Overview
The MPNP for Skilled Workers is locally driven and based on the needs of Manitoba employers. We select internationally trained and experienced workers who have the skills needed in the local labour market, and nominate them to receive Canadian permanent resident visas to settle and work in Manitoba.
The key to the success of the MPNP is the consistently strong and stable economy of our province. The diversity of Manitoba’s growing industries and economic sectors keeps our unemployment rate low. Good wages, safe working conditions, generous benefits and workers’ rights are some of the highlights of working in Manitoba. Plus, with Manitoba’s low cost of living, and high standard of government services such as health care and education, the province offers an affordable, high-quality lifestyle.
The MPNP Skilled Workers Program nominates applicants who have a strong connection to our province and sufficient skills, education and training, work experience and official language proficiency to make an immediate and ongoing contribution to the Manitoba economy and our community at large.
Eligibility
Are you the kind of skilled worker Manitoba needs?
To qualify to apply to our program, you must be a skilled worker who can make an immediate economic contribution to the Province of Manitoba.
A skilled worker has specialized education, training and work experience in their occupation. In Manitoba, skilled workers can receive excellent salaries and benefits.
There are two pathways to Manitoba
Skilled Workers in Manitoba
Applications are accepted from qualified temporary foreign workers and international student graduates who are currently working in Manitoba and have been offered a permanent job with their Manitoba employer.
Skilled Workers Overseas
Applications are accepted from qualified skilled workers who can demonstrate a strong connection to the province through family or friends, past education or employment, or by invitation of the MPNP, and be assessed sufficient points for five eligibility factors – age, English proficiency, work experience, education and adaptability.
Who cannot apply to the MPNP?
The following are NOT eligible to submit an application to the MPNP:
- Refugee claimants, or individuals involved in a federal appeal or removal process
- Live-in Caregivers currently living in Canada
- Temporary foreign workers currently working and residing in a province other than Manitoba
- Spouses of Canadian citizens or permanent residents
- Individuals who have been refused by the MPNP within the last six months and who are not able to address the reason(s) for refusal
- Individuals who have an active immigration application with any other provincial immigration program in Canada
Eligible Dependants
Your family is included in your application when you seek Canadian permanent resident status through the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP).
Manitoba values the contribution that families make to our communities and to the economic development of our province, and encourages the immigration of families who intend to establish themselves as permanent residents of Manitoba.
Because the MPNP is an economic immigration program that selects skilled workers needed in the local labour market, you and your spouse, if applicable, should look carefully at MPNP eligibility criteria and decide who is the better applicant (the other person will then be listed as the applicant’s spouse).
While the MPNP assesses only the principal applicant’s qualifications, MPNP Online also asks you to enter information about the qualifications of your spouse; this is because your spouse is eligible to work and will receive personalized employment and settlement services the government makes available to all New Manitobans.
Who is included in your MPNP application?
You must provide information, and identity documents, for ALL members of your immediate family, including those who will not accompany you to Canada.
Who are eligible accompanying dependants?
Your spouse (by marriage or by common-law partnership of at least one year) and your dependent children may move with you to Manitoba to settle as permanent residents.
A dependent child is defined as a child who depends on their parent for financial and other support. A son or daughter is considered a dependant of their parent when the child is:
- under 19 years old, and does not have a spouse or partner, or
- 19 years old or over, and has depended largely on the parent’s financial support since before the age of 19 because of a physical or mental condition
Young adults
The exception for full-time students was removed effective Aug. 1, 2014. Young adults may apply to come to Manitoba on their own merits through the MPNP or other economic programs. (If applying to the MPNP at the same time as you they should indicate they are connected to your application.)
Fiancé(e)
A fiancé(e) is not a dependant for purposes of immigration. If your fiancé(e) intends to accompany you to Manitoba and you are not getting married before you apply to the MPNP, they will need to complete a separate MPNP application and qualify as a skilled worker applicant.
Changes in family status
You must report changes in family status (ex: you have a baby or a death in the family or an eligible accompanying dependent becomes ineligible by getting married, etc.). You must inform both the MPNP and the Government of Canada (visa office) of changes to family status BEFORE you and your dependants are issued permanent resident visas. If you fail to promptly declare new dependants, and they do not undergo medical examinations that are required in the permanent resident visa process, you may not be able to sponsor them in the future.
Declare all dependants
All existing dependants must be declared to the MPNP before you are nominated (Eligible dependants indicated in your application as not accompanying you to Canada will later require a separate application for immigration/sponsorship).
Ineligible family members
Relatives such as your parents or siblings cannot be included in your MPNP application even if they live with you. As a permanent resident, you may be able to sponsor such relatives, but the MPNP cannot assist with sponsorship applications.
Language
Job-ready official language skills
Job-ready English is required to apply to immigrate to Manitoba, Canada through the MPNP.
To demonstrate your level of English proficiency, all applicants (except those currently working in Manitoba in NOC O, A or B) must submit valid official results of an MPNP-approved language test taken no more than two years prior to the date you submit your MPNP Online application.
MPNP-approved language tests are: IELTS General and CELPIP-General (in Canada only) and, for French applicants, TEF.
From test scores, applicants are assigned language points based on a CLB (Canadian language benchmark), according to the MPNP CLB Language Grid (PDF).
CLB Calculators
Use a CLB Calculator to find out your CLB from your test scores.
Calculators are provided for ease of use, employing the same test score and CLB figures as the MPNP CLB Grid, which is the official program document.
Immigration Representatives
For the purposes of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP), an immigration representative is someone you pay and authorize to represent, advise, consult or look into the status of your Expression of Interest of MPNP application.
A representative can be a lawyer or consultant you hire to prepare your MPNP application. The MPNP has no official immigration representatives acting on its behalf and does not endorse or require the services of an immigration representative or recruiter. Using an immigration representative will not get your application special attention or guarantee it will be approved.
Any applicant or employer who uses the services of an immigration representative or recruiter does so at his or her own risk. Applicants are responsible to check that representatives they choose are ethical and competent to work on their behalf and authorized according to the provisions of the MPNP Code of Conduct.
If you use the services of an immigration representative or recruiter in connection with an Expression of Interest or application to the MPNP, they must be registered with our office and provide the MPNP with their complete name and contact information. Failure to declare an immigration representative or recruiter may result in the refusal of your MPNP application.
Manitoba will only recognize or release information to a paid immigration representative who is:
- a lawyer who is a member in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society; or
- a notary who is a member in good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Quebec; or
- an immigration consultant who is a member in good standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC)
Note
All immigration representatives must provide a signed Code of Conduct if they submit an Expression of Interest on your behalf. All applicants must agree to the MPNP Code of Conduct as part of an MPNP-SW application, whether or not they have a paid immigration representative. The MPNP reserves the right to not accept an application if it determines that the representative or applicant has not complied with the terms specified in the Code of Conduct.
The MPNP is not responsible for the resolution of any disputes arising between applicants and their immigration representative. Applicants may remove a named representative from their application at any time by providing a request in writing to the MPNP. Applicants must remove an existing representative before changing to a new representative.
The MPNP will disclose information to only one designated representative for each application. For purposes of assessing an application, the MPNP will communicate directly with the applicant whenever necessary.
