Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP): Admissibility and making a final decision

Determining admissibility

Once the office has determined that an applicant is a member of the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) Program as established under section 14.1 of Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the principal applicant and their family members, whether accompanying or not, must complete medical examinations and pass criminal and security checks.

For detailed information about determining admissibility, refer to ENF 2 / OP 18: Evaluating Inadmissibility.

Approving the application

Applicant in Canada

If an officer approves an application from a temporary resident in Canada who is a member of a program referred to in paragraph 70(2)(a) or (b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), they will

• confirm in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) that the applicant and all their family members have satisfied all statutory requirements and have valid clearances
• place the Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) [IMM 5688] in the queue of the closest IRCC inland office for the principal applicant and family members in Canada to be scheduled for landing
• indicate this office as a secondary office in GCMS
• issue an approval letter to the principal applicant informing them that the processing of their application is now complete and that IRCC will be in contact to arrange a landing appointment
• show the final disposition on the RNIP file as “Approved”

The remainder of the process is completed by an IRCC inland officer, who does the following:

• prints the COPR [IMM 5688] and requests that the principal applicant and their family members in Canada appear for a landing interview
• grants permanent residence to the principal applicant and family members in Canada
• if the principal applicant has family members overseas,
  • informs the responsible visa office that permanent residence has been granted to the principal applicant so that the visa office may issue permanent resident visas to overseas family members being processed concurrently
  • sends instructions to the principal applicant on how their family members must send their passports to the appropriate visa office

Applicant outside of Canada

For applicants who are living outside of Canada,

• indicate the applicable visa office as a secondary office in GCMS
• send the ready for visa letter for the country in which they reside so that the principal applicant or family members abroad can submit their passports to the closest mission for visa issuance

The remainder of the process is completed at the visa office, which does the following, when applicable:

• confirms that the right of permanent residence fee (RPRF) has been paid by the principal applicant and all accompanying family members
• confirms that all medical and criminality checks as well as travel documents are still valid and will remain valid long enough for the applicant(s) to be admitted to Canada
• if any of the above cannot be confirmed, refers the application back to the processing office for review
• issues COPRs and visa counterfoils to the applicant’s address outside of Canada

A permanent resident visa counterfoil must not be issued to applicants whose passport was issued by a visa-exempt country identified in paragraphs R190(1)(a) or (b) or 190(2)(b) – (f), or subsection R190(2.1). However, officers may request to see the applicant’s original passport in these cases.

Approved applicants must present their COPR and permanent resident visa counterfoil (if applicable) to an officer at a Canadian port of entry [R71.1(1)].

Refusing the application

When a case is refused, the processing officer does the following:

• sends a refusal letter to the principal applicant explaining the reason for the refusal. The refusal letter must:
  • inform the applicant of the immigration program in which their application was considered
  • explain to the applicant why their application in that program has been refused
  • inform applicants who have paid the RPRF that they are entitled to a refund and provide an approximate timeframe for its receipt
• if the applicant is in Canada and is refused for inadmissibility,
  • takes appropriate action(s), depending on the inadmissibility (for example, refers to the IRCC inland office to write a subsection A44(1) report, which could lead to an admissibility hearing or a removal order)
  • consults chapters ENF 1: Inadmissibility (PDF, 621 KB), ENF 2 / OP 18: Evaluating Inadmissibility, ENF 3: Admissibility, Hearings and Detention Review Proceedings (PDF, 629 KB) and ENF 5: Writing 44(1) Reports (PDF, 417 KB) for more information on inadmissibility and the actions to be taken
• shows the final disposition on the RNIP file as “Refused”

Unauthorized work experience

While participating communities do not consider unauthorized work experience in Canada as qualifying for community recommendation under the RNIP, it is possible that a person who has worked in Canada without authorization could be recommended by a designated economic development organization of a participating community. Despite being issued a community recommendation [IMM 0112], a person who has worked in Canada without authorization has failed to comply with subsection A30(1), and on that basis could be found inadmissible under section A41. For more details on inadmissibility for non-compliance, see ENF 2 / OP 18: Evaluating Inadmissibility.