The Community Criteria reward the candidates who best fit the Community’s needs. The Criteria prioritize candidates who intend to live in the Community after receiving Permanent Residency status. The Community Criteria were developed carefully by the Recommendation Committee in consultation with local businesses and interested groups
The boundaries of the Community are shown on the map below. They include the City of Vernon, District of Lake Country, District of Coldstream, City of Armstrong, Township of Spallumcheen, City of Enderby, Village of Lumby and several unincorporated areas within the North Okanagan, Columbia Shuswap, Central Okanagan and Thompson Nicola Regional Districts, excluding the census subdivision of Kelowna (City), as defined by Statistics Canada.
It is important to note that the requirements listed below are necessary but not sufficient for Community recommendation. Applicants must also ensure that they meet the federal eligibility requirements to be eligible for recommendation.
- Applicant Candidates must meet the federal eligibility criteria, described in the Ministerial Instructions.
- Candidates must intend to live in the Community (described in Definitions – see tab below).
- Candidates must meet the federal language requirements to be eligible for community recommendation.
- Applicants who have completed a Candidate Profile on the RNIP Vernon North Okanagan website are able to apply for a job in the Community through this Pilot.
- Employers, and the jobs they post, must meet the federal eligibility criteria as described in the Ministerial Instructions.
- Employers must confirm their efforts made to recruit a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident before providing an eligible job offer.
- Employers must not receive any form of payment in exchange for a job offer.
- Businesses will be eligible if they have operated in Canada for five years with two of those years being in the Community Community (as described in Definitions). For additional eligibility see number 5 below.
- Businesses that have not operated in Canada for five years with two of those years being in the Community will be eligible if they:
- a) are the product of a new investment of over $200,000.00 or more in the Community as described in Definitions (below) AND
- b) have operated in Canada for at least the last 2 years, AND
- c) be expanding or moving to the Community , AND
- d) have a physical business location within the Community that they have operated at least 3 months, AND
- e) Consent to a site visit by the RNIP Coordinator, AND
- f) Consent to a mandatory interview conducted by the RNIP Coordinator, AND
- g) Consent to the submission of all required Business Investment Documents (as defined in definitions).
- Employers must go through a required training session about settlement, eligibility, and program integrity before posting a job through RNIP.
- Employers must comply with information sharing arrangement with IRCC and in referring employee to VDICSS upon arrival.
- The wage offered must meet or exceed 23 dollars an hour (with the exception of # 9 below). The wage must also be above or within the range of wages for that particular occupation, as defined in the Federal Job Bank, and for similar jobs in the region as per the Ministerial Instructions.
- For most jobs, the wage must be 23 dollars an hour or more. Applicants who are currently, and have been working, studying, and/or living for at least the last 6 months in the Community, will be exempt from the Community specific wage criteria of 23 dollars an hour if their present wage is between 18 to 22.99 dollars and they get at least 30 points under the Community’s Comprehensive Ranking System. Note that only up to 75 per cent (%) of annual recommendations will be available for this exemption.
- The business must be based in the Community and the employee must do most of their duties within the Community as described in Definitions below.
RNIP Vernon-North Okanagan Comprehensive Ranking System
Priorities – Up to 100 points
i. | Candidate’s Language | Max Points |
a. For each Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) score above the necessary language requirement and the required CLB level for specific occupations (as described in the Ministerial Instructions); candidates will receive two points with a cap of ten points. | 10 | |
ii | Family in the Community | |
a. Candidates will receive three points for each adult immediate family member residing in the Community (as described in the Definitions) for at least 6 months prior to applying for recommendation, with a cap of nine points. | 9 | |
b. Candidates will receive one point for every adult extended family member residing in the Community (as described in the Definitions) for at least 6 months prior to applying for recommendation with a cap of two points. | 2 | |
iii. | Previous travel to the Community – Cumulative | |
a. Candidates will receive two points for travel to the Community with a stay of less than 3 months combined. The travel must have occurred at least one year prior to the launch of RNIP in the Community and within the last 5 years | 2 | |
b. Candidates who have a cumulative stay in the Community of over 3 months within the last 5 years and prior to the launch of RNIP in the community, will instead receive five points. | 5 | |
iv | Time residing and Residential Property Ownership in the Community | |
a. Candidates who have resided in the community for at least one 6-month continuous period within the last 5 years will receive eight points. The applicant must supply the address of the residence they resided at during their time in the Community. | 8 | |
b. Applicants who own residential property in the Community and purchased the property prior to the launch of RNIP (February 1st, 2020) will receive two points. | 2 | |
v. | Work and/or Study in the Community and Appropriate Authorization | |
a. Applicants who have a previous job (within the last 5 years) or current job with a business in the Community and worked in that position for at least one 6-month continuous period, will receive thirteen points. | 13 | |
b. Applicants who have previously, or are currently, studying in the Community for at least two of the last 5 years will receive ten points. | 10 | |
vi. | Candidates spouse/Common-Law Partner | |
a. Applicants who have a spouse currently employed in the Community under the following North American Industry Classification (NAIC) codes will receive eight points: | 8 | |
b. Applicants whose accompanying spouse is not currently employed in the Community under the NAIC codes listed above, but have previous foreign employment for at least one 6-month continuous period in one of these industries, will receive five points. | 5 | |
vii. | Work Experience | |
a. Applicants will receive one point for every year of additional relevant work experience in a related profession exceeding the 12 months required by the Ministerial Instructions. The amount of points an applicant can receive will be capped at ten points. | 10 | |
viii. | Applicant’s Age | |
a. Applicants who are 25 years old and under will receive three points. | 3 | |
b. Applicants who are between the ages of 26 and 38 will receive five points. | 5 | |
c. Applicants who are between the ages of 39 and 49 will receive four points. | 4 | |
d. Applicants who are 50 years old or older you will receive three points. | 3 | |
ix. | Wage | |
a. A job offer that exceeds the minimum of $23 per hour will receive one point for every additional $1 per hour, with a cap of twelve points. | 12 | |
x. | Drivers Licence | |
a. Applicants who have a Canadian drivers licence or permit will receive two points | 2 | |
b. Applicants without a Canadian drivers licence or permit will receive one point if they have a valid foreign drivers licence or permit. | 1 | |
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Operational Considerations and Additional Information
Start date
The committee began accepting candidates for recommendation on February 1, 2020. The pilot is set to expire at the end of December 2022, unless the pilot is extended by the Federal Government.
Intake Period
Applicants who meet the federal and community eligibility criteria will be placed into a candidate pool. The committee will accept applicants up to the last day of every month. The committee will offer a recommendation to those candidates who best fit the Community criteria. The committee may consider up to 22 applicants per intake period. Applicants who were not considered for recommendation will be placed back into the candidate pool. Applications will be considered for recommendation for up to three months after the initial application date. After 3 months, the applicant will be notified and the applicant may choose to re-apply.
Recommendations
The Community has been awarded 220 recommendations for each remaining year of the pilot. The committee will make up to 75% of the annual recommendations available to those applicants who do not meet the Community wage criteria, as described in Employer Filter 9. This exemption will be granted to applicants who have been offered a job in the Community with a wage between $18.00 and $22.99 and meet or exceed 30 points under Vernon’s Comprehensive Ranking System (VCRS).
Interviews
Applicants who apply from outside Canada must be available for a 15 to 30 minute videoconference interview. Applicants who are currently in the Community may be required to attend an in-person interview at the discretion of the committee.
Adult is a person 19 years of age or older.
Immediate family includes parents, step-parents, grandparents, adult siblings and the children of the principal applicant or their spouse.
Extended Family is all non-immediate adult family members of the principal applicant or spouse including aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins, and spouses of adult siblings.
Working age spouse is a person who is 19 years of age or older and complies with the definition of a spouse under Canadian law. This includes common law partners and conjugal partners, as defined by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).
Community is a 40-kilometer radius centred on the Community Futures North Okanagan office located at 3105 33rd Street in Vernon BC. This includes the City of Vernon, District of Lake Country, District of Coldstream, City of Armstrong, Township of Spallumcheen, City of Enderby, Village of Lumby and several unincorporated areas within the North Okanagan, Columbia Shuswap, Central Okanagan and Thompson Nicola Regional Districts, and land under the authority of the Okanagan Indian Band and the Splatsin First Nation. It is important to note that this excludes the census subdivision of Kelowna (City), as defined by Statistics Canada.
Required Business Investment Documents are the documents requested by the coordinator during the business investment eligibility assessment. These documents include, but are not limited to, the following:
- A thorough Business Plan
- 2 years of financial statements or CRA business fillings
- WorkSafeBC certificate of good standing or the equivalent from another province
- Proof of business insurance
- Business License
- GST Number
- Proof of business investment (lease or purchase of physical business location, other capital costs)
Business is defined by the ownership. A business for the program purposes is considered a corporation, partnership and sole proprietor.
Examples:
- If a corporation owns different companies or organizations, the corporation as an owner is limited to 6 recommended candidates per year and not the organizations/companies owned by the corporation
- Each partnership is considered a separate business
- Sole proprietor can run different organizations/companies but the limit of 6 recommended candidates is tied to the sole proprietor.
Operation of Business means the physical business location within the community is carrying out the day-to-day operations of the business. The main duties of the employees are being performed from the business location and business is participating in its stated industry.
Physical Business Location is a permanent property, or a portion of a property, located in the community which functions solely as a business.
