Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP)

See if you're eligible for the NTNP

Employer Driven Stream

  1. Entry level/Semi-Skilled Occupations

Eligibility

The Employer Must:

  • Have a job vacancy;
  • Identify a potential nominee;
  • Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
  • Be a registered business, industry association, or a local, municipal, First Nation or territorial government, with an office or establishment in the Northwest Territories and operational in the Northwest Territories for a minimum of one (1) year;
  • Be registered with the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) and be in compliance with the Employment Standards Act (if applicable); and
  • Provide proof of one (1) local and one (1) national recruitment efforts and submit a summary of results consistent with the Employer Driven Program Application Guidelines; OR obtain a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
  • Have worked in the position for a minimum of six (6) months prior to applying to the NTNP;

The Employer Contract Must:

  • Be for a permanent full-time position (minimum 30 hours per week);
  • Be in an occupation that falls into National Occupation Code (NOC) skill levels C or D;
  • Not conflict with existing collective bargaining agreements;
  • Comply with the Employment Standards Act (if applicable); and
  • Provide a comparable industry rate of pay.

 The Nominee Applicant Must:

  • Have the required certification or accreditation of the specific trade, occupation and NOC code Employment requirements;
  • Have the required work experience for the specific occupation as advertised and/or per the NOC code Employment requirements;
  • If applicable, meet territorial certification, licensing or registration requirements of the job (for non-regulated occupations, the employer is responsible for ensuring that the nominee meets occupational standards);
  • Have proof of settlement funds
  • Have applied to the job via one of the required local or national advertising platforms
  • Meet the language requirement criteria; and
  • Not be a refugee claimant.

 

  1. Skilled Worker:

Eligibility

The Employer Must:

  • Have a job vacancy;
  • Identify a potential nominee;
  • Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
  • Be a registered business, industry association, or a local, municipal, First Nation or territorial government, with an office or establishment in the Northwest Territories and operational in the Northwest Territories for a minimum of one (1) year;
  • Be registered with the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) and be in compliance with the Employment Standards Act (if applicable); and
  • Provide proof of one (1) local and one (1) national recruitment effort and submit a summary of results consistent with the Employer Driven NTNP Application Guidelines; OR obtain a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

The Employer Contract Must:

  • Be for a permanent full-time position (minimum 30 hours per week);
  • Be in an occupation that falls into National Occupation Code (NOC) skill levels O, A, or B;
  • Not conflict with existing collective bargaining agreements;
  • Comply with the Employment Standards Act (if applicable); and
  • Provide a comparable industry rate of pay.

The Nominee Applicant Must:

  • Have one (1) year of full-time experience in the same or similar occupation they are being nominated for within the last 10 years;
  • Have the required certification or accreditation of the specific trade, occupation and NOC code Employment requirements;
  • Have the required work experience for the specific occupation as advertised and/or per the NOC code Employment requirements;
  • If applicable, meet territorial certification, licensing or registration requirements of the job (for non-regulated occupations, the employer is responsible for ensuring that the nominee meets occupational standards);
  • Have applied to the job via one of the required local or national advertising platforms (see Employer Driven Application Guidelines);
  • Meet the language requirement criteria; and
  • Not be a refugee claimant.

 

  1. NWT Express Entry

The NWT Express Entry category is for Skilled Workers who have a profile in the Express Entry System, a federal program with expedited application times for skilled individuals who want to work and live in the NWT. 

To be eligible for NWT Express Entry, a foreign national must meet the following criteria:

  • be accepted into Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Express Entry Pool;
  • have a profile registered in the Express Entry system;
  • have a Job Seeker Validation Code; and
  • meet the criteria of the Skilled Worker stream.

Business Stream

The Business Stream is for people who want to start a business in the NWT, purchase an existing business based here, or invest in and operate an existing business based here.

 

Eligibility:

  1. Applicants must commit to invest:
    • A minimum of $300,000 CDN equity* into starting or buying a business within the corporate boundaries of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; or
    • A minimum of $150,000 CDN equity* into starting or buying a business outside of the corporate boundaries of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
  2. You must demonstrate you own at least 33.3% of the business, unless your personal equity investment is at least $1,000,000 CDN, in which case you may own less.
  3. You must also provide proof that you have a personal net worth of:
    • At least $500,000 CDN if starting or buying a business within the corporate boundaries of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; or
    • At least $250,000 CDN if starting or buying a business outside the corporate boundaries of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
  1. You must demonstrate that they have achieved a level of proficiency of 4 against the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB 4) in English or the equivalent language level against the Niveaux de competence linquistique Canadiens (NCLC) in French upon application.
    • Please note that the Nominee Program will only accept test results from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) if submitting results in English, and the Test d’évaluation de français (TEF) if submitting results in French. Test results must be no older than two (2) years at the time of application.
  1. You must demonstrate reasonable knowledge and understanding of the Northwest Territories and its economy
  1. You must demonstrate reasonable communication skills appropriate to conduct business in the Northwest Territories and to integrate into the local community;
  1. You need to have the necessary experience and education to successfully implement the business plan;
  1. You must demonstrate sufficient financial resources to start and operate a business and support themselves sand any dependents for the duration of the applicant’s Business Performance Agreement;
  1. You can not have an active application with any other provincial or territorial nominee program; not have an active application with any other stream of the Nominee Program in the Northwest Territories; and not be a Refugee Claimant
  1. And of course, you must be ready and willing to settle full-time right here in the NWT!

 

How to apply

The application and assessment process for the NTNP is as follows:

1.Self-assessment and initial investigations;

2.Further investigations and face-to-face interview(s); (Initial Registration and Pre-Interview Submissions on an online NTNP account)

 

Upon invitation to apply:

3.Formal application; (Formal Application Submission on an online NTNP account)

4.Application review;

 

If approved:

5.Approval and the Business Performance Agreement;

6.Developing the business (Arrival Report and Business Performance Agreement Interim Report Submissions on an online NTNP account); and

7.Nomination (Final Report Submission on an online NTNP account).

 

Francophone Stream

The Francophone Stream allows qualified foreign nationals, who speak both French and English and have a valid job offer from an NWT Employer, to apply to the Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP). This stream is designed to increase the labour pool for bilingual workers within all National Occupational Classification skill levels (NOC skill level O, A, B, C & D). 

There are minimum language requirements to ensure the foreign national is able to communicate in both French and English. This requirement must be met at the time of application and proof of testing must be provided.

 

The Employer Must:

  • Have a job vacancy;
  • Provide the potential nominee with a full-time and permanent job offer;
  • Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
  • Be a registered business, industry association, or a local, municipal, First Nation or territorial government, with an office or establishment in the Northwest Territories operational in the NWT for a minimum of one (1) year;
  • Be registered with the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) and be in compliance with the Employment Standards Act, if applicable;

The Employment Contract Must:

  • Be for a permanent full-time position (minimum 30 hours per week);
  • Not conflict with existing collective bargaining agreements;
  • Comply with the Employment Standards Act (if applicable); and
  • Provide a comparable industry rate of pay.

The Nominee Applicant Must:

  • Have a valid, full-time and permanent job offer in the NWT;
  • Have one (1) year of full-time experience in the occupation they are being nominated for within the last 10 years OR six (6) months of full-time work experience in the NWT in the occupation they are being nominated for;
  • Have the required certification or accreditation of the specific trade, occupation and NOC Employment requirements;
  • Have the required work experience for the specific occupation as advertised and/or per the NOC Employment requirements;
  • If applicable, meet territorial certification, licensing or registration requirements of the job (for non-regulated occupations, the employer is responsible for ensuring that the nominee meets occupational standards);
  • Have proof of settlement funds (see Francophone Stream guidelines);
  • Meet the language requirement criteria in both French (CLB 5) and English (CLB 4); and
  • Not be a refugee claimant.
See if you're eligible for the NTNP