Immigrate through the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot: Who can apply
There are 3 sets of eligibility requirements you must meet to apply for the EMPP.
1. You must be a refugee or displaced person
To prove this, you must have one of these documents
- a positive Refugee Status Determination (RSD) from the UN Refugee Agency or a refugee-hosting state
- proof you’re registered or recorded as a person of concern by the UN Refugee Agency
- a refugee certificate from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine in the Near East (UNRWA)
- proof of being registered or recorded as a person of concern with UNRWA
- proof you have temporary protected status and a copy of the completed durable solution information form (IMM 0195)
- If you apply with a temporary protected status document, an officer will need to assess your case and decide if you don’t have a durable solution.
If you don’t have any of the above documents, one of our trusted partners can
- assess your eligibility as a refugee or displaced person and
- issue you a referral letter, if they find you meet the criteria
You must be living outside Canada when you apply to the EMPP.
2. You must meet the criteria depending on how you’ll apply
Apply based on your work experience, education and language skills (the Federal EMPP)
You’ll apply under 1 of these streams
- job offer stream
- no job offer stream (capped at 150 applications a year)
Job offer stream
There are a few things you need to qualify for the job offer stream.
Job offer
You must have a job offer that is
- full time (at least 30 hours of work over a period of one week)
- non-seasonal
- from a Canadian employer
- for a job listed in TEER Categories 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the National Occupation Classification
Work experience
Your work experience must
- be at least 1 year of full-time, paid work experience (1,560 hours), or an equal amount of part-time work
- be over any period of time
- be within TEER category 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5
- can include periods when you were self-employed
Education
Your training, education, experience and responsibilities must align with the TEER category of the job offer.
| Job offer category | Requirements |
|---|---|
| TEER 0 or TEER 5 | You don’t need to meet specific education requirements, but must show your ability to perform the job duties. |
| TEER 1 | You must have
|
| TEER 2 | You must have either
|
| TEER 3 | You must have either
|
| TEER 4 | You must have either
|
Language skills
You must
- prove your official language skills using an approved language test in English or French
- have the minimum score for your job’s TEER category
- job offers in TEER Category 0, 1, 2 or 3: Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB)/Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) 5
- job offers in TEER Category 4 or 5: CLB/NCLC 4
Your test results must be less than 2 years old when you apply.
No job offer stream
There are a few things you need to qualify for the no job offer stream.
Work experience
You must have work experience that
- equals at least 1 year of full-time, paid work experience (1,560 hours), or an equal amount in part-time work
- you gained over the last 3 years before the date we get your application
- is in TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 of the National Occupational Classification
- does not include any period where you were self-employed
Education
You must have either a
- Canadian secondary school credential, or
- foreign degree, diploma or certificate with an Educational Credential Assessment issued no more than 5 years from the date we get your application
Language skills
You must
- prove your official language skills using an approved language test in English or French
- get a minimum score of at least CLB/NCLC 7 in each of the 4 language abilities
Settlement funds
You must prove you have enough money to support yourself and your family in Canada.
This amount depends on your family size. It can include
- grants, gifts and community donations
- household income that you, your spouse or partner and any dependants earn
Apply through an economic immigration program (the regional EMPP)
You must be eligible for 1 of these economic immigration programs:
- Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
- Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
- Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) no longer accepting new applications
To qualify for 1 of these, you must have:
- English or French skills
- education or job training, and work experience
- a job offer from a Canadian employer for full-time work
If you want to apply for AIP or RNIP
As part of the EMPP, you don’t need to meet some eligibility requirements for these programs:
- You don’t need to prove you worked the number of hours asked for in the timeframes listed. Instead, you only need to show you worked the same number of hours in general, before you apply.
- You can apply for a loan to meet the requirement of having enough money to support yourself and your family when you come to Canada (your settlement funds).
- You don’t need to get an education credential assessment.
These exemptions do not apply to PNP. The province or territory decides the requirements for this program.
If you need a loan for your settlement funds
If you’re applying for an economic immigration program through the regional EMPP, you may be able to get a loan to cover your settlement funds.
We’ve partnered with Windmill Microlending to offer low-interest microloans to eligible EMPP candidates who
- have a job offer and
- don’t have the minimum funds needed to meet their immigration program financial eligibility requirements
Find out how to apply for this loan.
You can’t use the Immigration Loans Program to cover your proof of settlement funds.
3. Admissibility
You must be admissible to Canada.
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