Nova Scotia Nominee Program

The Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) was launched in 2003 to address the needs of economic and labor markets which came to the province through immigration. Since 2012, the number of permanent immigrants welcomed into the province has increased, with 2,339 new immigrants in 2012 and 7,580 in 2019. Due to the introduction and continuous developments of the Nova Scotia Nominee program and the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) in 2017, immigration to the province has tripled over the last 20 years. Through the provincial program and the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, the province welcomed two-thirds of the new immigrants in 2018, and over 7,000 new immigrants are expected to be welcomed every year in the succeeding years. In addition, the province's retention rate, which is over 70 percent, has improved significantly because both the PNP and AIP have been trying to match immigration levels with available job opportunities and have also been allowing the transition of the international graduates and temporary workers to permanent residences.

Qualifications for Permanent Residency Nomination

The immigrant must have worked for a minimum of 12 months before qualifying for Permanent Residency nomination
The individual applicant can buy an existing business or set up a new business;
To be considered for nomination, the individual must go through a mandatory Interview.

Minimum Eligibility Criteria

The candidate Must go through the International English Language Testing System and must attain a minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark 5 (CLB5);
The net worth of all assets between husband and wife must be at least CAD$600,000;
The candidate must have at least CAD$150,000 investment;
He or she must own at least 33% of a new or existing business in Canada;
The candidate must hire at least one Canadian in his or her new or existing business;
To operate and manage the company in Canada, the individual must be 80% present in Canada;
The third-party audit company must verify all the candidate's assets in his or her home country.

Benefits for the Nomination Candidates

The government charges the applicant no application fee;
There is no stiff competition for selecting applicants;
Applicants of any age are eligible;
There is an option of having a high living standard with the family with low investment levels;
After 12 months, there is a permanent residency nomination.

Disadvantages

The candidate must go through International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF)
The selection system is more advantageous to candidates who are young and highly educated;
It isn't easy to gain more selection points even if one has a higher investment or hire more Canadian employee;
The candidate must have gone through an exploration trip.