Counted amongst the most beautiful and economically well-off provinces in Canada, Saskatchewan is a great place to immigrate for both students and professionals. The province has plenty of job opportunities along with a strong agriculture sector. With its low cost of living in comparison to other Canadian provinces, Saskatchewan offers the ideal conditions for raising a family.

You have probably already read about the Express Entry program being run by the Federal Government of Canada. However, there are a number of applicants who do not meet the selection criteria for the Express Entry program. If you are one of those applicants, do not be discouraged. You can still move to Canada by taking the Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) route. The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) is one such PNP that is popular for the relaxed selection criteria it has. Let us now talk about what your options are with respect to moving to Saskatchewan.

What is the Saskatchewan PNP Program?

The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP), also known as the Saskatchewan PNP program, is one of the most popular Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) in Canada at the moment. Through this immigration program, you can apply for provincial nomination and live permanently in Saskatchewan. Once nominated under the program, immigrants can apply for a permanent residence (PR) visa, and after getting the visa, they can settle permanently in the province.

Categories under Saskatchewan PNP

The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) is accepting applications under the following immigration streams:

International Skilled Worker Category:

This stream is for skilled workers who want to live and work in the province of Saskatchewan as permanent residents. There are three sub-categories:

International Skilled Worker – Employment Offer: This program is for skilled workers who have a job offer from a Saskatchewan employer.
International Skilled Worker – Occupation in-demand: This program is for skilled immigrants who do not have a job offer or an active Express Entry profile but have work experience in an occupation that is in demand in the province.
International Skilled Worker – Saskatchewan Express Entry: This program is for skilled workers who have an active express entry profile and have skilled work experience in an occupation that is in demand in the province.
International Skilled Worker – Tech Talent Pathway: This sub-category is for skilled workers who are working in the technology and innovation sector and are holding a job offer for a high-skilled occupation in Saskatchewan.
Hard-to-Fill Skills Pilot: This sub-category is for skilled workers who have a job offer for an eligible intermediate or low-skilled occupation in Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan Experience Category

This immigration category is for foreign workers who are already working in the province or have completed their graduation from the province. There are six sub-categories that foreign workers may apply for under the SINP:

Skilled Worker with Existing Work Permit: This sub-category is for skilled workers who have been working in the province for a minimum of six months under a valid work permit.
Semi-skilled Agriculture Worker with Existing Work Permit: This sub-category is for skilled workers who have been working in the province for more than six months as a full-time employees under the occupations:
- NOC 8431: General Farm Worker, and
- NOC 8432: Nursery and Greenhouse Worker
Health Professionals: This sub-category is for skilled workers working in the province on a temporary work permit in the healthcare industry as a nurse, physician, or other health professional for at least six months.
Hospitality Sector Project: This sub-category is for foreign skilled workers working in Saskatchewan on a temporary work permit through a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for at least six months as food and beverage servers, housekeeping and cleaning staff, or kitchen helpers.
Long Haul Truck Driver Project: This sub-category is for immigrants who are currently working for an approved trucking firm in the province on a valid work permit, issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and based on a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
Students: This sub-category is for students who have completed their post-secondary education in Canada and have worked in Saskatchewan for at least 6 months (or 780 hours) as a paid employee.

Entrepreneur and Farm Category

This category is for immigrants who want to run their own or buy a business and be actively involved in managing it while residing in Saskatchewan.

International Graduate Entrepreneur Category

This category is for international students who recently graduated from a post-secondary institution in the province and who are planning to run a business in the province.

Farm Owner and Operator Category

This category is for foreign nationals who are planning to buy and run a farm in Saskatchewan and have prior experience in farming.

Saskatchewan PNP Eligibility & Requirements

Each SINP category has different Saskatchewan PNP eligibility criteria that allow them to select immigrants with the required skillset. We will discuss the process of applying for a Saskatchewan Provincial Nomination Certificate through the SINP International Skilled Worker category.

For candidates to apply under International Skilled Worker: Saskatchewan Express Entry, they must meet the following Saskatchewan PNP eligibility:

Must score a minimum of 60 points in the SINP point assessment grid.
Need to score a minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4, in language proficiency exam, in each module.
Must complete post-secondary education, training, or apprenticeship, and also, if the education is pursued outside of Canada, then an ECA certificate is required.
Have at least one year of work experience within the last ten years in a highly skilled profession and are not on the list of excluded professions.
Work experience and post-secondary education must be relevant to each other.
May be required to provide proof of professional status or proof of licensure eligibility for your profession.
Must provide proof of settlement funds and a settlement plan.

Once all the minimum PNP requirements for Saskatchewan are met, the candidate needs to create an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile through an online portal called “OASIS”. Once the EOI profile is created, it is submitted to the Saskatchewan EOI pool along with the profiles of the other applicants. The profiles then receive an invitation to apply for the provincial nomination.

Once the applicant receives an ITA, they must pay a non-refundable $350 CAD application fee online by MasterCard or Visa. This is the last step before submitting the online application.

Saskatchewan PNP Without Job Offer letter

Even without a job offer, you may qualify for two immigration tracks if you want to live and work in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

Among the various streams operated under the SINP, there are two very active provincial nomination streams that are designed to bring in skilled workers to meet labour market needs and do not require a job offer. The first is the Saskatchewan Express Entry stream. To be eligible under this immigration stream, applicants need to have an active express entry profile and meet the minimum eligibility criteria of the program. The second is the Saskatchewan Occupation-in-Demand stream, in which having an express entry profile is not mandatory.

n both streams, it is necessary for the candidate to have at least one year of work experience in a single occupation, as available in the Saskatchewan In-Demand Occupations List.

Once the applicant submits an Expression of Interest (EOI) to settle in the province of Saskatchewan, their profile will be ranked among other candidates, and on the basis of labour market needs, they will receive an invite to apply.

What is Saskatchewan PNP Processing Time?

SINP updates Saskatchewan processing time every three months. It shows the average time it took this quarter to process an application. Time is measured in weeks for each category. Saskatchewan PNP processing times are subject to change and are not always accurate predictions for future applications.

International Skilled Worker

Employment offer – 3 weeks.
Occupation in demand – 43 weeks.
Express Entry – 42 weeks.

Saskatchewan Experience

Existing Work Permit – 2 weeks.
Health Professionals – 1 week.
International Students – 3 weeks.
Truck Drivers – 1 week.
Hospitality Workers – 1 week.

Entrepreneur Farm

The goal is to process all Entrepreneurs and farm requests (including Entrepreneur’s appointment requests) within 12 weeks, and all good faith deposit return requests within 24 weeks.

The process to apply for Saskatchewan PNP online/offline

The first step of the process of PNP in Saskatchewan is submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI), which is a pre-application process. Candidates have to fill in an online form to show their interest in applying for SINP. Once you submit your EOI, you will need to wait to be invited to apply for SINP.

If you are invited, then you need to apply for SINP online where you will need to fill in the required form and upload the scanned copies of the required documents. It is important to follow the Saskatchewan PNP process guidelines properly to ensure your application is not closed or rejected.

Documents required for Saskatchewan Provincial Nominee Program

Applicants need to provide all the forms and documents that will prove their eligibility for SINP nomination at the time of submitting the application for provincial nomination.

The list of documents that need to be submitted includes:

Passport
Academic Credentials (Degree, Diploma, or Certificate)
Valid Language Exam Score (IELTS – General/ CELPIP – General Test/ TEF)
Claimed Work Experience related documents
Settlement Plan
Proof of Funds
Birth Certificate etc.

FAQ

The EOI system can be used by individuals who wish to apply for the SINP through the In-Demand Occupations or Express Entry sub-categories. These are two very popular subcategories that required the use of application thresholds in the past to ensure that the SINP had a manageable application inventory that resulted in competitive processing times.

Once you are invited to apply, your EOI profile will be removed from the EOI pool. If you do not apply within 60 days, your invitation to apply will expire. You will need to create a new EOI profile if you still wish to apply for the SINP.

The size and frequency of EOI screenings are based on labor market needs, provincial priorities, and the number of applications processed since the last EOI screening. The selections will take place every two months, at a minimum. The dates of the draws will not be communicated in advance.

This program was created for individuals who have been working in Saskatchewan as food and beverage servers, counter servers, kitchen helpers, or housekeeping and cleaning personnel for at least six months with a valid work permit. The employer must receive approval from the province of Saskatchewan before the candidate begins work in Canada.