Please note: the West Kootenay Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot will not be accepting applications until April 2020.
The West Kootenay region (including Nelson, Castlegar, Trail, Rossland and surrounding areas) is one of eleven locations across Canada that will welcome skilled foreign workers through the Government of Canada’s new Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP). Over a three-year period, the RNIP aims to attract immigrants of various skill levels to fill full-time, year-round positions.
The West Kootenay RNIP Committee and staff are working with prospective employers to develop criteria specific to the needs of the West Kootenay region.
Information about the pilot is available on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website here. For information on the West Kootenay pilot, check out our press release.
Employers
Having trouble finding skilled workers? We want to hear from you. Email westkootenay.rnip@futures.bc.ca, with the subject line “Employer”.
Stay Informed
To find out when the West Kootenay begins accepting applications for the Pilot, sign up for our mailing list.
Am I eligible?
We are currently developing the West Kootenay community criteria. Until then, make sure you meet the Federal criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
The pilot encompasses the communities of:
The Pilot will accept a maximum of 100 applicants per year until the end of 2022. We will be working with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in the winter to identify what an appropriate target number would be for the West Kootenay region, keeping in mind job opportunities and the region’s capacity to create a welcoming environment for each newcomer. The pilot is less about hitting a specific target, and more about attracting and retaining people with the skills and abilities needed to contribute to West Kootenay labour market and the desire to put down roots in the community
The pilot will bring in skilled foreign workers to fill jobs that have gone unfilled locally. Examples of industries currently experiencing a worker shortage in the West Kootenay include mining and metallurgy, forestry, manufacturing, health care, transportation, construction, education, and technology. The Pilot allows the community to set its own criteria and select the “best fit” candidates to endorse. The application criteria will be set by a committee of community stakeholders in Winter 2020.
The West Kootenay RNIP will launch in April 2020. We will not accept applications before this time.
The West Kootenay region is currently developing community criteria in conjunction with Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for skilled immigrant worker applicants. It is anticipated that we will be launching in April 2020.
At this time, please visit the IRCC’s Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot webpage for the federal criteria that is required to apply to the pilot. If you do not meet the federal criteria, then you will not be eligible for the program.
Here is a step-by-step guide to the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot: 
Please visit the IRCC’s Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot website for the federal criteria that must be met before applying to a Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot community.
For current job opportunities in the region, visit Indeed.ca or Kootenay Jobs.
Note: the job must be located within this region
The West Kootenay RNIP is not responsible for finding jobs for applicants.
For current job opportunities in the region, visit Indeed.ca or Kootenay Jobs.
Note: the job must be located within this region
Successful applicants can immigrate with their spouse/ commonlaw partner and up to six children.
For more information on the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, please visit the IRCC’s Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot website.
For more information on the West Kootenay program, you can sign up for our newsletter.
If you are interested in hiring staff through this program, you can email us. Be sure to include the subject line “RNIP Employer”.
