Canada has successfully started a new immigration program through its province Saskatchewan. The province launched this program on March 7, 2022. The new program has been named “Tech Talent Pathway. The new stream will be dealt with under the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) to attract tech workers to the province. Saskatchewan badly needs tech workers for some specific fields. The program will help candidates get PR of Canada. This new stream will make the immigration process easier and faster for technicians already working in Saskatchewan, as well as those recruited from outside of Canada.
The federal government, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sets the number of nominations that SINP can make each year.
Eligible occupations
Interested candidates can apply for the Saskatchewan Tech Talent Pathway if they have a job offer in one of the following occupations:
- 2283 Information systems testing technicians
- 0213 Computer and information systems managers
- 2173 Software engineers and designers
- 2147 Computer engineers (excluding software engineers and designers)
- 2171 Information systems analysts and consultants
- 2133 Electrical and electronics engineers
- 2172 Database analysts and data administrators
- 2174 Computer programmers and interactive media developers
- 2175 Web designer and developer
- 2281 Computer network technicians
- 2282 user support technicians
Who can apply for the program?
To be eligible, candidates for the Tech Talent Pathway must have:
- At least one year of professional experience in this profession within the last five years; Or work six months in Saskatchewan;
- Letter of acceptance of employment SINP specific to the employer for the qualified occupation of the technological sector;
- Minimum official language level of Level 5 of the Canadian Language Benchmark (NCLC) if the candidate does not work in Saskatchewan at the time of the application or Level 7 of the CLB when applying for express entry;
- Post-secondary education;
- Be eligible for the Saskatchewan Professional License (applies to qualified computer, software, electrical and electronic engineers).
Additional eligibility criteria
If you live outside of Canada or have legal status in Canada and are not a refugee claimant, you may be eligible for the program.
To qualify, you need a full-time qualified permanent job offer in technology or innovation in Saskatchewan, whether or not you applied as an Express Entry candidate. You need a valid SINP work permit to prove your intent to work and live in Saskatchewan.
If you are applying from Saskatchewan, you must be currently working in the province and have worked full-time for at least six months for an employer offering you qualified employment. According to the government, full-time is at least 30 hours per week.
If you have not worked full-time for at least six months for your associated employer, you must have at least one year of work experience in your occupation within the last five years.
If you are applying from other provinces in Canada or outside of Canada, you need one year of relevant work experience in the profession you are considering within the last five years.
For language requirements, currently employed persons must meet the language requirements established by their employer. If you are not currently working for an employer offering employment, your language proficiency level must be CLB 5 or higher in English or French.
In addition, you need post-secondary education related to the job offered to you, which can be a master’s or bachelor’s degree; Or a three-year degree from a university or college; Or a required two-year degree from a university, college, trade, or technical school, or other post-secondary institution.