How PNP Immigrants Can Move Anywhere in Canada
Channel: Immigration.ca - Colin Singer, Canada Immigration Lawyer
Date: 2018-06-29

Can provincial nominee Leave province?

The right to legislate in the field of immigration in Canada is shared equally between the federal government and the provinces. Since the Quebec government acquired exclusive rights to establish its own policies and programs in 1981, all of the provinces and territories have implemented their own programs to select immigrants.


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But what is the implication when a province issues an approval for a newcomer to relocate to its province and what are the obligations of an applicant to actually settle in that province?

Increasing numbers of applicants are applying for admission to Canada under a Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) or through Quebec.

What Does Canadian Charter Say about Mobility of Permanent Residents?
A starting point for discussion is section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Commonly known as the Canadian Charter or the Constitution Act, 1982, it is a series of legislative enactments dating back to the birth of Canada in 1867. It provides Canadians with basic rights in relations with government at all levels and binds all provincial/territorial legislative assemblies in Canada including the federal legislature, the Parliament of Canada. Section 6 provides permanent residents and Canadian citizens with the right to live and work in any province in Canada.

What Does Section 6 Say on Mobility?
(1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada.

(2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the status of a permanent resident of Canada has the right:

to move to and take up residence in any province; and
to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province.
How Do Mobility Rights Apply to Immigration?
In immigration matters, the implication of section 6 and mobility rights under the Charter is significant. But these rights do not actually begin until permanent residence has been established.

Once a province selects an applicant, the federal Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will oversee admissibility issues, including health and security. Upon landing at a Port of Entry (POE) in Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency will also ensure admissibility, and this would include verifying the truthfulness of an applicant’s intentions to reside in a particular province.

Paragraph 87(2)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) clarifies that a foreign national is a member of the PN class if they intend to reside in the province that has nominated them.

After receiving a permanent residence visa and appearing at a port of entry for admission to Canada, once admitted, there is nothing that can come in between an applicant’s Charter mobility rights to live and work anywhere in Canada. The provinces which seek to attract newcomers under their provincial immigration programs are left to create the right conditions to attract and more importantly, retain immigrants. Learn more at http://bit.ly/2tRPboN !