Released on December 3, 2019
The Government of Saskatchewan is announcing a new immigration program category for the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP). The new category will help international students graduating from eligible Saskatchewan institutions stay in the province as entrepreneurs, while also attracting business investment.“This new immigration pathway will help retain international students who have often already successfully integrated into communities in the province,” Immigration and Career Training Minister Jeremy Harrison said. “It will also help create new businesses and jobs, as well as keep Saskatchewan competitive in attracting and retaining international students and investment.”
“Saskatchewan’s Post-Secondary International Education Strategy aims to increase the number of international students choosing to study in Saskatchewan,” Advanced Education Minister Tina Beaudry-Mellor said. “International education is an important driver for Saskatchewan’s future economic and cultural growth and this new category will help encourage international students to make Saskatchewan their home once they complete their studies.”
The creation of this new category supports an action outlined in Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan to expand the SINP by establishing and marketing a new immigration entrepreneurship category for international students who have graduated from Saskatchewan institutions and want to own and operate businesses within the province. The expanded SINP will also help to achieve the province’s goal to increase and retain the number of skilled and entrepreneurial new Canadians in Saskatchewan.
The new category will focus on applicants who have completed a full-time post-secondary degree or diploma of at least two years in length from an eligible Saskatchewan institution. Applicants approved by the SINP will actively operate and manage a business in the province for a minimum of one year and own at least one-third of the equity of a qualified business to be eligible for nomination to the federal government for permanent residence.
Students must have graduated from a post-secondary institution identified as a designated learning institution under the International Student Program and be eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit, which are issued by the federal government. Applicants must obtain a post-graduation work permit from the federal government to operate their businesses.
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For more information, contact:
Deb Young
Immigration and Career Training
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4765
Email: deb.young@gov.sk.ca