The West Kootenay region, including the towns of Trail, Castlegar, Rossland and Nelson, has launched its application process for candidates and employers through the Rural & Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP).
The British Columbia region has minimal community criteria, focusing on language ability, intention to live in the region and wages offered.
These requirements are on top of federal requirements, which cover work experience, education and available settlement funds.
West Kootenay has also published an extensive points grid through which applicants will receive a score up to a maximum of 100, with the highest-scoring candidates selected for nomination.
The criteria, for both principal candidate and spouse/common-law partner, include family connections, time spent in West Kootenay, West Kootenay work experience, job offer, age, driver’s license, language ability.
“The region will utilize this program to continue to strengthen our local economy and support the development of our workforce,” says a statement on the West Kootenay RNIP website.
West Kootenay is one of nine communities that have now launched their RNIP application processes.
The others are Sudbury, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay in Ontario, Claresholm in Alberta, Brandon and Altona/Rhineland in Manitoba, plus Vernon in British Columbia.
West Kootenay RNIP Employer Criteria
To qualify for the West Kootenay RNIP, the employer must:- Be based in West Kootenay and be eligible to issue genuine job offers.
- Attest to efforts made to recruit a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.
- Have operated in the West Kootenays for a minimum of two years, OR have made a business investment of at least $200,000 in the West Kootenay region.
- Not be in violation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) and/or provincial employment standards.
- Not request or accept any form of payment in exchange for providing a job offer.
- Wage offered in your offer of employment must meet or exceed $22/hour and must be above or within the range of wages for the occupation. Candidates who are currently working and/or residing in the West Kootenay region for the last 6 months will be exempt from the community-specific wage criteria of $22/hour if their wage/job offer is between $17/hour and $21.99/hour.
West Kootenay RNIP Community Candidate Criteria
- The candidate must meet the federal eligibility criteria.
- Candidates must intend to live in West Kootenay.
- Candidates must have a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 4 or higher, in English or French.
- The wage offered must meet or exceed $22/hour and must be above or within the range of wages for that particular occupation. Candidates who are currently working, studying, and/or residing for at least the last 6 months in the community will be exempt from the community-specific wage criteria of $22/hour if their wage/job offer is between $17/hour and $21.99/hour.
- Only applicants who have completed a Candidate profile on the West Kootenay website are eligible.
1) Family / Friend in the West Kootenay Region The candidate or, if applicable, the candidate’s spouse/common-law partner has an existing personal connection to a permanent resident of Canada or a Canadian citizen who has been living in the West Kootenay region for a minimum of 1 year. The connection will need to provide written confirmation of their intent to assist the candidate with settling in to the West Kootenay. The connection must be currently living in the West Kootenay. All connections must live in separate households | Points |
a. Close family connection Parents, siblings, or children of candidate or spouse/common-law partner of candidate. Each individual confirmed connection receives points. (maximum 2 connections; maximum 8 points) | 4 |
b. Medium family connection Grandparent, aunt, uncle of candidate or spouse/common-law partner of candidate. Each individual confirmed connection receives points. (maximum 2 connections; maximum 4 points) | 2 |
c. Cousin, niece, nephew or friend of candidate or spouse/common-law partner of candidate. Must be 22 years or older. Friends must have no relation through blood, adoption or marriage. (maximum 1 connection; maximum 2 points) | 2 |
2. Living in and previous travel to the West Kootenay Region Candidates will be asked for proof that they reside in the region. The committee may ask for proof of residence and travel (tickets, hotel stays or other documents) * Points from a and b may not be combined | Points |
a. The candidate resides in the West Kootenay and, at the time of application, has been living there for a minimum of 6 months. | 15 |
| b. If the candidate does NOT live in the region and they have previously spent one (1) continuous week or more in the West Kootenay region. | 5 |
| 3. Work in the region | Points |
| The candidate has had a previous job (in the 3 years prior to application date), or currently has a job with a business in the West Kootenay and has been working in that position for at least one continuous 6-month period. | 10 |
| 4. Wage and NOC category of job offer | Points |
a. A job offer with a wage which exceeds the minimum of $22.00 per hour will receive one (1) point for every additional $2.00 per hour. $52.00 / hour or higher will receive maximum points. (maximum 15 points) | Up to 15 |
| b. A job offer in NOC O, A or B | 10 |
c. Candidates will receive one (1) point for every two years of work experience in the NOC code of the job being offered. 20 years’ experience will receive 10 points. (maximum 10 points) | Up to 10 |
| 5. Candidate’s age on the date the application is received | Points |
| 22 to 28 years | 5 |
| 29 to 40 years | 8 |
| 41 to 50 years | 6 |
| 51 years and older | 2 |
| 6. Driver’s licence | Points |
| a. Candidate has a Canadian driver’s licence | 3 |
| b. In the absence of a Canadian driver’s license, the candidate holds a valid driver’s license from another country. | 2 |
| 7. Demonstration of proficiency in English and French | Points |
| Candidate demonstrated language ability by obtaining at least a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) and Niveaux de Compétence Linguistique Canadiens (NCLC) level 4 across all skills in both official languages. | 4 |
| 8. Candidate’s spouse / common-law partner | Points |
| a. The candidate’s spouse/common-law partner is authorized to work and has been working in West Kootenay for a minimum of 6 months at the time of application. | 4 |
| b. The candidate’s spouse/common-law partner is not currently working in West Kootenay, but has a valid job offer in the region. | 3 |
| c. The candidate’s spouse/common-law partner is living, or has lived in the West Kootenay region for a minimum of 1 year in the last 5 years. | 3 |
| d. The candidate’s spouse/common-law partner has language proficiency in English or French that exceed CLB or NCLC level four (4) in all categories, as demonstrated by language test results. | 2 |
| e. The candidate’s spouse/common-law partner has submitted language test results demonstrating a CLB and NCLC level four (4) or higher in both official languages. | 1 |
| f. The candidate’s spouse/common-law partner has a Canadian driver’s license. | 3 |
| g. In the absence of a Canadian driver’s licence, the candidate’s spouse/common-law partner holds a valid driver’s license from another country. | 2 |
| Total maximum points | 100 |
