Nova Scotia Nomination Program (NSNP) is a program which lets the prospective immigrants, who have the required skills and work experience, to get nominated under the following streams:

• Nova Scotia Labour Market Priorities
• Labour Market Priorities for Physicians
• Physician
• Entrepreneur
• International Graduate Entrepreneur
• Skilled Worker
• Occupations in Demand
• Nova Scotia Experience: Express Entry

The application process varies for each stream. Also, the application processing time may take 3 months or more.

Candidates are required to apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for permanent residence visawithin 6 months of receiving the nominee certificate.

However, it is necessary to meet all the requirements for medical, security and criminal admissibility by the candidate and the person immigrating with the candidate.

A candidate may be called for an interview, if required.

The final authority is in hands of CIC to issue a permanent resident visa.

Application Process for Labour Market Priorities Stream:

Following are the steps that can be followed for the application:

Before proceeding further with the application process, a candidate must have the Letter of Interest from NSOI to apply for the Nova Scotia Labour Market Priorities streams.

Also, a candidate is required to apply within 30 calendar days of receiving a Letter of Interest from NSOI.

• Step1: Create an Express Entry Profile

The first step to proceed in the application process is to create the Express Entry profile through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Express Entry website. Once the candidate is done with creating a profile, he/she will receive an Express Entry number. This number will be in constant use during the application process, so it is advisable to keep the number safe.

• Step2: Apply to the Nova Scotia Labour Market Priorities stream

• A candidate is required to apply through online service of the province.
• Attach all the documents listed in the box below. It is important to provide all the documents confirming your eligibility to apply under this stream.
• If a candidate is living under another Canadian province, he/she must explain the reason for leaving the current province and coming to Nova Scotia.

Documents to attach: A copy of Letter of Interest that was sent by NSOIDocuments stating that a candidate meets the required work experience criteria for any of the following Express Entry streams: Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, Canadian Experience Class,A copy of the passport of every person immigrating with the candidate.Documents related to the candidate’s immigration status.Documents related to the candidate’s move to Nova Scotia.   Note: All the documents must be in PDF file, images in the documents must be scanned in colour, size of the document must not be more than 50MB

• Step3:  Final Decision by NSOI (a candidate may get nominated or rejected).

The candidate will receive a letter on express Entry online system if he/she gets nominated and NSOI approves the application.  Such information and the nomination certificate will be shared through mail with the candidate and representative. It is required to accept the nomination within 30 calendar days from the received date. Acceptance must be done through the Express Entry online portal.

It must be noted that the nomination certificate will expire within 6 months from the date it was issued. Candidate needs to apply to IRCC within the same 6 months period to get permanent residence visa.

 However, the application may get rejected if the candidate does not meet the required criteria.

In that case, the candidate as well as the representative will receive an email stating the reason for refusing the application or asking for additional information, if required. The candidate will get 10 business days to submit the information that was asked in the previous mail. The NSOI will assess the new information and will share its final decision through mail with the candidates and the representative.

Also, the limit for 10 days and 6 months for sending the additional information and nomination period respectively can get extended, if requested. But the candidate has to provide evidence for the reason for the needed extension period along with additional documents, if needed. The NSOI does not provide extension after the one year from the original nomination date. After one year, the candidate has to re-apply for this program.

• Step4: Acceptance of nomination by the candidate

If the candidate gets nominated by NSOI, he/she has to accept the nomination within 30 calendar days of receiving it. Acceptance can be done via the Express Entry online system.

• Step5: Apply to IRCC for permanent residence visa.

After the acceptance of nomination in the Express Entry online system, the Candidate will receive an invitation from IRCC to apply for a permanent resident visa

• Step6: Contact NSOI

Once the candidate gets the permanent residence status, he/she should contact NSOI before 30 days of arriving at Nova Scotia.

The candidate will need to share the following documents to the NSOI:

• A copy of the passport
• A copy of the confirmation of permanent residence.
• A copy of the document which includes, candidate’s current address of Nova Scotia, mobile number, and the email address.