Many countries welcome immigrants with specific skills to live and work. They offer visa and residency to fill a particular demand. Countries want to source skills and experience from immigrants that they fall short of in their country.

Countries offer two main paths for these:

• • Firstly, and the most common, is for a local company to sponsor the applicant in the form of a job offer. This means you need to find a vacancy in the company. Then, you’ll have to apply for the role and be offered the position. The offering company will have to provide visa sponsorship.
• • The second visa type does not require a job offer. Once you have a visa, you can live and work in that country without being restricted to your sponsoring company.

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

This program is for workers who

• • have the skills, education and work experience to contribute to the economy of a specific province or territory
• • want to live in that province and
• • want to become permanent residents of Canada

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP), formerly the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program, is an economic immigration program that nominates people for permanent residence in Alberta. Nominees must have skills to fill job shortages or be planning to buy or start a business in Alberta. They must also be able to provide for their families. The program is run by the governments of Alberta and Canada.

If you are nominated through the program, you may apply for permanent residence status together with your spouse or common-law partner, and dependent children.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is the province’s economic immigration program. It works in partnership with the Government of Canada through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Foreign workers, international students and others with the right skills, experience and education apply to the OINP for a nomination.

The OINP recognizes and nominates people for permanent residence who have the skills and experience the Ontario economy needs, and the Government of Canada makes the final decision to approve applications for permanent residence.

Saskatchewan's provincial program has been very successful. Seven out of 10 newcomers to the province immigrated through the SINP. The province also has a high employment rate for newcomers, around 76 percent.

Saskatchewan is a popular destination among newcomers. The Saskatchewan PNP program has a reputation of being an “easy PNP". This may be because of the variety of immigration options it provides immigration candidates.