities participating in the pilot program will welcome an average of 100 main applicants and their family members each year. The exact number will vary depending on the community. In total, up to 2,750 people will be able to participate in the pilot program annually.