Understanding PNP, its obligation to live in province and PR Status

[Krrai]

As a PR, you can work for any employer ad even start your own business. What matters is that you reside in your nominating province, it does not matte whom you work for and who gets taxes.

Also, you pay taxes to the province you live in.

Thanks @legalfalcon that's a relief to know.

 

[sfaizi]

One of the most frequently asked question I get is, can an applicant who applied under the PNP, or was given a Provincial nomination move out of the Province of his nomination. And if he can, under what circumstances and what is the procedure.

To answer this question, we need to understand the PR status and then dwell into the PNP program.

1. Understanding Permanent Resident status:

When your PR application is approved, a COPR issued, and a visa stamped in your passport, you are all ready to become a Canadian Permanent Resident. You will become a Permanent Resident as soon as you land in Canada and complete the formalities of getting the COPR stamped, your data entered in the system, and the CSBA officer allowing you to enter Canada as a PR.

Upon becoming a PR, you get all rights under the Canadian Constitution that as a Canadian Citizen has, except the right to vote and run for office. As a PR you may not be eligible for high level security clearance to work for jobs in intelligence, but apart from that, you can work for the government.

One of the many rights a PR would get is called the “Mobility Right.” Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is the same as the fundamental rights or bill of rights in other countries states:

6. (1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada.
(2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the status of a permanent resident of Canada has the right

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a) to move to and take up residence in any province; and​

b) to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province.​

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(3) The rights specified in subsection (2) are subject to

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a) any laws or practices of general application in force in a province other than those that discriminate among persons primarily on the basis of province of present or previous residence; and​

b) any laws providing for reasonable residency requirements as a qualification for the receipt of publicly provided social services.​

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration in a province of conditions of individuals in that province who are socially or economically disadvantaged if the rate of employment in that province is below the rate of employment in Canada.

If you carefully read Section 6(2), you will understand that as a PR, you have the right to move and settle in any part of Canada, including Quebec. Even if you mentioned in your application that you want to settle in Ontario and then changed your mind to settle in Montreal, you can do that as a FSW.

This is your fundamental right, which is guaranteed by the Canadian Constitution. As a PR, you don’t have to inform any authority on your intent to move, including the Province you are moving out of, or the Province you are moving to.

2. Understanding your obligation as a PNP nominee

When you filled your form for the PR, you were asked about your interest to reside in different provinces. Alternatively, you may have sent a letter of interest (“LOI”) to the province communicating your interest in moving to that province. It was in consideration of this Interest that you communicated, and having satisfied the Provincial nominee program requirements, the Province issued you a nomination, which gave you an additional 600 points.

It is important to understand that while Immigration is a federal subject, on which the federal government has complete control, the federal government has given certain privileges to Provinces to attract prospective immigrants to those provinces. PNP, is a part of that deal. However, even when a province nominates a prospective immigrant, it is the federal government through IRCC, which will make a final decision in whether to approve it or not.

There has been a case where a province nominated an applicant, but the IRCC refused his application citing concerns on his intent to settle in that province. The court held that it was the sole prerogative of the IRCC to make a decision and the Province can only nominate, but not have a final say on whom to admit and whom not to. This is why IRCC will ask for settlement plans from some PNP applicants to ensure that they are not using PNP as a means to seek in. (See Deol v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2013 FC 1147; and Noreen v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2013 FC 1169).

Now the important part - Section 6(3)(a) & (b) are subject to certain regulations and laws, and one of the most important is Provincial Nominee Program. Section 6(3)(a) & (b) create several limits to mobility rights. Laws requiring reasonable residence periods in order to qualify for social service programs, laws that do not discriminate on the basis of province of previous or present residence, and laws designed to improve conditions in areas of Canada with lower than average employment rates, are all exempted from the mobility rights guarantee in section 6. In other words, these types of provisions can infringe mobility rights, without being unconstitutional. Additionally, a law that is not saved by section 6(3) or (4) may be saved by analysis under section 1 of the Charter as being demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Until now there has been no case that I have come across dealing with the mobility rights and PNP. If you know of any, please let me know.

This mandates that an immigrant who immigrated under the PNP should remain in the province which nominated him for about 2 years to show his intention. This number is no where in the law, but reading the immigration laws and regulations, this is what people have derived. Even though an immigrant may have become a PR, he is subject to the limitations under Section 6(3)(a) & (b). While the law remains ambiguous, the more provinces are reporting PNP applicants who do not reside in the Province of nomination.

In the case of individuals where indications at the Port of Entry (POE) are that they no longer intend to reside in the nominating province/territory, they may be reported under section A44(1) for non-compliance with paragraph 87(2)(b) of the IRPR. At worst, where it becomes evident that an individual never intended to reside in the nominating province or territory, this could give rise to an allegation of misrepresentation, pursuant to paragraph 40(1)(a) of the IRPA. In the case few months some Provinces have been very actively pursuing this part and reporting immigrants. When reported for misrepresentation, the PR status can be cancelled and the applicant deported.

3. Does this mean that the PNP applicant can not leave the Province?

By moving to another province right after you get your immigrant status, your intentions may be questioned and you may be reported for misrepresentation. Here are a few things that you can do before you decide to leave the province that nominated you:

a. Actively look for other jobs within the nominating province.
b. Properly document your job hunting activities including the results for each job that you applied for.
c. Exhaust all means of finding employment inside the province.

If you don’t get job offers or if you’re offered a job but the offer you’re getting out of the province is for a higher position and for a significantly higher pay, then your move is justified. If you have these documented, your move to another Province would be justified and if questioned, you will have all the documents that you tried.

I hope this helps you understand what the PR status is, the mobility rights and your obligation under the PNP.

Your thoughts are welcome and if any of you has experience with the PNP, or would like to add, please do so.

Very informative!

I have Ontario PNP and have been here for 9 months and want to move to Alberta.
I reached out to Ontario PNP office and got the below response:


"Thank you for your correspondence to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).

Once you have obtained permanent residence, there is no restriction on where you may live in Canada. For additional details please visit the IRCC website."

So based on the above and what you've mentioned, I don't see any hard restrictions in place for Ontario PNP to reside for X number of years.

I have not been able to find any concrete statement which can say that yes there is a time restriction.

Your thoughts?

 

[legalfalcon]

Very informative!

I have Ontario PNP and have been here for 9 months and want to move to Alberta.
I reached out to Ontario PNP office and got the below response:


"Thank you for your correspondence to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).

Once you have obtained permanent residence, there is no restriction on where you may live in Canada. For additional details please visit the IRCC website."

So based on the above and what you've mentioned, I don't see any hard restrictions in place for Ontario PNP to reside for X number of years.

I have not been able to find any concrete statement which can say that yes there is a time restriction.

Your thoughts?

The statement is accurate, when you become a PR, you have mobility rights under the Constitution that allow you to live and move anywhere in Canada. However, when you applied for PNP you did fill a form (Sch 4) and signed it which states:



While the law does not specify any specific length, however, you have to make a reasonable effort to reside in the nominating province. PNP cannot be used as a backdoor entry into Canada to obtain your PR.

For more details on this, see https://bit.ly/3AcXgnU

 

[sfaizi]

The statement is accurate, when you become a PR, you have mobility rights under the Constitution that allow you to live and move anywhere in Canada. However, when you applied for PNP you did fill a form (Sch 4) and signed it which states:




Thanks for your prompt response.

The screenshot you've shared is referring to passive investment scheme. Will that also apply to the Human Capital scheme for Ontario?

I'm just confused as to if there is any minimum duration. I have resided in Ontario for 9 months and moving basically due to affordability to purchase home in Alberta.

The response I got from OINP does not use any restrictive wording either.

 

[sfaizi]

Thanks for your prompt response.

The screenshot you've shared is referring to passive investment scheme. Will that also apply to the Human Capital scheme for Ontario?

I'm just confused as to if there is any minimum duration. I have resided in Ontario for 9 months and moving basically due to affordability to purchase home in Alberta.

The response I got from OINP does not use any restrictive wording either.

The statement is accurate, when you become a PR, you have mobility rights under the Constitution that allow you to live and move anywhere in Canada. However, when you applied for PNP you did fill a form (Sch 4) and signed it which states:



While the law does not specify any specific length, however, you have to make a reasonable effort to reside in the nominating province. PNP cannot be used as a backdoor entry into Canada to obtain your PR.

Thanks for your prompt response.

The screenshot you've shared is referring to passive investment scheme. Will that also apply to the Human Capital scheme for Ontario?

I'm just confused as to if there is any minimum duration. I have resided in Ontario for 9 months and moving basically due to affordability to purchase home in Alberta.

The response I got from OINP does not use any restrictive wording either.

 

[legalfalcon]

Thanks for your prompt response.

The screenshot you've shared is referring to passive investment scheme. Will that also apply to the Human Capital scheme for Ontario?

I'm just confused as to if there is any minimum duration. I have resided in Ontario for 9 months and moving basically due to affordability to purchase home in Alberta.

The response I got from OINP does not use any restrictive wording either.






Thanks for your prompt response.

The screenshot you've shared is referring to passive investment scheme. Will that also apply to the Human Capital scheme for Ontario?

I'm just confused as to if there is any minimum duration. I have resided in Ontario for 9 months and moving basically due to affordability to purchase home in Alberta.

The response I got from OINP does not use any restrictive wording either.

Sch 4 is for all PNP applicants.

There is no minimum duration. You can read more on the link I shared in my previous post.

 

[sfaizi]

Sch 4 is for all PNP applicants.

There is no minimum duration. You can read more on the link I shared in my previous post.

Thanks. for the above.

I will try to get some clarity also from OINP to see if they mention anything else.

 

[cabouniray]

@legalfalcon

Hello Legal,
I need some advise on my situation please.
I came to canada as ontario pnp in 2019. I landed in Montreal then stayed in Quebec with a friend of mine. I've looked for rent before going down to Ontario, but there was not much availablity and the prices were too high. under that pressure plus my kid I had to put at school that had already started, I stayed in Quebec.
2 weeks after that I wrote an email to Ontario immigration to explain this to them. They replied asking me if I got my permanent residency. I replied to confirm that I had, then they wrote be back stating that as PR I can live anywhere in Canada. A month after that I got me a job in Quebec

A year later (October 2020) I contact them by email and told them that I still have the intention to move to ontario, but I could not find a job after some unsuccessfull applications and also Covid cases are high in country. I asked them if I could still live in Quebec. They replied with the same answer (as PR you can live anywhere in Canada).

Now I'm moving next month to Ontario (After almost 27 months in Quebec).
Could this impact my citizenship application? When do you suggest I would apply for it ?
If I move now, would that still prove that my intention was geniune?
Should I inform them of my new address in Ontario once I'm there?
Could gcms notes show me if they sent any objection to IRCC about me?

Any tips and advices will be appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[legalfalcon]

@legalfalcon

Hello Legal,
I need some advise on my situation please.
I came to canada as ontario pnp in 2019. I landed in Montreal then stayed in Quebec with a friend of mine. I've looked for rent before going down to Ontario, but there was not much availablity and the prices were too high. under that pressure plus my kid I had to put at school that had already started, I stayed in Quebec.
2 weeks after that I wrote an email to Ontario immigration to explain this to them. They replied asking me if I got my permanent residency. I replied to confirm that I had, then they wrote be back stating that as PR I can live anywhere in Canada. A month after that I got me a job in Quebec

A year later (October 2020) I contact them by email and told them that I still have the intention to move to ontario, but I could not find a job after some unsuccessfull applications and also Covid cases are high in country. I asked them if I could still live in Quebec. They replied with the same answer (as PR you can live anywhere in Canada).

Now I'm moving next month to Ontario (After almost 27 months in Quebec).
Could this impact my citizenship application? When do you suggest I would apply for it ?
If I move now, would that still prove that my intention was geniune?
Should I inform them of my new address in Ontario once I'm there?
Could gcms notes show me if they sent any objection to IRCC about me?

Any tips and advices will be appreciated.

Thank you!

It will have no impact on your citizenship. As a PR, you have a constitutional right to live anywhere across Canada, including QC.

To read more on PNP and understand, see https://bit.ly/3oCFarF

 

[janki_sharma]

Hello, I have a question related to PNP PR. I landed in Toronto, Canada through Ontario PNP and staying here since March 2021. I have been applying for jobs here but no luck until October end. Now, I have got the job in IT but the client is in Quebec and my employer wants me to work from there once work in office is resumed. My spouse is still working in Ontario. I am not sure if I am safe to move to Quebec when I have Ontario PNP.

1) Is there a process of approval for movement from Ontario to Quebec when PR is through PNP nomination?
2) Also, if I reside in Ontario and file taxes for Quebec will this be a problem for my PNP PR status?

 

[Leonroy]

Can I ask about a situation? Here it goes:

I am an outland applicant who has just recently accepted a nomination under the province of AB. Whilst accomplishing my Provincial Nomination, a company has offered me a job in Singapore. Due to financial reasons, I have decided to grab this offer in Singapore, while waiting for my Invitation to Apply (ITA) for PR in Canada.

The plan is for me to work in Singapore for the meantime. Once my PR status gets approved, I plan to come to Canada to claim my PR but go back to Singapore and stay for two years to save up for Canada. After these two years I plan to finally move to AB, Canada to settle down.

I have signed with the company in Singapore even before receiving an ITA and applying for PR. I know I should update IRCC and the PNP for any changes like address, and employment.

Here are my questions:

1. Would this affect my application for PR? On the grounds of “Intention to Reside”?
2. After claiming my PR, can I leave Canada for the meantime?

 

[joni.abubakarsiddiq@gmail]

The explanation was great. However, I have a unique situation. I became PR in Canada using Nova Scotia Skilled Worker Program. This stream provided me a support letter to apply for work permit while the PR application in process. I moved to Nova Scotia Canada with provincial supported work permit and had 2 Canadian baby. I am living here since last 2 years. 1 years 6 months using work permit and 6 months as a PR. Now I got a job offer from Vancouver and the employer offering me almost double salary than Nova Scotia. My question is; Is it safe for me to accept the job offer in Vancouver, as I am planning to apply for Citizenship as soon as I become eligible?

I have taken several attempt to prove my intention to settle here:
1. I bought a land with few of my friends in NS and they will be living here
2. I offered my maximum Mortgage amount to few home to buy them but my offers was declined as the top offer was 15-20k higher than me
3. I applied for lots of job in my field in NS to change employer for better salary but no employer called me for interview. I used same resume and process to apply in Vancouver and received few interview calls.
4. lastly, if there is still issue with intention, I am planning to buy home and rent in NS while I work in Vancouver.
5. I am also planning to inform NS immigration authority about my move.
I would be grateful for your reply . Please let me know what should I do to avoid misrepresentation.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Miak2661]

It is a great post. Very informative. It is a year old , but still I want to share my input. I was nominated by NB. I landed in SJ but couldn't find a job. I moved with my family to Montreal where I got a job. I didn't inform the NB official though I signed a commitment to live in NB

Hi did you face any issue from NB? Have you contacted them ? I have the same situation And I don’t know what I should do

 

[anikethd02]

Hi @legalfalcon / ALL - Need your advice. I applied for PR under Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program (RNIP). Like PNP, for RNIP, is there a condition to stay in the rural community for 2 years or it's just a moral obligation?

My case: I got a job offer from a Rural community in Ontario, PR nomination, and recently received my PR. I have been working in Toronto for a different company for the past 2.5 years on a work permit. Now I got a better job offer from Vancouver, if I move to BC, will there be an issue later or while applying for Citizenship?

 

[Pascal.H]

Hi did you face any issue from NB? Have you contacted them ? I have the same situation And I don’t know what I should do

No. I left with no issues