Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program

This province of Canada was named ‘Newfoundelande’ or New Found Land by the European explorers in the late fifteenth century. The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador is the youngest among Canada’s ten provinces. The province joined the confederation in 1949.

In 2001, the name of the province was changed officially from ‘Newfoundelande’ to Newfoundland and Labrador.

It lies across the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Newfoundland is separated from the Labrador region by the Strait of Belle Isle.

The Labrador’s north and east are the Labrador Sea (the northwestern arm of the Atlantic Ocean). The province of Quebec lies towards the south and west.

Newfoundland and Labrador province consists of 9 different regions. Seven of these regions are located on the Newfoundland island. The mainland of Labrador has the rest of the two regions. These nine regions together make up the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.

Newfoundland and Labrador are located in the most eastern part of North America. The capital city of the province, St John’s, is closer to the coast of Ireland compared to Winnipeg in Manitoba province. The island’s positioning in the Atlantic Ocean has given it strategic importance in transportation, communications, and defense.

The important cities in Newfoundland and Labrador are St John’s, Conception Bay South, Torbay, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Paradise,  Gander, Mount Pearl, and Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, Corner Brook, and Grand Falls-Windsor.

A part of the PNP or Provincial Nominee Program of Canada, Newfoundland, and Labrador has an immigration program of its own. The NLPNP, or Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program, has been designed to include new immigrants into the province.

With the help of an agreement between the IRCC or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the province, it can nominate 1,050 immigrants annually. The allocations are needed to be filled by applicants who fulfill the requirement set by the federal government of Canada for Canada PR or permanent residency.

Newfoundland PNP nominates applicants on the basis of provincial labor requirements and economic needs.

The NLPNP is linked to the Canadian federal Express Entry system. Nomination under the NLPNP’s pathway for Express Entry Skilled Worker fetches a candidate an additional 600 points in their CRS in Comprehensive Ranking System scores. Consequently, an ITA is guaranteed from the IRCC when the next draw is conducted.

The CRS is a 1,200-point matrix. The system is used by IRCC for ranking profiles in Express Entry. The profiles which are ranked high are issued invitations to apply in the draws held by the federal government periodically.

Newfoundland and Labrador are also one of the four provinces – NL, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. The four provinces form Atlantic Canada.

The AIP or Atlantic Immigration Pilot was launched in 2017. It offers a pathway to Canada PR for the international graduates and skilled foreign workers who intend to work and live in any of the provinces of Atlantic Canada.

Although the AIP was launched as a 3-year pilot, it was made permanent in January 2022.

The NLPNP started a new program for Canadian immigration on January 2, 2021. According to the NL PNP, the Priority Skills Newfoundland and Labrador “will attract highly educated, highly skilled newcomers with specialized experience working in sectors such as technology, where a growing demand has outpaced local training and recruitment”.

The program, Priority Skills NL follows the process of EOI or Expression of Interest. Here, the people with the highest scores and the most sought after by Canadian employers are invited to apply for permanent residency.

After receiving the invitation from NLPNP, the candidate needs to submit the application through an online portal. The applicants who meet the eligibility criteria for either the Express Entry Skilled Worker or Skilled Worker category of NLPNP will be issued a nomination letter.

This nomination certificate of NLPNP may be included in the application for Canadian PR.

As per the official publication – The Way Forward on Immigration in Newfoundland and Labrador – “immigration is a key component of economic and labor market growth, and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is committed to doing its part to increase immigration to the province.”

The prospective skilled immigrants have multiple options when selecting a place where they want to work and settle with family in the province.

Newfoundland and Labrador are being considered to be competing as a choice for a destination for many foreign nationals migrating to Canada for a better future.