Processing Provincial Nominee Program base applications: Determining membership in the class

Section 87 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

The requirements to be considered a member of the provincial nominee class (PNC) are found in section 87 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. Amendments to these regulations take effect on March 30, 2026. Membership in the PNC requires that the nomination certificate:

• be issued by a province or territory (PT) under a valid immigration agreement between Canada and the PT
• be under a PNP stream for which selection criteria were approved by the Minister of IRCC
  • Officers can rely on a valid nomination as proof that they are in a Minister-approved stream and that the PTs have assessed the candidate’s ability to be economically established in Canada and their intent to reside in the PT nominating them.

To clarify, section R87 applies to existing inventory (pending applications that have not yet passed eligibility) as well as new intake that follows the effective date of March 30, 2026.

Subsection R87(5) excludes persons from membership in the PNC, if any of the following applies.

The foreign national named in a nomination certificate:

• has been nominated under a passive investment proposal
• intends to participate in or has participated in an immigration-linked investment scheme
• does not meet the exceptions for entrepreneur candidates listed in subsection R87(6)

See Exclusions from membership in the PNC for more information about passive investment and immigration-linked investment schemes.

On this page

• Provincial or territorial nomination: Eligibility
  • Federal assessment: Eligibility
• Admissibility
• Exclusions from membership in the PNC
  • Passive investment
  • Immigration-linked investment scheme

Provincial or territorial assessment and nomination: Eligibility

For all PNP PR applications, PTs are solely responsible for assessing a candidate’s “ability to economically establish” and “intent to reside” as part of their nomination assessment. A valid nomination is evidence that the PT has conducted its definitive assessment that the candidate has demonstrated their intent to reside in the nominating jurisdiction and a strong likelihood of becoming economically established in Canada.

Federal assessment: Eligibility

A valid nomination certificate will serve as evidence of a candidate’s intent to reside and ability to be economically established. IRCC will not assess “intent to reside” or “economic establishment” factors. The officer’s assessment will focus solely on:

• verifying the applicant’s identify
• confirming that a valid nomination certificate is on file (that the certificate was not expired at the time IRCC received the permanent residence application), which is evidence that the nominating PT has determined that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria prescribed in the regulations
  • This can include validating the nomination certificate against the monthly nomination spreadsheet as required
• assessing eligibility for Express Entry PNP cases, as applicable (see Express Entry: Assessing an electronic application on section A11.2)
• the candidate is not excluded from membership in the PNP (see subsection R87(5))

Officers do not have the authority to conduct a separate assessment of ability to be economically established and intent to reside in the PT, or to substitute the PT’s decision on these two criteria for their own assessment.

If officers find adverse information that may affect the nominee’s ability to meet the PNP’s eligibility criteria, they will consult the nominating PT before IRCC issues a decision, as required by the terms of Canada’s immigration agreements with PTs.

PTs have 60 to 90 days (depending on their agreement with Canada) to respond to the procedural fairness letter. Officers must follow the procedural fairness guidelines, which include informing the nominating PT and the client of the concerns. In consulting the PT, officers will confirm if the PT will either revoke the nomination or continue to support it. If the nomination is revoked, IRCC will refuse based on subsection R87(2). If the PT continues to support the nomination and the information does not amount to a finding of inadmissibility, then processing will continue.

Admissibility

To clarify, IRCC is responsible for assessing whether the candidate is admissible to Canada. See Determining admissibility for details.

Exclusions from membership in the PNC

Officers who have reason to believe that an applicant whose nomination was issued after September 2, 2008, was nominated based on a passive investment, should interview the applicant and/or request additional documentation to satisfy subsection R87(5), (6) and (9) requirements.

Passive investment

A passive investment occurs when an individual invests capital in a business or organization without being actively involved in its day-to-day management. Such an investment is prohibited under subsection R87(5). Foreign nationals are not considered members of the provincial nominee class if their nomination was based on the provision of capital or their participation in an immigration-linked investment scheme, unless any of the following apply (subsection R87(6)):

• The capital provided to a business is not made primarily for the purpose of deriving interest, dividends or capital gains
• The foreign national controls, or will control, at least 33 ⅓ percent of the equity in the business, or has made a minimum of $1 million equity investment in the business
• The foreign national will participate actively, on an ongoing basis, in managing the business
• The terms of investment in the business do not include a redemption option

The percentage of equity controlled by both the principal applicant and their spouse or common-law partner may be considered.

Immigration-linked investment scheme

Persons are excluded from membership in the provincial nominee class if they intend to or have participated in an immigration-linked investment scheme as defined in subsection R87(9). The definition includes any strategy or plan where:

• the agreement or arrangement was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring status or privilege under the IRPA
• one of the objectives is to facilitate immigration to Canada
• one of the objectives of the promoters of the strategy or plan is to raise capital.