Nova Scotia Provincial Nominee Program

Vancouver Island, British Columbia, CanadaThe Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) is designed to help Nova Scotia employers fill critical skill shortages and to create economic benefit in Nova Scotia.

Skilled Worker Stream

Family Business Worker Stream

Community Identified Stream

Economic Stream

International Graduate Stream

Skilled Worker Stream:

The NSNP Skilled Worker stream helps employers hire workers whose skills may be in limited supply in the province. Often, employers are unable to find Canadian citizens or permanent residents with the needed skills. The stream helps employers recruit and retain immigrant workers with the required skills for these positions.

This stream is employer driven. The Skilled Worker must have a guaranteed, full-time, permanent job offer in Nova Scotia from an employer before submitting an application to the NSNP. The NSNP will only consider certain types of jobs and occupations to approve for nomination. Applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Provincial priorities may change as skill shortages are identified or met by permanent residents or Canadian citizens. Priority will be given to Skilled Workers whose employers:

have made a genuine effort to recruit qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents

can demonstrate that they will provide additional supports to assist newcomers with their settlement needs

have an acceptable strategy to recruit and retain immigrant workers in Nova Scotia

To be eligible to apply to this category, the Skilled Worker must:

have legal status in his/her country of residence

wish to settle permanently in Nova Scotia

have sufficient settlement supports

have a permanent, full-time job offer in Nova Scotia from an established Nova Scotia business.

The job offer must provide compensation in the form of a salary and benefits package that meets provincial employment standards and prevailing wage rates

Priority will be awarded to positions with minimum salary in excess of $10.00/hour or a minimum annual wage in excess of $20,000 Canadian dollars

be sufficient to retain the Skilled Worker in Nova Scotia and does not contravene existing bargaining unit agreements or any employment disputes

have the qualifications, training or transferable skills, work experience, and licensing or accreditation required for the job or a suitable plan to obtain the necessary

meet the minimum criteria for age, education, work experience, and language ability requirements for this stream

Family Business Worker Stream:

The Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) Family Business Worker stream helps employers in hiring workers who are close relatives and also have the required skills for positions that they may have been unable to fill with a permanent resident or Canadian citizen. This stream is employer-driven. The worker must have a guaranteed, permanent job offer in Nova Scotia from an employer who is a close relative and who owns an established business in Nova Scotia.

The worker must be related to the family business owner(or his/her spouse, common-law or conjugal partner) in one of the following ways. The worker is the business owner’s:

Son or daughter

Brother or sister

Niece or nephew (children of brothers or sisters)

Uncle or aunt (parents’ brothers or sisters)

Grandchild (* or a step- or half- relative of the same degree)

To be eligible to apply to this category, the Worker must:

Have legal status in his/her country of residence

Wish to settle permanently in Nova Scotia

Have sufficient settlement supports

Have a permanent, full-time job offer in Nova Scotia from an established Nova Scotia business which belongs to a close family member.

The job offer must provide compensation in the form of salary and benefits package that meets provincial employment standards and prevailing wage rates

priority will be awarded to positions with minimum salary in excess of $10.00/hour or a minimum annual wage in excess of $20,000 Canadian dollars

be sufficient to retain the worker in Nova Scotia and does not contravene existing bargaining unit agreements or any employment disputes

Have the qualifications, training or transferable skills, work experience, and licensing or accreditation required for the job or have a suitable plan.

Meet the minimum criteria for age, education, work experience, and language ability requirements for this stream.

Priority will be given to workers whose family employer can demonstrate that they will provide additional supports to assist the Worker and accompanying dependents with their settlement needs.

Community Identified Stream:

The Community Identified stream of the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) is aimed at selecting individuals who have long established connections to a Nova Scotia community, wish to live there permanently, and are employable and can contribute to the labour market and economy of that specific community. This stream is community-driven. The applicant must have a Letter of Identification from an organization mandated by the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration before submitting an application to the Nova Scotia Nominee Program. The list of mandated organizations is found in Appendix 3 of the NSNP Community Identified Application Guide posted below.

Applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

There is no application fee to apply to the NSNP Community Identified Stream.

To be eligible to apply to this category, the Community Identified candidate must:

not be eligible for any other NSNP streams

have legal status in his/her country of residence

have a Letter of Identification from a mandated community organization

have long established connections in the specific community which provided the Letter of Identification

wish to settle permanently in that Nova Scotian community

have sufficient settlement supports

be employable i.e. have skills, training and work experience for future employment in a field or sector required by that community

meet the minimum criteria for age, education and language ability requirements for this stream

Economic Stream:

Experienced business managers or business owners who are between the age of 25 and 60 with basic language proficiency in English or English & French with a grade 12 equivalent education (13 years of school) can apply for NSNP. The applicants should have owned (wholly or in partnership) and operated a business or they should have at least two years (in the last five years) of management experience. The applicants must have at least $300,000(CAD) and need to make a non-refundable economic contribution of $128,800(CAD) that is refundable if the applicant is refused. The applicants are required to make an exploratory visit to Nova Scotia for at least five business days. Once the applicant settles in Nova Scotia as a permanent resident (landed immigrant), they can select a company where they will be performing a six-month middle management contract with a salary of $20,000(CAD). Many economic nominees use the NSNP as a stepping stone to establish their own business while others prefer to find employment in an existing company.

International Graduate Stream:

The International Graduate stream helps employers hire and retain recent international graduates whose skills may be in limited supply in the province. This stream targets international graduates who have established strong ties to Nova Scotia and intend to live, work, and establish their careers in this province.

This stream is employer-driven. The International Graduate must have a guaranteed, full-time, permanent job offer in his/her field of study from a Nova Scotia employer before submitting an application to the NSNP.

The NSNP does not have a specific occupation or skill shortage list. However, the NSNP will only consider certain types of jobs and occupations to approve for nomination.

Applications are assessed on a case by case basis. Provincial priorities may change as skill shortages are identified or met by permanent residents or Canadian citizens.

Priority will be given to International Graduates whose employers can demonstrate that they will provide additional supports to assist newcomers with their settlement needs.

To be eligible to apply to this stream, the International Graduate must:

have graduated within the last two years from a program of at least one academic year of full-time study in Nova Scotia and have received a certificate, diploma, or degree from a recognized Nova Scotia post-secondary institution

have legal status in Canada on a temporary work permit

have a permanent, full-time job offer from an employer in Nova Scotia in his/her field of study and at an acceptable level and have been working for at least three months in this position. The job offer must:

be for a position which meets NSNP requirements with respect to type of job, and have relatively high education and skill levels

have compensation in the form of salary and benefits package that meets provincial employment standards and prevailing wage rates

have compensation which is sufficient to retain the worker in Nova Scotia

not contravene existing bargaining unit agreements or any employment disputes

Note : Priority will be awarded to positions with minimum salary in excess of $10.00/hour or a minimum annual wage in excess of $20,000 Canadian dollars.

have the qualifications, training or skills, and accreditation required for the job or a suitable plan to obtain the necessary

can demonstrate intention and ability to settle permanently in Nova Scotia

have sufficient settlement supports

meet the minimum criteria for age, education, work experience, and language ability requirements for this stream.