The provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is run by provincial government.

The Express Entry program is designed to meet the shortage of skilled workers across Canada. However, if a specific province has a labour shortage, the provincial nominee program comes into play and the province selects foreign workers that meet the selected criteria occupations.

 The PNP allows Canadian provinces and territories to nominate individuals who wish to immigrate to Canada and who are interested in settling in a particular province. The only exceptions are the Northern Canada territory of Nunavut and Quebec. Instead, the province of Quebec has the authority to establish its own selection criteria for economic immigration. 

Each PNP has at least one immigration stream that is aligned with the federal Express immigration selection system. Provincial nominations issued under these Express Entry-aligned streams are known as enhanced nominations. The benefits of enhanced PNP streams are that they award Express Entry candidates an additional 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, which essentially guarantee they will receive a permanent residence invitation under Express Entry. Another major benefit is they can have their permanent residence application processed by the federal government quicker, typically within six months. The other way to obtain permanent residence through the PNP is under a 'base' stream. Here, you apply to a PNP stream directly and once you obtain a provincial nomination, the federal government will process your permanent residence application.

 This program is easier and faster way to immigrate to Canada if you don’t have enough CRS scores to have an Invitation To Apply, also known as ITA under Express Entry program.

This program is for workers who:

• have the skills, education and work experience to contribute to the economy of a specific province or territory
• want to live in that province, and
• want to become permanent resident of Canada

Each province and territory have its own “streams” (immigration programs that target certain groups) and requirements. For example, in a program stream, provinces and territories may target:

• students
• businesspeople
• skilled workers
• semi-skilled workers

Comprehensive Ranking System

Use this tool if:

• you’re eligible for at least 1 Express Entry program
        -      Federal Skilled Worker Program

-          Federal Skilled Trades Program

-          Canadian Express Class

• you have not filled out an Express Entry profile but you’d like to see what your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score might be if you do
  or
• you were invited to apply for permanent residence, and want to see if a change to your profile may affect your CRS score

You need to make sure that your CRS score is above the minimum points score of your round of invitations.

Note If your spouse or partner is not coming with you to Canada, or they are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you will earn points as if you don’t have a spouse or partner.

A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors = Maximum 500 points (with OR without a spouse or common-law partner)

A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Transferability factors = Maximum 600 points

A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors + C. Transferability factors + D. Additional points = Grand total – Maximum 1,200 points