Nova Scotia Express Entry Stream to Reopen In the Coming Weeks

A popular immigration stream in the province of Nova Scotia is scheduled to reopen ‘in the coming weeks,’ bringing a fresh opportunity to immigrate to Canada for Express Entry candidates in one of 16 targeted occupations.

Through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP), the province will welcome applications for a provincial nomination certificate through its Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry stream. This stream has not been open for new applications since December, 2015.

As this is an Express Entry-aligned stream, candidates with a provincial nomination are awarded 600 additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points and placed at the front of the line for selection in a subsequent draw from the pool.

Up to 250 applications will be accepted online for Category B of the stream, for which candidates must have at least one year of work experience in a target occupation. A job offer is not required for this category. Because it offers candidates in the Express Entry pool a way to apply for a provincial nomination certificate on a first-come, first-served basis, and because Nova Scotia is an increasingly popular immigration destination, it is likely that the upcoming intake will prove popular.

There is no indication that Category A, for which candidates must have a full-time permanent skilled job offer from a Nova Scotia employer, will reopen for the upcoming application cycle.

Eligibility requirements

Express Entry candidates who wish to apply to Category B of Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry must:

Have at least one year of full-time (or equivalent part-time) skilled work experience in the last six years in one of the 16 ‘opportunity’ occupations considered by Nova Scotia;
Have their foreign education credentials assessed, authenticated, and given an equivalent value in Canada by one of the four designated credential assessment agencies;
Demonstrate, by way of a standardized language test acceptable to the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia, at least an adequate intermediate language proficiency in English or French (Canadian Language Benchmark: 7);
Obtain at least 67 points on the Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry points grid. Points are awarded based on language proficiency, age, work experience, education, and adaptability; and
Have a profile in the Express Entry pool.

Opportunity occupations

The updated list of opportunity occupations reflects the labour market needs of the economy of Nova Scotia.

The list includes eight occupations that were not on the previous list, which was in effect for previous application cycles. These eight occupations are in bold in the table below.

Occupation	NOC code
Financial Auditors and Accountants	1111
Other financial officers	1114
Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations	1123
Administrative assistants	1241
Accounting and related clerks	1311
Civil engineers	2131
Information systems analysts and consultants	2171
Computer programmers and interactive media development	2174
Computer network technicians	2281
User support technicians	2282
Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses	3012
Licensed practical nurses	3233
College and other vocational instructors	4021
Paralegal and related occupations	4211
Social and community service workers	4212
Financial sales representatives	6235

First step: get in the pool

All applicants to the Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry stream must have a profile in the federal Express Entry pool before applying to the stream. This was not necessarily the case in 2015, when the stream was last open. Consequently, this process marks a departure from the process that was in place at that time.

Candidates in the pool who may be eligible for this stream may prepare their documents and forms in anticipation of the imminent reopening for new applications. It should also be noted that Nova Scotia plans on reopening this stream intermittently throughout 2017; therefore, candidates may prepare for a future intake, even if they don’t manage to submit an application for the upcoming intake.

An increasingly popular destination

Last week, the government of Nova Scotia announced that nearly 5,500 new immigrants settled in the province as new permanent residents in 2016, more than at any time in the last seven decades. The results show that Nova Scotia is well on the way to achieving its goal of welcoming 7,000 immigrants per year by 2024.

"I am so proud of these results; they reflect the hard work that we’ve been doing to grow our population and make Nova Scotia a more diverse and welcoming province,” said Nova Scotia’s Immigration Minister, Lena Diab.

With an eye towards breaking this new record again in 2017, Minister Diab added that she is "looking forward to another outstanding year for immigration. We have a total of 2,150 spots to fill in 2017, that is the 1,350 spots for our Provincial Nominee Program and 800 spots in our new program, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot. We’re on track to break more records."

To find out if you are eligible to enter the Express Entry pool, the first step to immigrating to Canada through Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry, please fill out a free online assessment today.

If you have a valid Express Entry profile and work experience in an opportunity occupation listed above, please contact us if you want to discuss your immigration options under the NSNP.