Rural Community Immigration Pilot
This five-year pilot (2025-2029) offers permanent residence to skilled candidates who want to work and live in one of 14 participating rural communities. A candidate needs a job offer from a designated employer in the community and a recommendation certificate from the community's economic development organization before applying to IRCC. Recent graduates of a public post-secondary institution in the community can be exempt from the work experience requirement.
Open
Status
Job offer
How you apply
Key requirements
| Age | No age requirement in the pilot's pass-or-fail criteria |
| Education | A Canadian educational credential or the foreign equivalent (qualifying secondary or post-secondary credential, with an ECA for foreign credentials) |
| Language | English or French by job-offer TEER: CLB/NCLC 6 for TEER 0-1, CLB/NCLC 5 for TEER 2-3, CLB/NCLC 4 for TEER 4-5 (minimum CLB 4) |
| Work experience | At least 1 year (1,560 hours) of related work experience in the past 3 years, unless exempt as a graduate of a public post-secondary institution in the community |
| Job offer | Required |
| Where you must live | Must intend to live in the participating community that recommends them |
| How you apply | Employer-led — your employer starts or supports the application |
| Money — funds, net worth, investment | Must prove enough settlement funds to support themselves and their family |
| Employer requirements | Employer must be designated by the participating community and operate in one of its priority sectors/occupations; the community must issue a recommendation certificate |
Summary only — requirements change and details decide real cases. Always confirm the full criteria on the official program page before applying: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/rural-franco-pilots/rural-immigration/eligibility.html (this record was verified against that source on 23 Oct 2026). This page is general information, not legal or immigration advice.
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How long will it take?
Current IRCC processing-time estimates, recorded daily.