New Brunswick introduced a new immigration pilot project for international students. The main objective of this pilot is to provide permanent residency to international students. These students must be graduated from one of the 19 qualified fields of study. This immigration stream will commence on 1 April 2022.
This pilot program is with the partnership with Opportunities NB (ONB) and Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Opportunities NB is a newly launched business company of Brunswick.
Arlene Dun is the minister responsible for ONB, he said,
“ We are glad that we are providing a modern pathway to assist the international students of the New Brunswick. The permanent residency to the international students has become critical due to the exceeding competition of the skilled labors.”
Trevor Holder, the Post-Secondary Education, Training, and Labour Minister said that,
“ Newcomers are critical to solving labor market issues. By offering this additional immigration stream, we are enabling more of our post-secondary institutions to welcome the skilled employees that New Brunswick requires.”
Who can apply for New Brunswick’s New Immigration Pilot?
This is for those students who have got a degree from private colleges in the province. The list of these colleges is as follows:
- Atlantic Business College
- Eastern College
- Mckenzie College
- Oulton College
The field of the study must be among 19 qualified occupations. These includes:
- Social and community service employers,
- Early childhood teachers or assistants,
- Educational assistants,
- Home assistant workers,
- Medical aides,
- Certified nurses,
- Paramedics and occupations related to it,
- Medical laboratory technologist,
- Medical laboratory technician and pathologist’s assistants,
- Computer Programs and Interactive media developers,
- Web designers and developers,
- Computer network technicians,
- User support technician,
- Bookkeepers and accounting technicians,
- Payroll clerks,
- Importer and exporter,
- Supply chain and logistical supervisors,
- Production logistics coordinators.
When to apply?
The submission of the applications for this program will start on April 1, 2022. The students will apply to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
PNP allows the districts and other regions to select the data of those applicants who are eligible according to the financial requirements of the state. There are a lot of PNP streams working specifically for international students.
Eligibility criteria for Canadian Immigration
There are terms and conditions to apply for the pilot project:
- According to the government, for the pilot project, those students will be eligible who have got their degree recently from designated learning institutions. Moreover, such students are not qualified for Federal Post Graduation Work Permit Program.
- Those institutions will be selected in this pilot program who held the designation eligibility status for at least five years.
Details of New Brunswick’s New Immigration Pilot
This modern project is in the line with requirements and rules designed by the business groups and corporations in the country. Recently, an alliance of New Brunswick Organizations set the priorities for the federal election in Canada in near future.
The group including the New Brunswick Business Council, boards of trade, the Saint John Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Canadian manufacturers and exporters, recognized three fields that need first consideration. Furthermore, “Immigration” is one of them.
The group requested the federal government to assign more space for the immigrants. The motive behind this demand is to meet a goal of 10,000 immigrants by 2024. The 30% of them speaking French. They have also demanded to clarify and speed up the overall immigration process, particularly for international students. Moreover, to increase investment in settlement services.
In the upcoming 10 years, the government is hoping for a total of 120,000 New Brunswickers to leave the workforce.
Immigration statistics before the pandemic
Before the COVID-19, the labor force’s progress was due to immigration. In 2019, the state provided permanent residency to 6000 citizens. On the other hand in 2020, due to the travel restrictions and border bannings, the number decreases to 2,407 between January and June. The permanent residency was given to just 1,470 individuals.
Check here for more details about the provincial Nominee programs of Canada.