Can I move out of the province that nominated me (PNP)?
When you become Permanent Resident (PR) through one of the
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), moving out of the province that nominated you is a little trickier. Indeed, when you apply to receive a provincial nomination, you sign a letter indicating your intent to settle in the province, and in some cases like in New Brunswick, you even sign a commitment to reside in the province.
The fact of the matter is, one of the main reasons why provinces grant a nomination is for you to reside in the province and contribute to its economic development. It often happens that a province withdraws its provincial nomination
before the PR status is granted. This will happen if someone lives in a province (working or studying), applies and receives a provincial nomination, and then moves out of the province
before the PR application is processed and PR status granted.
As soon as you get the PR status, you are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its Article 6 (
"Mobility Rights" ). Some might think that these rights guarantee free movement between provinces, however, there are some limitations to these rights, and one of the most important is the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP). But nowhere in the law is there a minimum stay period in the nominating province. The law on this point remains ambiguous and open to interpretation.
This is why you need to be careful when deciding to move out a province that nominated you
after getting PR status. This province can come after you, requesting IRCC to
revoke your PR status on the grounds of misrepresentation. Indeed, the province will say that you misrepresented
your intent to stay in the province and had no intention in residing and living in the province. If this request goes through and you are found to have misrepresented your intent, you will be deported and be inadmissible to enter Canada for 5 years.
However, you can defend yourself in these situations (see below what you can do to prove intent) and it is also
not automatic that you will be pursued for misrepresentation if you decide to leave the province that nominated you. Usually, this will happen very often if you don't even bother to try and settle in the province. New Brunswick, for example, requires its nominees to register in person in the province within 30 days of landing in Canada, and will try to revoke PR status for those who haven't done so (after several follow-ups).
What to do when I intend to move out of the nominating province?
We need to categorize two types of situations: (i) one where the immigrant does not find a job, and (ii) one where they do.
(i) If you are a newly established provincial nominee, and you have difficulty finding a good job related to your primary
NOC code, you have every right to look elsewhere. However, for how long to keep looking until moving to another province? Well, 3 to 6 months seems to be fair enough. But, you will need to document all your activities during that period of time:
- Proof of your job hunting and your rejection letters,
- Exhaust all employment resources offered by the province,
- Proof of residence in the province (lease, etc) as well as your electricity and/or gas bills,
- Proof that you have or have requested the provincial healthcare card, and
- Any other document that can prove your initial intent to stay in the province.
(ii) If you have been working in the province for a while, and you want to move to another province, you still need a good reason to. One would be that you found a better job with better pay. Other reasons would be that you got married and have to join your partner outside the province, etc.
Either way, you should contact your province's immigration authorities and tell them about your intentions to move and your reasons why. You should do this because they will know sooner or later, as provinces keep track of their provincial nominees.
If they can't offer you services to help you stay, then at least you have proof that you tried your best and that you warned them of your move.
