Settlement funds for PNP immigration
Jean-Pierre is a Cameroonian citizen. He recently received the Confirmation of Nomination from the province of Ontario. Therefore, Jean-Pierre is ready to apply for immigration to Canada under the PNP program. However, he wonders about the settlement funds requirements for PNP immigration.
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What is PNP immigration?
Almost all provinces and territories of Canada have special programs to encourage immigration to their regions. Such programs are based on agreements with the Federal government of Canada. Nonetheless, they all focus on Economic Immigration (with the exception of Quebec). We call these immigration programs PNP or Provincial Nominee Program. A typical PNP immigration consists of two major phases:
- Phase One: Nomination by the province
- Phase Two: Approval by the federal government
A work permit application process precedes Phase One in most PNP-Entrepreneur programs (such as OINP-ES).
This article focuses on Phase Two of PNP immigration. Consequently, we only explore your interactions with the federal government. For the first phase, you must consult the provincial websites based on the immigration stream you choose.
What is PNP Express Entry (PNP-EE)?
Sometimes, when you are in the pool of Express Entry, a province nominates you. Such nominations offer you up to a 600 CRS score and the opportunity to receive an Invitation to Apply. However, the settlement funds requirements will be based on the Express Entry criteria. Therefore, I won’t cover PNP-EE here.
What are the settlement fund requirements for PNP?
IRCC has not included proof of settlement funds in the PNP document checklist. Consequently, one could assume proof of settlement funds is not necessary. However, referring to the PNP guidelines, you will observe the following paragraph.
Unfortunately, this text is ambiguous. Nonetheless, based on the Express Entry guidelines, we could assume that you must show an equivalent of 6-month LICO or more to be on the safe side. The best document to verify your unencumbered funds is a letter from your bank or financial institution.
Warning: Do not forge documents, as such actions could result in inadmissibility because of misrepresentation and even criminal inadmissibilty.
Other documents attesting to your settlement abilities
If you have a job offer in the province, include your job offer documents. Employability in Canada could convince the officer you won’t have financial problems upon becoming a permanent resident.
Sometimes, you are already working in Canada. In such situations, include a work reference letter from your employer and the paystubs for the past three to twelve months.
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If you apply under PNP, you may book a consultation session with me for official advice. Alternatively, you may fill out our assessment form. For those who are facing immigration or visa complications, we recommend a consultation session or filling out the following form.
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Al Parsai, LLM, MA, RCIC-IRB
Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant
Adjunct Professor, Queen’s University Faculty of Law
Instructor, Ashton College, Immigration Consulting Program
Author of 88 Tips on Immigration to Canada and Inadmissibility to Canada for Human Rights Violations
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