Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) Program: Examination before granting permanent residence

To become a permanent resident, a foreign national must either request an appointment at a local IRCC office if they are in Canada with valid status, or present their Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) and permanent resident visa counterfoil (if applicable) at a port of entry (POE) to Canada.

Accompanying family members of Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) applicants may only become permanent residents at the same time as or after the principal applicant becomes a permanent resident. In other words, family members of principal applicants cannot become permanent residents before the principal applicant.

A permanent resident visa holder with the RNIP Program seeking permanent resident status at a POE must establish that they still intend to reside in the community that recommended them.

Examination at the port of entry (POE)

Individuals who indicate that they intend to proceed to and reside in the community that recommended them, and who meet the other requirements of the legislation, should be processed for permanent resident status.

Individuals who indicate that they never intended, or no longer intend, to reside in the community that recommended them may be denied permanent resident status at the POE and may have a report under subsection 44(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IPRA) written about them.

In the case of individuals who indicate at the POE that they no longer intend to reside in the community that recommended them, the subsection A44(1) report may be written for non-compliance with subsection 2(1) of the Ministerial Instructions with respect to the Rural and Northern Community Immigration Class.

An additional allegation of misrepresentation, pursuant to paragraph A40(1)(a) and per subsection 2(1) of the Ministerial Instructions, may be included in the A44(1) report for individuals who indicate that they never intended to reside in the community that recommended them, if supported by the information obtained through examination at the POE.

A border services officer (BSO) may also do the following if they are not satisfied that an individual intends to reside in the community that recommended them:

• Offer the individual the option of voluntarily withdrawing their application for permanent residence. If this option is accepted by the applicant, the BSO should seize the COPR document and inform the office that issued the COPR and IRCC NHQ.
• If the applicant does not voluntarily withdraw their application for permanent residence, the BSO may adjourn the examination and authorize the person to enter Canada for the purpose of further examination (A23). Refer the examination for finalization to the appropriate IRCC inland office (Item 202, Canada Border Services Agency Delegation and Designations). The BSO should seize the applicant’s and their family members’ COPR documents and forward them to the appropriate IRCC inland office along with relevant case information (for example, statutory declaration from the individual stating that they do not intend to reside in the community that recommended them, officer’s interview notes).

For more information on inadmissibility and writing A44(1) reports, see ENF 2 / OP 18: Evaluating Inadmissibility and ENF 5: Writing 44(1) Reports (PDF, 417 KB).

Examination at IRCC inland offices

When seeking permanent resident status at a local IRCC office in Canada, applicants must establish that they still intend to reside in the community that recommended them.

When verifying intent to reside in the community, please ensure to refer to the applicable instructions according to the application’s lock-in date, which can be found at:

Under the RNIP program, there is no requirement for IRCC to consult with the community in order to refuse an application; therefore, when a BSO sends the examination to an IRCC inland office for finalization, the IRCC inland office is not required to contact the designated economic development organization of the participating community to render a decision.