Provincial Nominee Program

Provinces with PNP programs each have their own selection criteria to find immigrants with skills that the province needs which they cannot hire locally.  The selection criteria and occupations vary across provinces from information technology, medical, agriculture, trades, business, investors, and people who have ties to Canada.

Candidates must first be entered into the Express Entry System with their CRS score (Calculate Here), then apply to a PNP program (which is a separate application).  You will remain in the Express Entry pool for a year, or until you are selected to apply for Permanent Residence.

After the province processes your PNP application (typically 3-4 months), you will be granted 600 points to add to your Express Entry score. With these additional 600 points, you will be selected and invited to apply for PR at the very next draw, which occurs every 2 weeks.

Once a Provincial Nominee Certificate is granted, you receive 600 point that goes towards your Express Entry score.  On average, individuals without a PNP certificate will score between 300 and 500.  The most recent cutoff scores to be selected for Express Entry have been in the 400 - 500 range. Individuals with a PNP Certificate automatically are granted 600 points to add to their Express Entry core of 300-500 points. The PNP certificate would give a final Express Entry score above 900 which is significantly higher than the current cutoff selection score of around 400-500 points.