Nova Scotia revoked the right to permanent residency for some graduates

The Nova Scotia Experience: Express Entry stream allows you to become a permanent resident of Canada after working in Nova Scotia for only one year. The provincial immigration program website states that Nova Scotia needs people with experience in high-skilled occupations. But there are no clearly spelled out requirements for skills and qualifications.

As of June 9, 2022, the provincial Ministry of Labour, Skills and Immigration changed the terms of the program. Now, people who work in the province on a work permit after training are only eligible for a PRM if they graduated from a Nova Scotia educational institution. The nomination conditions have not changed for people who work on other types of work permits.

If graduates of schools in other provinces have already worked for a year and had time to apply by the end of the day on June 8, their applications should be processed under the old rules. The problem is that immigration officials did not post information about the change in conditions until June 8, and some people did not learn about it in time.

In the 2019 Nova Scotia Experience: Express Entry stream, 605 international graduates applied, more than half of them studying in Nova Scotia. By 2021, only 434 of the 1,453 international graduates working in Nova Scotia had graduated from local institutions.

Most of the immigrant graduates came from Ontario and worked in the food service industry in positions that did not require any special education. For example, in fast-food restaurant chains. The owners of these chains are now very concerned because they are expecting massive layoffs.

The Minister of Labor, Skills and Immigration explained that the change was made to increase the number of immigrants who will stay in the province after receiving permanent residency. People who have not applied in time or have worked for almost a year can go to immigration officials, but it is not certain that their problem will be solved.