Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot: Vernon, British Columbia
Those wishing to immigrate to Canada can apply for permanent residency in the municipality of Vernon.
Photo: Richvernon / Wikipedia /CC BY-SA 4.0
Vernon is a city of 44,500 people located in the southern province of British Columbia. Vernon accepts applications under the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, which was created to connect foreign workers with Canadian employers from communities experiencing a labour shortage.
Applicants must receive a community recommendation. For this, you must meet the requirements of the immigration program and the requirements of the town where you plan to move.
Federal requirements
All applicants interested in applying for a recommendation from Vernon must meet the requirements of the federal government:
- 1 year of work experience within the last 3 years;
- high school education;
- language proficiency at the level appropriate to the profession;
- sufficient amount of money;
- job offer in a community.
Vernon community requirements
At the moment Vernon accepts applications for community recommendation only from candidates who have priority occupations. The list includes:
- all occupations of TEER 0 and 1 in the NOC classification (managerial and high-skilled ones), excluding fast food and gas station workers;
- natural and applied sciences and related occupations;
- health occupations;
- occupations in education, law and social, community and government services;
- trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations;
- supervisors, finance and insurance office workers;
- accounting technicians and bookkeepers;
- administrative officers;
- payroll administrators;
- accounting and related clerks;
- shippers and receivers;
- library and public archive technicians;
- chefs;
- butchers – retail and wholesale;
- bakers;
- agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors;
- specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators;
- concrete, clay and stone forming operators;
- machining tool operators;
- other product assemblers, finishers and operators;
- labourers in metal fabrication;
- labourers in wood, pulp and paper processing;
- labourers in rubber and plastic products manufacturing;
- labourers in food and beverage processing.
Among the priority specialists listed, there are two categories of candidates who can apply for a recommendation from Vernon. If you are outside the community, then the wage in your job offer must be at least CA$23 per hour. However, you can score any number of points in the Vernon scoring system.
If you have been living, studying, or working in the city for more than 6 months, then your wage can be CA$18 per hour or more, but you must score a minimum of 30 points in the scoring table:
| Criterion | Maximum score |
| Language ability | |
| 2 points for each level above the minimum federal requirements to language level on the CLB scale | 10 |
| Family in the community | |
| 3 points for each family member who has lived in Vernon for at least 6 months (spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, child) | 9 |
| 1 point for each distant relative who has lived in Vernon for at least 6 months (aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, cousin, sibling's spouse) | 2 |
| Visit to the community | |
| The candidate has stayed in Vernon for less than 3 months before the launch of the immigration pilot within the last 5 years | 2 |
| The candidate has stayed in Vernon for more than 3 months before the launch of the immigration pilot within the last 5 years | 5 |
| Residence and owning property in the community | |
| The candidate has lived in Vernon for at least 6 months continuously within the last 5 years | 8 |
| The candidate owns residential property in Vernon acquired before February 1, 2020 | 2 |
| Working or studying in the community | |
| The candidate has worked in Vernon for at least 6 months within the last 5 years | 13 |
| The candidate has studied at Vernon for at least 2 years in the last 5 years or is studying at the time of application | 10 |
| Occupation of the spouse/common-law partner | |
| The candidate's spouse/partner is employed in Vernon in one of the following occupations: agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting; mining, quarrying, and oil and gas production; utilities; construction; manufacturing; wholesale or retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information and cultural services; finance and insurance; real estate, rental, leasing; professional, scientific and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support, waste management and remediation services; educational services; health and social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food services; public administration | 8 |
| The candidate's spouse/partner has 6 months or more of work experience in one of the areas listed above but does not work in Vernon | 5 |
| Work experience | |
| 1 point for each year of work experience above the minimum requirements | 10 |
| Age | |
| 25 years old or less | 3 |
| 26 to 38 years old | 5 |
| 39 to 49 years old | 4 |
| 50 years old and more | 3 |
| Offered wage | |
| 1 point for every $1 CAD offered above $23 CAD per hour | 12 |
| Driver's license | |
| The candidate has a Canadian driver's license | 2 |
| The candidate has a driver's license from another country | 1 |
How to apply
If you are interested in immigrating to Vernon, you need to create a profile on the city's official website. After that, you will get access to local job openings. You can also use other portals to search for jobs. Once you receive a job offer, you will be able to apply for a community recommendation.
