Earlier this month, Canada introduced a few changes to the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) eligibility criteria. The related announcement was made by Marco Mendicino, the immigration minister of Canada. These changes serve as good news for the immigrants interested in applying for the RNIP program.
Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) Eligibility Criteria Details
According to the new changes, the applicant will no longer require an accumulated work experience stretching over a period of time. Experience of working as a pilot in the last three years before the application will be taken into consideration. However, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) eligibility criteria for having a minimum of one-year experience continue to be mandatory. But the immigration ministry will also take into consideration the applications from those who lost their jobs in between.
This new consideration seems to have been included in the eligibility criteria table after many pilots lost their jobs due to the corona pandemic. Importantly, the new eligibility criteria will be applicable even to those pilots who have applied earlier as well as those who are planning to apply in the days to come.
IRCC To Drop Penalty Against RNIP Applicants Waiting for Decision on PR Status
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have decided to drop penalty charges for processing delays for the RNIP applicants who are waiting for a decision on their PR status so that they can apply for a work permit. The decision, however, is applicable only to those who initiated the process during the pandemic and is a temporary measure.
Although the immigration authorities have eased down the experience eligibility criteria, the other admissibility and program requirement for the RNIP program remains the same for those planning to immigrate to Canada as a pilot. Through RNIP specific rural communities in the country are allowed to come up with their own eligibility criteria and offer permanent resident status to skilled workers that they require for supporting and developing their economy.
The availability of newcomer pilots has helped the country during the pandemic to reach out to remote areas needing help. Mendicino said in his recent press release, “Newcomers have played an outsized role in our hospitals and long-term care homes during the pandemic.” And that can be one reason why Canada has decided to drop the penalty charges against the RNIP applicants and ease related eligibility criteria.