Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) [R205(a) – C15] - Public policies, special initiatives and pilot projects – International Mobility Program
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
These instructions apply to IRCC employees. Since applicants cannot submit their applications at a port of entry, the instructions do not apply to border services officers.
The instructions on this page should be reviewed in conjunction with the following:
- Employer-specific work permits – General processing – International Mobility Program
- Conditions and validity period on work permits
- Public list of employers who have been non-compliant
The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) is a federal permanent resident program established by ministerial instructions on September 1, 2019. These instructions were amended on September 23, 2022. While this is a permanent resident pilot program, applicants may be eligible to obtain a work permit under the International Mobility Program while awaiting the processing of their permanent residence application.
The department uses specific administrative codes to identify situations where it considers the work of a foreign national to create significant social, cultural or economic benefits or opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents, as described in paragraph 205(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. The factors provided for each code demonstrate how the situation may meet the requirements of paragraph R205(a). Officers must also always be satisfied that all the requirements of section R200 have been met.
C15 is an administrative code created on November 19, 2019. This code is used to describe the work of a foreign national entering or remaining in Canada before the finalization of their permanent residence application through the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot. This work may be considered to create significant economic or social benefits for the community of destination.
On this page
- Eligibility
- Documentary evidence
- Application assessment
- Extensions
- Final decision
- Open work permits for spouses and common-law partners
Eligibility
To be eligible for a work permit as a participant in the RNIP, foreign nationals must:
- have submitted an application for permanent residence as the principal applicant under the RNIP program
- have passed the completeness check on their permanent residence application
- have an eligible offer of employment from an employer in the community
- have a recommendation from a designated economic development organization of a participating community
- have submitted a work permit application online (inside or outside Canada)
- meet the employment requirements as stated in the National Occupation Classification (NOC) of the occupation they are being offered
Important: Foreign nationals and their spouses or common-law partners are not eligible to apply for the RNIP work permit at a port of entry.
Documentary evidence
The applicant must provide evidence that proves they meet the considerations of administrative exemption code C15 and will be able to perform the work being sought, as stated in the LMIA-exempt offer of employment. Further details on assessing the documentary evidence can be found in the section entitled Application assessment.
With the application for a work permit, officers should be satisfied that they have the following documentary evidence to make an assessment:
- an acknowledgement of receipt
- an LMIA-exempt offer of employment submitted in the Employer Portal (or through an alternate submission if it was approved) and proof the employer has paid the employer compliance fee
- This offer of employment should match the Offer of Employment to a Foreign National – Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot [IMM 5984] (PDF, 1.52 MB) submitted with the permanent residence application.
- a recommendation from the designated Economic Development Organization – Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot
- evidence that the applicant meets the employment requirements of the occupation they are being offered according to the NOC, for example, proof of education, experience, any additional training required
Application assessment
The following sections provide detailed explanations of which documents officers should accept as evidence and what they should review.
Acknowledgement of receipt
In order to confirm that the application for permanent residence has been submitted and that it has passed the completeness check, officers should confirm that the following has been received:
- the acknowledgement of receipt letter from the application for permanent residence for the RNIP
Offer of employment for work permit
The employer must submit an offer of employment in the Employer Portal, as per section R209.11, before a work permit application is made.
The information in the offer of employment should match the information provided in the Offer of Employment to a Foreign National – Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot [IMM 5984] (PDF, 1.52 MB) submitted with the permanent residence application.
Note: Officers processing the work permit application can find the information from the IMM 5984 form on the permanent residence application screen, under the Eligibility view tab or the Job offer sub-tab, or the form should be uploaded in eDocs.
Officers should be aware that the NOC code in the IMM 5984 may be under NOC 2016. They should confirm that the code provided in the offer of employment submitted in the Employer Portal is the NOC 2021 code that corresponds to the NOC 2016 provided in the IMM 5984 form.
When assessing the work permit application, officers should review the following fields under the Employment details tab in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) for information provided by the employer:
| Field | Considerations |
|---|---|
| LMIA exemption code and title | The employer is required to select this from a drop-down list of values in the Employer Portal. This code cannot be changed on the offer of employment. Employers should select C15 – Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot participants. |
| Requirements exemptions met | Information in this field should indicate that there is a recommendation from the designated economic development organization of the participating community that indicates that the job offer is genuine, that the NOC category is appropriate and that the foreign worker has submitted their permanent residence application. This should not be a cut and paste from IRCC’s website. If the employer indicates only “See attached”, there should be a document uploaded to GCMS in the Organization and Entities screen tab, under the Offer of employment view tab, Attachments view. |
| NOC and job title | The employer selects the NOC code that aligns with the duties of the job. Note: If the offer of employment was submitted before November 16, 2022, the NOC code will be under NOC 2016. Officers should assess the employment requirements as per NOC 2016. |
| Worker information fields | The passport number and citizenship in the Worker information fields in the Employment details tab must match exactly those in the Clients & Parties tab. |
| Address list | The Address list sub-view provides the physical location of the employment. This location must be located within the boundaries of the community of the designated economic organization. Note: While some duties may sometimes be performed outside the community boundaries, the employment should generally be located within the community. Each application is considered on its own merits with a final decision being based on a review of all the information available to the officer at the time of the decision. |
| Duties | The duties are the activities that the foreign national will be performing. Do they make sense for the occupation and TEER category? Note: Applicants must demonstrate all of the following:
Failure to do so may result in a refusal. |
| Hours of work | The offer must be for non-seasonal, indeterminate employment. |
| Wages | The wages being offered must fall within or exceed the wage range for that particular occupation as set out in the Job Bank of Employment and Social Development Canada.
|
| Other training required | The employer may indicate specialty training as a requirement. |
Designated economic organization recommendation
The recommendation form is the Recommendation from the Designated Economic Development Organization – Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot. This form is issued by the economic development organization in the participating community to persons who have been recommended. The participating community boundaries can be found here:
- Community boundaries – Applications locked in before September 23, 2022 (for applications with NOC 2016)
- Community boundaries – Applications locked in on or after September 23, 2022 (for applications with NOC 2021)
Applicants under the RNIP must include the IMM 0112 form with their work permit application. The applicant can include either a copy of the recommendation form with a handwritten signature or a copy of the electronically signed recommendation form with their application.
The IMM 0112 form is valid for a period of 6 months from the date it is issued. The permanent residence application must be submitted within its validity. The IMM 0112 does not have to be valid when the applicant submits the work permit application, but it must not have been revoked.
The IMM 0112 may be revoked by the economic development organization, or the economic development organization may be removed from the schedule. In those cases, the recommendation is invalid beginning on the day of revocation or removal.
Extensions
Applicants to the RNIP are not eligible for a bridging open work permit because their permanent residence application is tied to a specific job in their designated community.
Applicants who require additional time in Canada while their application for permanent residence is being processed may apply to extend their work permit. If the permanent residence application is refused, the applicant may not extend their work permit.
Final decision
Approval
If an officer is satisfied that the applicant is eligible for this specific category and has met all the other requirements of section R200, then the officer should confirm or enter the following information in these specific fields of the Application screen:
| Field | Selection or input |
|---|---|
| Case type | 52 when the offer of employment was submitted through the Employer Portal and an “A” number exists. 20 only when authorized to submit the IMM 5802 form as noted in the Client notes. |
| Province of destination | Province of the sponsoring community The province of destination entered by the applicant should match the address of employment in the LMIA-exempt offer of employment. This information is under the Employment details – LMIA-exempt tab. |
| City of destination | Name of the designated community The city of destination entered by the applicant should match the address of employment in the LMIA-exempt offer of employment. This information is under the Employment details – LMIA-exempt tab. |
| Exemption code | C15 This administrative code will auto-populate when matched with the offer from the Employer Portal. |
| NOC | The NOC code is auto-populated when matched with the LMIA-exempt offer of employment submitted in the Employer Portal. |
| Intended occupation | Job title This will auto-populate when matched with the offer from the Employer Portal. |
| LMIA/LMIA-exempt # |
“A” number from the work permit application. This number is populated from the work permit application and is used to find a matching offer of employment in the Employer Portal. If the work permit application was submitted on paper, the officer must manually enter the number. |
| Duration |
First permit: 1 year or validity of passport, whichever is first Extensions: 1 year Note: |
Refusals
If an officer is not satisfied that the applicant has met the requirements of section R200, including the assessment under R205(a), have been met, they must record their reasons and outline the rationale for their decision as well as the facts and elements considered. They must also provide an explanation for the decision in a case note.
Refusal reasons should clearly indicate which criteria or what requirement of section R200 was not met, and explain how the officer reached that conclusion. For assistance, officers can follow the steps in Decision making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision.
Example of a decision note: The applicant did not provide a copy of the recommendation form from a designated economic development organization. This form must be provided for the applicant to be eligible for this category. Because the criteria has not been met, I am not satisfied that this applicant’s work would bring the significant benefit of attracting and retaining skilled immigrants to rural and northern communities and ensuring these immigrants are able to work and contribute to their community while transitioning to permanent residence.
Open work permits for spouses and common-law partners
Officers may issue an open work permit to the spouse or common-law partner of a RNIP applicant with a location restriction to the community where the principal applicant works. See [C17] General eligibility for spouses or common-law partners of RNIP participants for further information.
Page details
- Date modified: