Unlocking Permanent Residency in Atlantic Canada
Your Roadmap to Permanent Residency in NS – Nova Scotia Skilled Worker Nomination
If you’ve ever come across a Nova Scotian licence plate, you’ve probably seen the phrase “Canada’s Ocean Playground”. Living by the sea certainly has its charms. However, in addition to the beauty of coastal living and the endless green landscapes, is a vibrant and rich urban life. In the last few years, Halifax has been experiencing growth in both numbers and diversity resulting in an increasingly younger population.
In our following series, we will outline some of the most popular and accessible provincial programs designed to attract stability for newcomers looking to call Nova Scotia home. For a personalized assessment, click here to book in for a consultation.
Nova Scotia Skilled Worker (NSSW)
Like many of our provincial programs, the NSSW program is designed to help employers hire and retain skilled workers and tradespersons.
To qualify, applicants need a full-time and permanent job offer from a registered Nova Scotia employer with at least 2 years of operation. For applicants without the right to work in Canada already, employers must demonstrate they engaged in recruitment activities but were unable to hire Canadian workers.
The Applicant must also demonstrate 1 year, (1,560 hours over 12 months), of related work experience in the last five years. Generally, applicants must have at minimum high school education or the international equivalent and be between the ages of 21 and 55. Work experience is not restricted to Canadian work experience, but it must be well-documented and must be relevant to the job that’s been offered.
This stream considers job offers in TEER 0-5. Applicants for TEER 0-3 jobs need to meet the criteria for a Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) of 5 or higher, putting it in the intermediate range. TEER 4-5 jobs need a CLB of 4, putting it in the basic range. For TEER 4-5 jobs, the applicant must already be living and working for the employer for six months before the nomination application may be filed.
This stream is not available to post-graduate work permit holders with TEER 5 jobs. Self-employed individuals, people working in commission-only based jobs, live-in caregivers, humanitarian and compassionate class applicants, refugee claimants and failed refugee claimants are not eligible to apply. This class is not appropriate for certain classes of investors. For a detailed list of ineligibility criteria, please refer to the guide.
Applicants must show settlement funds that mirror the amounts required in other federal programs which you can find here. These funds can be reduced if the applicant is already living and working in Nova Scotia.
To apply, applicants submit their application to the Nova Scotia Nominee Program online. If approved, applicants will receive a nomination certificate. Successful applicants with a certificate have six months to submit an application for permanent residence which will be processed by IRCC. These applicants also have the option to request a letter from the program to apply for or renew an expiring work permit; this enables applicants to continue working while their PR is processing.
As of April 2024, the program is currently not accepting applications from applicants working in the accommodations and food services sectors.
The NSSW program has to potential to open the door to a diverse range of applicants including those with university degrees and vocational training.
It is important to know that the NSSW program is forward-looking and employer-focused. In that sense, the Applicant MUST remain employed in the job noted in the nomination application throughout the entirety of the processing time. Start to finish, this can take up to two years, so it’s really important you move forward with an employer you trust and with a job that you like. If you change employers, if your hours go below 30/week, or even if you receive a promotion that is substantive enough to change your NOC Code, your application for permanent residence could be refused.
