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Work Permit

Individuals wishing to get their feet wet with the realities of living and operating a business in PEI may take advantage of the Prince Edward Island Provincial Nomination Program (PEI PNP) Work Permit Stream.

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Successful applicants will be issued a temporary work permit from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) so that they may begin their Canadian entrepreneurial journey prior to being granted provincial nomination, and, subsequently, Canadian permanent residence.

Program Requirements

Requirement
Express Entry Profile	No
Connection to Province	No
Job Offer	No
Language Proficiency	CLB 4
Level of Education	High school
Work Experience	Business ownership and management
Investment Requirement	Investment: $150,000 CAD Personal Net Worth: $600,000 CAD

Language Proficiency

To be eligible for the PEI Work Permit stream, candidates must provide official language test results demonstrating language proficiency in English or French consistent with Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4.  

 

Level of Education

Candidates must have completed at least secondary school education.  

 

Work Experience

Since the Work Permit stream is a Business Impact immigration program, candidates must have work experience that demonstrates management skills and business ownership experience.  

 

Investment Requirement

Candidates for the Work Permit stream must have a personal net worth of at least $600,000 CAD. They must come to Canada on a work permit and operate a business for at least one year before they will receive a provincial nomination for permanent residence. Candidates must sign a performance agreement with the province.

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Performance Agreement: A performance agreement is an agreement signed with PEI that outlines the conditions under the candidate will receive a nomination for permanent residence.

PEI will issue a provincial nomination to the candidate if the following conditions are met:

• Invest at least $150,000 CAD in the business;
• Maintain a residence and actively manage the business from within PEI;
• Operate the business for at least 12 consecutive months, and;
• Provide financial statements that detail at least $75,000 CAD in eligible operating expenses.

 

Age

Candidates must be between 21 and 59 years old to be eligible to apply to this stream.  

 

Intention to Reside

Candidates must demonstrate an intention to reside in PEI.

Application Procedure

The PEI Work Permit stream operates on an Expression of Interest (EOI) system. Candidates who meet the eligibility criteria must submit a profile to PEI’s pool of candidates. All of the candidates in the pool will then be ranked against each other based on the PEI Business Impact Category Ranking System. The highest-ranking candidates will be invited to submit an application to the stream in one of the category’s periodic draws.

If they are selected in one of these draws, the candidate has 90 days to prepare and submit a complete application, including a business plan. The application fee for PEI Business Impact Category streams is $10,000 CAD. If this application is approved, the candidate will be invited to attend an interview with PEI’s Office of Immigration to discuss their background, work experience, education, proposed business, and settlement plan. If the business plan and application are approved, the candidate must submit a legal opinion letter from a Canadian lawyer stating that the application meets the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Once the legal opinion letter is received, the candidate will be issued a letter of support for a work permit. After receiving a letter of support, the candidate must apply for a temporary work permit from IRCC. If this application is successful, the candidate will be issued a work permit authorizing them to enter and work temporarily in Canada. Candidates are required to meet with a Settlement Officer within 30 days of landing in Canada as a temporary foreign worker to remain in compliance with their performance agreement and be nominated for permanent residence.

Once all of the conditions of the performance agreement have been met, the candidate will be issued a provincial nomination from PEI. After receiving a provincial nomination, the applicant has six months to submit a federal application for Canadian permanent residence. Applicants in this program must complete and submit a paper-based application for permanent residence and submit it by mail to the appropriate application centre. Paper-based PNP applications for permanent residence are generally processed within 18 months.

Business Impact Ranking System

If a candidate meets all of the eligibility requirements outlined by PEI PNP, they will be able to create a profile in the Expression of Interest (EOI) system. An applicant’s profile will be awarded up to 200 assessment points based on their age, language, education, business ownership or management experience, community endorsement, and adaptability.

Overview of Factors

Factor	Max Points
Age	20
Language	40
Education	20
Business ownership or senior management experience	50
Community endorsement	35
Adaptability	35
Maximum Points	200

Age

Age	Points
21-24	7
25-29	20
30-44	20
45-49	15
50-54	7
Over 54	0
Maximum	20

Language Proficiency

Proficiency in English or French	Points
CLB/NCLC 10	40
CLB/NCLC 9	40
CLB/NCLC 8	35
CLB/NCLC 7	30
CLB/NCLC 6	20
CLB/NCLC 5	10
CLB/NCLC 4	0
Maximum	40

Education

Level of Education	Points (20 max)
Master's or Doctoral (PhD) level	20
Post-secondary degree - program of at least 3 years of full-time study	17
Post-secondary diploma in a trade that requires at least 2 years of full-time study	12
High school	0
Maximum	20

Work Experience

Work Experience		Points
Business Ownership Experience
Owner (50% or more) and manager involved in the daily operations and have direct involvement in decision-making	At least 5 out of the last 7 years	50
	At least 3 out of the last 5 years	40
Owner (20-50%) and manager involved in the daily operations and have direct involvement in decision-making	At least 5 out of the last 7 years	35
	At least 3 out of the last 5 years	25
Senior Management Experience
Senior Manager involved in daily operations as a primary decision maker and supervising a staff of at least 3 people. Less than 20% ownership in the company	At least 5 out of the last 7 years	30
	At least 3 out of the last 5 years	20
Maximum points		50

Community Endorsement

Community Endorsement	Points
Received written endorsement from a rural community	35
Received written endorsement from a community within capital region	10
Maximum	35

Adaptability

Adapdability	Points
The applicant's dependent children have been enrolled in a PEI educational institution for a minimum of 6 consecutive months	10
The applicant's spouse or common-law partner successfully graduated from a PEI post-secondary institution	5
The applicant's spouse or common-law partner and/or their dependent children have a language ability of CLB 6 or higher in English or French	10
The applicant's spouse or common-law partner has at least 3 years of work experience in the last 5 years	5
The applicant has a close relative that is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in PEI for at least 12 consecutive months	10
The applicant has experience farming, transferrable farming skills and plan to operate a farm in PEI	10
Maximum	35

PEI Business Impact Recent Draws

Date	Number of Invitations	Minimum Score
02/21/2024	2	80
02/15/2024	1	105
01/18/2024	2	80
12/21/2023	3	92
11/16/2023	7	80
10/19/2023	2	80
09/21/2023	4	80
08/17/2023	4	102
07/20/2023	9	80
06/15/2023	4	82
05/18/2023	3	65
Apr 20, 2023	9	72
Mar 16, 2023	6	52
Feb 16, 2023	6	70
Sep 15, 2022	85	142
Aug 18, 2022	97	117
Jul 21, 2022	60	138
Jun 16, 2022	65	127
May 20, 2022	62	137
Apr 21, 2022	67	130
Mar 17, 2022	62	130
17 February 2022	6	67
20 January 2022	11	72
16 December 2021	11	67
18 November 2021	16	16
21 October 2021	9	72
16 September 2021	14	72
19 August 2021	9	72
15 July 2021	9	75
17 June 2021	12	60
20 May 2021	17	80
15 April 2021	16	75
18 March 2021	10	70
18 February 2021	19	82
21 January 2020	15	80
17 December 2020	21	85
19 November 2020	33	92
15 October 2020	27	97
17 September 2020	32	102
20 August 2020	28	112
16 July 2020	29	117
23 June 2020	20	117
20 February 2020	10	122
16 January 2020	13	125
20 December 2019	11	140
21 November 2019	14	130
17 October 2019	12	122
19 September 2019	13	115
15 August 2019	10	112
18 July 2019	17	112
20 June 2019	7	112
16 May 2019	14	107
18 April 2019	17	107
21 March 2019	19	110
21 February 2019	29	117
17 January 2019	30	120
20 December 2018	9	130
15 November 2018	29	130
18 October 2018	27	135
20 September 2018	8	152
16 August 2018	7	145
19 July 2018	50	135
21 June 2018	43	140
19 April 2018	17	135
15 March 2018	7	135
15 February 2018	9	117

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