Rural Community Immigration Pilot
The RCIP is a federal route to permanent residence for people hired by a designated employer in a participating community. The community scores you on its own grid and recommends you; IRCC decides the application. We cover 4 communities across British Columbia and Ontario, each with its own occupation list, wage rules and intake dates.
The communities we cover
Pick the community where the job offer is. Each calculator checks the federal rules first, then scores you on that community’s grid and puts the result beside the cutoffs the community has published.
North Okanagan-Shuswap
British Columbia25 priority occupations across 6 sectors. Pool floor 50 of 125 points.
Last published cutoff 94 (Intake 3). Next intake November 8, 2026 to November 15, 2026.
West Kootenay
British Columbia25 priority occupations across 6 sectors. Pool floor 50 of 125 points.
Last published cutoff 91 (June 2026). West Kootenay does not keep an application pool after the September 2026 intake. The next intake is in 2027, and its date, priorities, selection criteria and allocation have not been confirmed yet. Updates are posted on the community's website and emailed to designated employers.
Peace Liard
British Columbia25 priority occupations across 6 sectors. Pool floor 50 of 125 points.
No cutoff published yet. Peace Liard has not announced another 2026 intake. A second intake in fall 2026 depends on extra allocations from IRCC's annual redistribution, expected to be finalized around October 2026. Updates are posted on the community's website and emailed to designated employers.
Greater Sudbury
Ontario25 priority occupations across 6 sectors. Pool floor 79 of 125 points.
Last published cutoff 90 (Intake 6). Next intake September 28, 2026 to October 2, 2026.
How the pilot works
- 1
An employer is designated
The community approves the employer first. A job offer from an employer that has not been designated cannot be used, however good the job is.
- 2
You get the job offer
Full-time and non-seasonal, with no end date, and inside the community's own wage and occupation rules. The offer has to match the work experience you are claiming.
- 3
The community scores and recommends you
Each community runs its own grid and its own intake windows. Meeting the floor puts you in the pool; a recommendation is what you need to apply.
- 4
You apply to IRCC for permanent residence
The recommendation supports a permanent residence application. There is an optional employer-specific work permit that lets you start work while it is processed.
The rules that are the same everywhere
IRCC sets these, so they do not change from community to community. The community grid sits on top of them.
| Language | CLB or NCLC 4 to 6 in every ability, set by the TEER of the job offer. |
|---|---|
| Work experience | At least one year (1,560 hours) of related paid work in the last three years, in a TEER category IRCC accepts for the job offer. Some international graduates are exempt. |
| Education | Canadian secondary or post-secondary credential, or a foreign one with an educational credential assessment. |
| Settlement funds | $10,507 for a single applicant, more for each family member. Not needed if you are already working in Canada on a valid permit. |
| Intent to live there | You have to intend to live in the community that recommends you. |
IRCC eligibility rules are the authority here. Where a community page and IRCC disagree, IRCC wins.
Hiring through the pilot?
In this pilot the employer files the recommendation application, not the worker. Designation comes first, and the job offer has to sit inside the community’s rules before the intake opens.
Common questions
What is the Rural Community Immigration Pilot?
It is a federal pathway to permanent residence for people with a job offer from a designated employer in a participating community. The community recommends you, then you apply to IRCC. It followed the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, which ended on August 31, 2024.
Do I need a job offer before I can apply?
Yes. The job offer comes first, and it has to be from an employer the community has designated. There is no pool you can enter without one, and no way for a candidate to start the process alone.
Which community should I apply to?
The one where the job offer is. Each community has its own priority occupations, wage rules, scoring grid and intake dates, and you cannot use a job offer from one community to apply to another.
Can I work while IRCC processes the permanent residence application?
There is an optional RCIP work permit. It is employer-specific, valid for two years, and needs the community recommendation, the job offer, and proof that you have already applied for permanent residence. A spouse or partner can apply for an open work permit limited to the same community.
Read next
- Does my job count? How to find your NOC and TEER (the matching rule is the same for the RCIP, which accepts TEER 0 to 5)
- Which English or French test to take (the RCIP accepts the same five tests, at CLB 4 to 6 by TEER)
- Which jobs qualify for the Sudbury RCIP in 2026? The 25 occupations and what each scores
Community figures on this page last verified by Cancord Immigration Services Inc.: October 2026. Intake dates and cutoffs come from each community’s own published material and can change without notice.
A Job Offer Is the Hard Part
The calculators show where you would score. A consultation checks whether the offer, the employer and the timing hold up before an intake closes.