Immigration

The Application Process and Forms

1. Getting Started

The process begins with the applicant selecting Prince Edward Island as his or her intended new home in Canada.
We encourage prospective immigrants to find out as much as possible about the opportunities and lifestyle, we offer on Prince Edward Island or "The Island". A good starting point is the Government of Prince Edward Island website which provides a wealth of information and links to other websites to help you make the important decision to settle on our beautiful Island.

2. First Steps

Once you have decided to become a new Islander, determine which of the PNP categories will be most advantageous for your application.

Which Category (listed below) is your best opportunity for immigration to Prince Edward Island?

Immigrant Partner
Immigrant Entrepreneur
Skilled Worker
Immigrant Connections

Read the appropriate category or categories carefully, then make your decision.

The application forms required for both the Provincial and Federal governments are listed under each category.

There are certain documents required in all categories, and there are different forms for specific categories.

For further information go to the section on your chosen category.

3. Pre-Assessment

If you achieve 50 points or more on the self-assessment, or meet the criteria for Skilled Worker or Immigrant Connections applicant, we encourage you to continue, with the process of applying as a Prince Edward Island provincial nominee.

Points value necessary to be nominated by the Province, may be adjusted to account for specific provincial socio-economic priorities and objectives.

The Program Officers will use their best efforts to indicate within 10 business days whether you may proceed to the next phase.

From this point onward, the process is somewhat different for Skilled Workers and Immigrant Connections, than for Immigrant Entrepreneurs or Immigrant Partners. See specific categories for detailed information.

4. Pre-Assessment Documentation
1. Skilled Workers should not submit the pre-assessment to the Provincial Nominee Program office for review until they have a bona fide offer of employment from a PEI employer.
  - The employment offered must be in your field of study and/or experience
  - The employer must be able to prove they have been unable to fill the position, after advertising provincially and nationally.
  - The employment offer should be submitted to the program officer along with the pre- assessment.
The Province’s website contains a skills shortage list which is provided for information only, to help applicants assess their skill sets, in relation to the PEI labour market. Another important resource is the Job Bank, an online database provided by Human Resources Development Canada website to help match skilled workers with specific job opportunities and employers.

The following is a breakdown of the required application forms by category:

Immigrant Partner Category :
Applicants are required to submit the following documentation for review by a Program Officer:
Provincial Forms
Application Fee $2500.00 Canadian Dollars to be included with the application.

Federal Forms
Immigrant Entrepreneur Category :
Applicants are required to submit the following documentation for review by a Program Officer:

Provincial Forms
Application Fee $2500.00 Canadian Dollar to be included with the applications .

Federal Forms
Skilled Worker category :
Applicants are required to submit the following documentation for review by a Program Officer:

Provincial Forms
Skilled Worker (employee) - Application Fee $0.00 Canadian Dollars
Skilled Worker - Self Employed -Application Fee $500.00 Canadian Dollars.

Federal Forms
Immigrant Connections Category:

The Champion is required to fill in the following application form: Immigrant Connections Champion Application Form

Applicants are required to submit the following documentation for review by a Program Officer:
Provincial Forms
No Application Fee for Connections Category

Federal Forms
Note 2: To advance the application process the applicant is encouraged to submit supporting documents at the pre-assessment stage for net worth and education. These documents, and other supporting documents, are a requirement of the Provincial Nominee Program and must be submitted prior to a nomination certificate being issued.

5. Due Diligence
Immigrant entrepreneurs and immigrant partners are required to visit PEI for a minimum stay of three business days and, preferably, five business days. During this time, the applicant will be interviewed by a Program Officer, who will usually indicate at the conclusion of the interview, whether the immigrant entrepreneur or immigrant partner should proceed to the next phase.

a) During their stay on PEI, immigrant entrepreneurs are required to meet with an Officer at the Canada-PEI Business Services Centre for assistance and advice in identifying business opportunities, market research, regulatory requirements to start a business and guidance in preparing a business plan for review by the Province.

An appointment should be arranged in advance of arrival on PEI. The services of the Canada-PEI Business Services Centre are provided jointly by the Government of Canada and the Province of PEI, free of charge.

b) While on PEI, immigrant partners are to conduct their due diligence, in selecting an eligible PEI company in which to invest. The Government of PEI and the Government of Canada do not guarantee that immigrant partners will recover their capital investment or receive dividends.

Accordingly, immigrant partners must use care and prudence in selecting the investment.
During their visit to PEI, immigrant partners, are encouraged to obtain independent legal, accounting, tax and other advice which may be required to conduct a thorough risk analysis and due diligence to select an investment.
Prior to arrival, immigrant partners should make direct contact with companies which have expressed interest in receiving investment, or consult an investment intermediary, with a portfolio of potential businesses, in which they may wish to invest.

The prospective investee, or the investment intermediary, will provide a written business plan for each of the companies of potential interest, to the immigrant partner .

Arrangements should be made, in advance of arrival on PEI, for the immigrant partner to visit the premises of prospective investee companies and to meet the owners and management team.
The Province discourages immigrant partners from taking the decision to invest in a specific company during the visit to PEI. Final investment selection, execution of the necessary legal and other documents, as well as the transfer of investment funds, should ordinarily occur following the immigrant partner’s return home.

6. Other Documentation
Once a potential nominee has met the PEI requirements, forms and documents must be collected in accordance with the Embassy/Consulate/High Commission, that is responsible for their region.

Each of these offices has a specific checklist that applicants must follow. Once an applicant has gathered all the required forms and documents for their specific office, a copy of the complete package must be submitted to the PEINP office for review.

The Province will use its best efforts to reach a final decision within twenty-five business days of receiving a fully complete set of immigration documents, free of errors or omissions.

If selected, a Nomination Certificate will be issued to the appropriate Embassy/Consulate/High Commission. The applicant will be informed by the Program Officer when this occurs.

The Nomination Certificate identifies the person named as a nominee of the Province of Prince Edward Island and will be used for special priority processing.