Nova Scotia Skilled Worker

The guide below takes a deep look into one of the streams of Nova Scotia’s Provincial Nominee Program (NSNP), the Skilled Worker (SW) stream. The guide will go through an overview of the stream, its eligibility requirements, how it works, the documentation needed, its cost and processing times.

NS Skilled Worker – Overview

The Skilled Worker (SW) stream is one of Nova Scotia’s PNP streams that targets candidates that have a job offer.

When receiving a nomination under the SW stream, candidates can then apply for Permanent Residence to the federal government of Canada.

This stream is not aligned with Express Entry, which means that candidates cannot take advantage of the 6-month average processing times of Express Entry. Processing times of Provincial Nominee Programs (not aligned with Express Entry) are usually longer and take at least 1 year.

The SW stream does require the candidate to hold a valid job offer as its main eligibility requirement. There are other requirements that must be fulfilled regarding the candidate, the employer, and the job offer.

NS Skilled Worker – Eligibility

As of April 17, 2024, the NSNP has paused accepting applications the Accommodation and Food Services sector due to a significant volume of applications awaiting a decision.

There are 7 main categories of eligibility requirements that we will summarize below. You can apply to the Skilled Worker (SW) stream if you, your employer, and your job offer satisfy to all the requirements below (remember that for each requirement, you will have to provide supporting documents).

Job offer

To be eligible to apply to the SW stream, you must have a permanent (with no end date), full-time (at least 30h/week) job offer that is located in Nova Scotia with a Nova Scotia employer. The job offer must also:

• have compensation in the form of salary that meets provincial employment standards and the provincial wage range
• be for a position which has a shortage of qualified permanent residents or Canadian citizens to fill the position, and
• not contravene any existing bargaining unit agreements, labour agreements/standards or be involved in any employment disputes.

Work experience

You must have previous work experience of at least 12 months (1,560 hours) within the last 5 years related to the position and skills for the job. Volunteer work and unpaid internships are not eligible.
For NOC TEER Category 4 or 5 jobs, you must have at least 6 months of work experience with the Nova Scotia employer supporting the application. In addition, the employer must demonstrate strong support such as contribution to the immigration fees, housing supports, language training, and career training plans

Education and training

You must demonstrate that you have completed at least secondary (high school) education. You must also have the appropriate training, skills, and/or accreditation required for the job.

For occupations requiring licensing or certification, you must meet licensing or certification requirements in Nova Scotia before applying to the stream.

There is no need to provide an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for non-Canadian education credentials.

Language

If your job offer is in an NOC TEER Category 0, 1, 2 or 3 and your first language is not English or French, you must provide written evidence or explanation that clearly shows that you meet the criteria listed in the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) for at least CLB5 level. Your abilities are verified by one or more of the following:

• Educational transcripts or other documentation indicating English or French as the principal language of instruction or communication,
• Employment history and references with English or French as the principal language of communication, and/or
• Internationally recognized test results to prove a CLB5 level.

If your job offer is in an NOC TEER Category 4 or 5, you must take an approved language test, and demonstrate you have a minimum CLB4 level for each language skill, either in French or in English .

Immigration status

In order to apply to the SW stream, you must have legal status in your current country of residence.

If you are in Canada on a Study Permit or Work Permit, it must be valid at the time of application.

Settlement requirements

You must show that you have a genuine intention to settle in Nova Scotia. You must provide a detailed explanation of why you choose to settle permanently in Nova Scotia and what you feel Nova Scotia can offer to you and your family. Your explanation can include details such as your plans for accommodation/housing, transportation, employment/job, schools or child care, language training plans, and integration into community.

You must show that you have sufficient funds to successfully establish yourself and your family in Nova Scotia. The NSNP will not approve your application if it appears likely that your family income (based on your job offer and any spousal income) will be below Statistics Canada’s applicable Low-Income Cut-Off.

Main employer requirements

The employer must provide evidence of recruitment for the position. This evidence must predate the applicant’s current offer of employment. Satisfactory evidence can be either:

• a current positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA),
• proof that the position offered, or the worker, is considered to be LMIA exempt, or
• three advertisements in three different publications, one being national in scope (Job Bank for example), and must occur in the 6 months prior to the date of the job offer to the applicant. Each advertisement must be publicly available for no less than 4 consecutive weeks. The advertisement must be in English or French and include the:
  • Company operating name and contact information including telephone number, cell phone number, email address, fax number, and mailing address
  • Title of position
  • Job duties
  • Skill requirements
  • Location of work (city or town)

  The employer’s business must have been in active operation in Nova Scotia for at least 2 years and be in good standing with provincial occupational health and safety and labour authorities and not be in violation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) or Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).

  NS Skilled Worker – Application Process

  For a better understanding of the process, below is a list of the steps involved in obtaining Permanent Residence through the Skilled Worker (SW) stream. Candidates must:

  1. Apply to the SW stream when the stream is open, by submitting their application through the Nova Scotia’s online service (filling in forms and uploading required documents).
  2. Apply for permanent residence to the federal government (IRCC) within 6 months of receiving the nomination (after the NSNP processes their application). Candidates need to apply on paper to IRCC, and include the Nomination Letter received from the NSNP.

  Optional: after receiving your provincial nomination, you can request a letter of support from the NSNP to apply for a temporary work permit or the renewal of an existing work permit (within 3 months of expiry). This letter of support replaces the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Service Canada in applying for the new work permit.

  NS Skilled Worker – Application Fees

  There is no fee for this stream, as well as for all the other NSNP streams.

  NS Skilled Worker – Processing Times

  The NSNP streams are processed in at least 3 months. The exact processing times by stream are not published by the NSNP, but you should expect between 3 to 6 months for your application to be processed, but it could take longer in some cases.

  NS Skilled Worker – Latest News & Data

  The Skilled Worker stream is usually always open. You can check out our awesome Live PNP Monitor to see if the stream is currently open and its latest news, as well as for all the other PNP streams.

  NS Skilled Worker – In-Demand Occupations?

  Some streams target specific NOC codes, meaning that if you have experience in those in-demand jobs, you either (i) have more chances to be invited or (ii) that you can be eligible to the stream.

  In the case of the Skilled Worker stream, there are is no in-demand occupation list. You can find out about the other provinces’ in-demand jobs in our in-demand NOC codes article.

  Do I have to stay in the Province?

  This is a tricky question and there are multiple situations that can happen. You can learn more about this subject on our dedicated article: Can I move to another province?