Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP)

The Nova Scotia Nominee Program is the province's route to Canadian permanent residence for skilled workers, international graduates, physicians, and entrepreneurs. Like other provincial nominee programs, it works in two stages. Nova Scotia nominates you, then you apply to the federal government for permanent residence.

The program changed significantly on February 18, 2026, when Nova Scotia consolidated ten separate streams into four. If you researched the NSNP before that date, the stream names you remember no longer exist in the same form. Nova Scotia also runs the Atlantic Immigration Program, which is a separate federal pathway and was not affected by the consolidation, and three of the four NSNP streams connect to the federal Express Entry system.

Key Facts About the Nova Scotia Nominee Program

• Four streams: Skilled Worker, Nova Scotia Graduate, Entrepreneur, and Nova Scotia: Express Entry, in effect since February 18, 2026.
• Administered by: the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration, Immigration and Population Growth branch. Older documents call this the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration, which is the same authority.
• Entry point: an Expression of Interest that goes into a pool. Nova Scotia holds periodic draws and does not publish a draw schedule in advance.
• Provincial fee: none for NSNP streams.
• After nomination: you have twelve months to apply to IRCC for permanent residence.
• Express Entry benefit: a nomination through an Express Entry aligned stream adds 600 points to your CRS score, which in practice secures an invitation to apply.

How the Nova Scotia PNP Works

Nova Scotia moved to a formal Expression of Interest model at the end of 2025. You no longer submit an application and wait for it to be assessed in the order it arrived. Instead, you submit an EOI, it enters a pool, and the province draws from that pool when it decides to.

Selection is not first come, first served. Nova Scotia weighs provincial priorities, how many nomination spaces it has left in its federal allocation, and the makeup of the pool itself. That last point matters more than most applicants expect. A profile that would have been selected two years ago may sit untouched now, not because anything about you changed, but because the province is drawing from a different part of the pool.

The steps look like this:

1. Confirm your stream and sub-criteria. Each of the four streams contains several sets of criteria carried over from the old pathways, and they are not interchangeable.
2. Submit your Expression of Interest through the Nova Scotia online portal with the documents that stream requires.
3. Wait for selection. Your EOI stays active in the pool. Nova Scotia contacts you only if you are selected.
4. Complete the application and pass the completeness check. Missing documents can close your submission.
5. Receive your nomination certificate if approved.
6. Apply to IRCC within twelve months. Express Entry candidates accept the nomination in their profile and apply online. Base stream nominees apply directly to IRCC.

If you cannot apply within twelve months, Nova Scotia allows one extension, which expires six months after the original date. No extension is granted more than eighteen months after the original nomination.

The Four Nova Scotia PNP Streams

Skilled Worker

This is the broadest stream and the one most employer-driven applicants use. It exists so Nova Scotia employers can hire foreign workers for positions they could not fill with Canadian citizens or permanent residents, which means your employer carries real obligations in the process.

To submit an EOI you generally need:

• A permanent, full-time job offer from a Nova Scotia employer in an occupation the province has identified as in demand.
• One year of work experience related to that job.
• Language ability at CLB 4 or higher, tested, even if English or French is your first language.
• Enough money to settle in Nova Scotia.

The Skilled Worker stream now also holds the construction worker criteria that used to sit in the Critical Construction Worker Pilot, and one of the two physician routes. The construction sub-criteria cover a defined list of NOC codes rather than construction work in general, so the exact classification of your job matters.

Nova Scotia Graduate

This stream is for recent international graduates whose education and job offer line up with specific NOC categories. It absorbed the old International Graduates in Demand pathway, and the occupation list remains narrow. Eligible occupations include early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202), nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (NOC 33102), paramedical occupations (NOC 32102), and pharmacy technicians (NOC 32124).

You typically need a full-time job offer in an eligible occupation that matches your field of study, a program of study completed at a Nova Scotia institution within the last three years, at least 30 weeks of study with half of it completed in Nova Scotia, any certification your regulated occupation requires, language ability at CLB 5, and settlement funds. The study length requirement is shorter for continuing care assistant training.

Nova Scotia: Express Entry

This stream merged three former pathways: Nova Scotia Experience: Express Entry, Labour Market Priorities, and Labour Market Priorities for Physicians. All three sets of criteria survived. You need an active profile in the federal Express Entry pool for every route.

• Skilled work experience in Nova Scotia. One year of full-time work in the province in an occupation at TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3, and an age between 21 and 55. Language requirements are CLB 7 for TEER 0 and 1 occupations, and CLB 5 for TEER 2 and 3.
• Physicians with a valid job offer. An approved job offer from Nova Scotia Health or the IWK Health Centre under NOC 31100, 31101, or 31102, a Letter of Interest from the NSNP, a signed Return for Service Agreement committing to at least two years in the province, and settlement funds. Physicians must submit the EOI within 30 calendar days of the Letter of Interest.
• Letter of Interest route. Nova Scotia searches the Express Entry pool and issues a Letter of Interest to candidates who match its current priorities. You cannot apply for this. You can only make your profile more likely to be found.

Because these routes are Express Entry aligned, a nomination here adds 600 CRS points. If you are weighing this against applying through the federal pool alone, our comparison of Express Entry versus a PNP sets out the trade-offs.

Entrepreneur

The Entrepreneur stream is invitation only and works on a points-ranked EOI. You start or buy a Nova Scotia business, operate it on a work permit while actively managing it day to day, and become eligible for nomination after roughly a year of operation. Passive investment does not qualify.

You also need at least three years of experience actively managing and owning a business with a minimum one third ownership, or more than five years in a senior business management role, plus CLB 5 in English or French. Your net worth has to be verified by a third party the province designates.

The International Graduate criteria from the old International Graduate Entrepreneur stream now sit inside this stream. That route is for graduates of Nova Scotia institutions who hold a valid post-graduation work permit and have already operated a Nova Scotia business, with a higher language requirement of CLB 7.

Who Nova Scotia Is Prioritizing in 2026

This is the part of the program most guides skip, and it decides whether an EOI is worth submitting at all. On April 27, 2026, Nova Scotia published a three-level selection framework:

• Level 1, healthcare and skilled trades. Top priority, covering TEER 0 to 4. This is the only level open to both candidates applying from outside Canada and temporary residents already in Nova Scotia.
• Level 2, other priority occupations. Restricted to temporary residents already living and working in the province.
• Level 3, all remaining occupations. Also restricted to temporary residents in Nova Scotia, and limited to higher TEER levels.

Occupations at TEER 5 are not being considered under these priorities. Nova Scotia has also paused intake from specific sectors at various points, including accommodation and food services, so confirm the current status of your sector before you invest time in an application.

In July 2026 the province announced a one-time expansion of its selections, drawing additional candidates from EOIs submitted on or before June 30, 2026. That expansion targets people already living and working in Nova Scotia whose work permits expire in 2026 or earlier, including those in TEER 0 to 4 occupations in sectors such as health and social services, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation, graduates of Nova Scotia designated learning institutions, and candidates living outside the Halifax area. Nova Scotia contacts selected candidates directly.

The pattern across both announcements is consistent. Nova Scotia has more interest than nomination spaces, and it is spending those spaces on people who are already in the province or who work in occupations it cannot fill locally.

Nova Scotia PNP or the Atlantic Immigration Program

Nova Scotia employers can hire through either program, and the two are often confused. The NSNP is a nomination program. Nova Scotia nominates you, and you then file a separate permanent residence application with IRCC. The Atlantic Immigration Program is federal. A designated employer endorses your job offer, and you apply directly to IRCC for permanent residence in a single step, with no provincial nomination involved.

Which one suits you usually depends on your employer rather than on you. Not every Nova Scotia employer is AIP designated, and not every job offer meets the NSNP occupation criteria. If your employer qualifies for both, the choice comes down to timing, your occupation's TEER level, and whether you have an Express Entry profile worth protecting.

Common Reasons Nova Scotia PNP Applications Fail

• The wrong NOC code. Several NSNP sub-criteria apply to specific five-digit NOC codes, not to job titles. A misclassified occupation can move you out of an eligible list entirely.
• A job offer that does not meet the definition. The offer has to be permanent, meaning no end date, and full time, meaning year-round work of at least 30 hours a week.
• Incomplete submissions. Nova Scotia runs a completeness check after selection and can close your file if documents are missing.
• Waiting too long after nomination. The twelve month window to apply to IRCC is firm, and extensions are limited.
• Applying into a priority level you do not fit. Submitting an EOI from abroad in a non-priority occupation is not a refusal, but it can mean an indefinite wait with no outcome.
• Federal admissibility issues. A nomination does not resolve medical, criminal, or misrepresentation concerns. IRCC assesses those separately.

How SEP Immigration Helps With Your NSNP Application

Most of the value in an NSNP case is decided before anything is submitted. We assess which of the four streams and which specific sub-criteria your profile actually meets, confirm your NOC classification against the province's current occupation lists, and tell you honestly where you sit relative to Nova Scotia's stated priorities. If the answer is that another province or the Atlantic Immigration Program is a better fit, we say so.

From there we prepare and submit the Expression of Interest with complete supporting documents, work with your employer on the job offer requirements, and handle the federal permanent residence application after nomination, whether that runs through Express Entry or the paper-based route. Sepehr Falahati is a licensed immigration consultant with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC/IRB, R533959).

To find out which Nova Scotia stream fits your situation, book a consultation with our team and bring your job offer details, work history, and language test results.

You can read the province's current stream pages on the official Nova Scotia Nominee Program website, and IRCC's overview of the nomination process on the federal provincial nominee program page.

This page is general information, not legal advice. NSNP streams, occupation lists, and selection priorities change frequently, and Nova Scotia's 2026 priorities are explicitly described as subject to change. Confirm current requirements with the Government of Nova Scotia and canada.ca, or with a licensed representative, before you act.