International graduate students in Saskatchewan universities can now apply for Canadian permanent residency after graduation through a new provincial program, according to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration.
The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) has updated its master’s and PhD graduate stream under the student category this November.
The program allows the province to nominate applicants to get their landed immigrant status under certain required criteria.
This newly launched category recognizes a difference between undergraduate and graduate students on immigration applications, said Rupen Pandya, Saskatchewan assistant deputy minister of immigrant affairs.
Pandya said the previous permanent residency program required all international students, undergraduates and graduates, to have a minimum of six months’ work experience within the province before applying for permanent residency.
“As for now, even if [graduate students] don’t find a job right away, we can still nominate them if they either get at least six-month employment in their specialized fields, a job offer or the proof that their spouse has full-time work,” Pandya said.
“These students in advanced education [are] already involved in our community,” Pandya said.
“We’d like to give them opportunities to make Saskatchewan their permanent home.”
The criteria for the master’s and PhD stream also stipulate that students who intend to live in the province must have $10,000 for themselves and $2,000 for each accompanying family member in the event of a short time without work, Pandya explained.
“It’s important for us to be confident that these students can contribute to the Saskatchewan economy,” Pandya said.
The University of Regina, one of the major universities in the province, which currently has 300 international graduates, regards this program as a benefit for its students, according to Barbra Pollock, vice-president (external relations at the U of R.)
“By knowing [students] won’t return to their own countries, this would be an attractive opportunity for them,” Pollock said.
Pollock also said the university has received lots of inquiries from students in and out of the university with regards to both the SINP and graduate programs at the University of Regina.
In September, a similar program was started in Ontario to allow international master’s degree graduates in publicly funded universities to apply for permanent residency without a job offer. Ontario applicants must complete a language proficiency test to be eligible for the program.