PNP helps you find and hire talent overseas for permanent jobs

The Employer Direct priority assessment stream of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program helps you, a Manitoba employer, fill job vacancies with foreign skilled workers eager to move and settle in Manitoba.

Under this stream the foreign worker applies to receive Canadian permanent resident status through the PNP on the strength of your offer of a long-term, full-time job in Manitoba.

To use Employer Direct you, the Manitoba employer, must either:

• have a foreign worker who has been employed by you for at least six months on a temporary work permit, or
• be directly involved in the screening process (to ensure you find an employee who's the right fit for your organization)

1. Foreign worker is already working for you.
Long-term, full-time jobs offered to foreign workers who have been working for you for at least six months and are still employed do not need to be preapproved by the PNP or by Human Resources and Social Development Canada. This is because the job would have already received a "labour market opinion" when the individual applied for a work permit. In this case the process to have your employee remain and settle in Manitoba starts with the worker submitting to the PNP an application, which must include your employment offer letter the individual's valid temporary work permit

2. Employer has not found a candidate
The PNP may help you find a foreign skilled worker who meets your needs. We regularly hold job and immigration fairs overseas. Manitoba employers that have joined our recruitment missions say they met with success.

Jobs offered to foreign workers must:

• be long-term, full-time positions in Manitoba
• meet prevailing regional wage rates
• be made to a person who meets the required qualifications for the position and who intends to settle in the province
• not conflict with existing collective bargaining agreements

Preapproval of jobs will be considered for Manitoba employers who can demonstrate that they:

• have made a genuine effort to recruit in Canada for the position, and are offering a wage and benefit package that is in line with labour market standards and sufficient to retain the worker in Manitoba
• have an acceptable strategy to recruit and retain immigrant workers in Manitoba
• will provide supports to assist newcomers with their settlements needs, and/or have the support of the local community in providing settlement services for newcomers

How it works: when employer does not yet have a candidate

1. Employer applies to the PNP for preapproval of job offer.
You must complete the MPNP Employer Application (MEA) and submit it to our office in Winnipeg. HELP: Use our online help tool to guide you through the process of filling in your application for approval of job offers.

Applying for job pre-approval is free. The process takes six to eight weeks.

2. PNP informs employer of decision.
If your application is accepted we will provide you with a Letter of Preapproval that specifies the type and number of positions for which you can hire a foreign worker and any conditions that must be met by you or the worker, or both.

2. Employer finds a skilled worker overseas, makes the job offer.
You must provide the candidate with the following documents required for his or her application to the PNP:

• a copy of the PNP Letter of Preapproval
• a letter offering the job, on company letterhead and signed by an authorized signing officer, which includes the name of the applicant, the job title, salary/wage rate, a decription of duties
• a copy of any contract the applicant will be asked to sign before starting the job

3. Worker prepares and submits an complete application to the PNP.
This step is the responsibility of the individual to whom you offered the job. The PNP must receive this application within six months of the date we issued the Letter of Preapproval.

4. The PNP assesses individual's application.
Program officers look at the applicant's training, work experience, language ability, job readiness and his or her potential to successfully settle in Manitoba. If the applicant is destined for a community where the PNP believes more newcomer settlement supports are needed, the level of support provided by the employer and/or the community will also be assessed.

5. Worker nominated by the PNP applies for permanent resident visa
The individual to whom you offered a job will receive notice of his acceptance or refusal as a provincial nominee. Nominees are responsible for applying for a permanent resident visa at the Canadian high commission, embassy or consulate in their country of residence before the expiration date on their Letter of Approval. (Nominees who are living in Canada on a one-year temporary work permit may apply for their permanent resident visa at the Canadian Consulate General in Buffalo, N.Y.)

6. Employer and/or applicant informs PNP of arrival in Manitoba
The PNP must be informed when the nominee arrives in Manitoba either with a temporary work permit or a permanent resident visa. The applicant must provide the PNP their address and contact information in Manitoba as well as a copy of their temporary work permit or permanent resident visa.

Nominee can start work while awaiting permanent resident visa
Individuals who have been nominated can apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada for a temporary work permit so they can start working for you while their visa is being processed. It is up to you and the individual to make this application. The PNP will provide a Letter of Support.

How long does the process take?
To get your jobs pre-approved takes six to eight weeks. For an individual to be assessed under the Employer Direct priority assessment stream takes about three months.

More important information

• The PNP's Employer Direct stream is not a replacement for the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. Employers must demonstrate that they are recruiting a permanent worker who will settle in Manitoba.
  
  
• The PNP will not consider applications for job pre-approval from third-party recruiters. You may use the services of an immigration representative provided that they meet our Code of Conduct for Immigration Representatives and that they do not "sub-contract" recruitment responsibilities to an unregulated recruiter. Having a recruiter find candidates is fine, but the PNP requires that the employer is directly involved in screening, to ensure your new employee will be suitable to stay with your organization and successfully settle in our province.
  
  
• As an employer you must demonstrate there is job security for your recruit, that you comply with Manitoba's Employment Standards Code, and offer competitive wages.
  
  
• From the time you receive a Letter of Preapproval there is a six-month deadline for the foreign skilled worker to submit his or her application to the PNP.
  
  
• The PNP will not consider the resubmission of an application for positions that were previously approved but not acted upon.