West Kootenay in British Columbia has revealed its list of priority sectors and occupations for the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP).

Assess your eligibility for the RCIP

The RCIP is an employer-driven pathway to permanent residence (PR) for foreign nationals in participating rural communities.

Located in southeastern B.C., West Kootenay’s RCIP designated area extends from the area north of the US border from Rock Creek on the West to Yahk on the East; Northwestern boundary to Hughes Peak and Northeast to the area around Duncan Lake.

It includes the communities of Nelson, Castlegar, Trail, Kaslo, and Nakusp, amongst others.

To be eligible, a foreign national must have a full-time, permanent job offer from a designated employer in the region. The job must be in a priority occupation.

They must also meet other RCIP requirements for language ability, education, work experience, and (unless already working in Canada) settlement funds.

West Kootenay RCIP priority sectors

Only eligible employers that are operating in one of the priority sectors mentioned below can apply to become designated and then hire through the West Kootenay RCIP:

• Health.
• Education, law and social, community and government services.
• Sales and service.
• Trades, transport and equipment operators.
• Manufacturing and utilities.

If a business operates in multiple sectors, at least one of the business activities must be in a priority sector, and the job offer must be in that sector, for the employer to qualify for designation.

West Kootenay RCIP priority occupations

The following table sets out the eligible occupations, along with the corresponding minimum required Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) levels in all four language abilities:

General Job Titles	NOC	CLB Level Requirement	Additional Eligibility Requirements
Accounting technicians and bookkeepers	12200	5	Must be in one of the 5 priority sectors.
Bakers	63202	5	Fast Food businesses are not eligible.
Career development practitioners and career counsellors (except education)	41321	6	N/A.
Carpenters	72310	5	N/A.
Cooks	63200	5	Fast Food businesses are not eligible.
Early childhood educators and assistants	42202	5	There is no employer cap for this occupation.
Food and beverage servers	65200	4	Fast Food businesses are not eligible.
Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers, and related support occupations	65201	4	Accepted Job Titles: 1) Barista, or 2) Food Counter Attendant. Fast Food businesses are not eligible.
Front Desk Agents	64314	4	N/A
General office support workers	14100	4	Must be in one of the 5 priority sectors
Health care aides	33102	5	There is no employer cap for this occupation.
Heavy-duty equipment mechanics	72401	5	N/A
Light duty cleaners	65310	4	Accepted Job Titles: 1) Housekeeping Room Attendant, or 2) Light Duty Cleaner.
Material handlers	75101	5	Accepted Job Titles: 1) Forklift Operator, 2) Forklift Truck Operator, 3) Labourer-Material Handling, or 4) Material Handler-Manufacturing & Warehousing.
Other labourers in processing, manufacturing and utilities	95109	4	Accepted Job Title: General Labourer – Manufacturing.
Other trades helpers & labourers	75119	4	N/A
Painters and decorators (except interior decorators)	73112	5	N/A
Social and community service workers	42201	5	N/A
Transport truck drivers	73300	5	75% or more of the driving/ job duties must happen within the West Kootenay RCIP Region.

West Kootenay RCIP has stated that while most job offers must match one of the approved priority occupations, a small percentage of community recommendations can go to other occupations if the job is still in a priority sector, and the employer has hired someone previously in a priority occupation.

To give employers fair access to the pilot, the community has also implemented annual limits on the number of candidates each designated employer can recommend.

These limits are based on the size of the business.

• Employers with 1 to 65 full-time employees can make up to 3 community recommendations per year.
• Employers with 66 or more full-time employees can make up to 6 community recommendations per year.

Who is eligible for the RCIP?

Once an employer has identified a foreign national they wish to hire, they must submit a recommendation application.

Foreign nationals who are successfully recommended through the community can apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for PR.

Apart from having a qualifying job offer that is from a designated employer in the community within a priority occupation, foreign nationals need to meet other criteria:

• Have at least 1 year (1,560 hours) of related work experience in the past three years*.
• Meet language proficiency requirements.
• Have a Canadian educational credential or the foreign equivalent.
• Have enough money to support the settlement process for themselves and their family.

*Students who have graduated from an eligible post-secondary school in the region such as Selkirk College may qualify without work experience.

Assess your eligibility for the RCIP