Skilled Worker Overseas Stream for Canadian Immigration Re-launched in Manitoba
On April 30th, 2015, Manitoba officially reopened the Skilled Worker Overseas Stream of its Provincial Nominee Program. The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) enables the province to find skilled workers who wish to settle in Manitoba and who have the qualifications for successful economic integration as Canadian permanent residents.
Under this system, candidates must officially express an interest in immigrating. The MPNP then selects and invites eligible candidates to apply for permanent residency. Skilled Worker Overseas will complement the other main stream of the MPNP: Skilled Worker in Manitoba. There are additional MPNP streams for entrepreneurs and federal Express Entry pool candidates.
The Skilled Worker Overseas Stream facilitates immigration for foreign nationals with a Manitoba connection, such as family, friends, or previous education or employment experience in the province; provided they also meet the other qualifications for eligibility. Certain prospective immigrants who currently work in the province are allowed to apply under the Manitoba Employment portion of the stream, which receives applications during all times of the year. If you are nominated for Canadian immigration via the MPNP and apply successfully for permanent residency, the program will expedite the processing of your application.
Expression of Interest
The stream is intended to expedite processing for immigrants who possess the skills currently needed in the province’s labour market. As a first step toward immigration to Manitoba, interested individuals can submit an “Expression of Interest” to the MPNP. Those who qualify for either the Skilled Worker Overseas or Skilled Worker in Manitoba streams will enter a pool of potential applicants. They will be ranked under a points-based system according to criteria of education, work experience, linguistic proficiency, age, and adaptability. To be eligible to apply to the MPNP, an individual must score a minimum of 60 points. The highest-ranking candidates will receive an invitation to apply during a regular draw from the pool.
The maximum of 10 points for age goes to candidates aged 21 to 45, and awards points to candidates with a proven language proficiency of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 or above. These parameters may benefit candidates who may not be eligible for other Provincial Nominee Programs or a federal economic immigration program.
Under the criterion of adaptability, 20 points are available for being closely related to a Manitoba resident, and 10 points for having a distant relative or a friend in the province. Five additional points are available to candidates who wishing to settle in a region or town outside the provincial capital of Winnipeg.
Manitoba Supporters
To qualify as a Manitoba Supporter, one must be all of the following:
- a Canadian permanent resident or citizen
- a relative (close or distant) or friend of the applicant with the ability to prove their relationship
- supplied with documentation establishing their continuous residence in Manitoba for at least a year
- equipped to prove that any support they provided to previous applicants resulted in their settling successfully and permanently in the province.
For a Manitoba Supporter to qualify as a close relative, they must be related to the applicant or the applicant’s spouse in one of these ways:
- sibling
- parent or grandparent
- nephew or niece
- aunt or uncle
- first cousin
Ineligibilities
- Individuals under the following categories do NOT qualify to apply to the MPNP:
- refugee claimants
- those subject to a federal appeal or removal process
- Live-in Caregivers currently residing in Canada
- Temporary Foreign Workers currently employed and living in another province than Manitoba
- Spouses of Canadian permanent residents or citizens
- those rejected by the MPNP within the previous 6 months for reason(s) they cannot disclose
- those with an active immigration application through any other provincial immigration program in the country.
Approximately 130,000 foreign nationals have successfully immigrated to Manitoba during the past decade.