This article is aimed primarily at international student couples with open work permits and international students who graduated in provinces other than Prince Edward Island with PGWP who are not able to secure experience leading to residency in the provinces where they studied and want to apply for permanent residency in Canada, as it provides details on one of the best programs out there to make this process less complicated and all this from the beautiful province of Prince Edward Island (PEI). Below, we break down this interesting provincial nomination program called Critical Workers or Critical Worker.  

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A little about PEI

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Prince Edward Island, Prince Edward Island or PEI, as it is often sympathetically abbreviated, is Canada's smallest province. It is located in the east of the country just off the Atlantic coast, its capital is the picturesque city of Charlottetown and has a strong economy based on tourism, fishing, agriculture, biotechnology, clean and renewable energy, aerospace, ocean and maritime technology and manufacturing. It is also one of the provinces with the lowest cost of living in the country and has been named "Canada's Gourmet Island" for its exotic oyster, mussel and seafood dishes.

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Why is it easier to apply for permanent residency with the PEI Critical Worker Program?

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Because the PEI provincial government, unlike the federal government, is quite flexible in allowing people with a valid work permit to get an offer of employment in unskilled trades, i.e. survival jobs such as: mopping floors in a supermarket, washing dishes in a restaurant, being a cashier in a store, tending nurseries and greenhouses, being janitors, janitors and intensive cleaners, delivery service drivers and door-to-door distributors, dry cleaning, laundry and related occupations (for more examples, you can access this link and expand the information on the TEER 4 or 5 category and the NOC; any trade or line of business comes in here. You can then obtain the minimum six months experience and apply for the provincial nomination in PEI for permanent residency, provided you meet the other requirements intrinsic to this program. 

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What are the requirements to apply for the PEI Critical Worker Program? 

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For this program, the following requirements must be met:

• Have a full-time, i.e., permanent or minimum two-year (must not be temporary) offer of employment from a PEI employer in an intermediate skilled position, TEER 4 or 5, i.e., any trade.
• Have worked a minimum of six months full-time for the PEI employer.
• Have a valid work permit and legal status in Canada.
• Possess at least a high school diploma.
• Be between 18 and 59 years of age.
• Have at least two (2) years of work experience in your country of origin or previous studies. In other words, you must have studied or had a stable job for at least two years in your country of origin.
• Have a level of English CLB 4, with a recognized test such as IELTS general or CELPIP. 
• Have sufficient financial resources to cover the trip to the island and their stay.
• Demonstrate genuine intent to live in Prince Edward Island. 

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Your partner can speed up the permanent residency process for both of you!

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For this plan, the student's partner plays an important role at the time of advancing the permanent residence. Remember that when the foreigner travels to study, his/her partner becomes a great support at the moment of starting to work and once he/she gets a minimum experience of six months in any field, in this province, he/she can apply to the provincial nomination program of PEI and include the student and with this the probability that when the student graduates, both will already have permanent residency. It is necessary to consider that at all times, in addition to the experience, the couple must meet the other requirements of the program. However, if the partner does not work, then the process must be done by the student after graduation, which takes a little longer, although the application is just as viable. 

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The PEI PNP Critical Worker PEI is a good "escape plan" for graduates from other provinces who have work permits but cannot find employment to apply for permanent residency.

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If you have not been able to get a job in your province even with your post-graduation permit and this is a concern, then you can move to Prince Edward Island, get a job in any field, work for six months and then apply for permanent residency! This "escape plan" can work in a scenario like this: suppose you go to study in Ontario and after graduation you do not get an offer of employment and experience in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3, and you also do not get experience in an in-demand occupation or trade in Ontario, the consequence of this situation is that, since you do not get recognized work experience in Ontario for residency by PNP or by CEC, you cannot then apply for residency by either of these programs. In contrast, if you get an offer and experience in PEI in any TEER, this experience will allow you to apply for residency. Please note that the PGWP is federal and therefore will allow you to work in any province in Canada. 

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And what if you don't like PEI because it doesn't meet your expectations for growth, what would the process be like in the province of Ontario? In that case, you must apply for permanent residency through a federal plan, and to do so you must:

• Have 12 months work experience in a NOC O, A or B classification job, TEERS 1, 2 or 3; i.e., they are professional or technical jobs. 
• An advanced level of English and an intermediate level of French.
• Must compete for residency for the federal plan. 
• Plus basic eligibility requirements.

The difference between the two plans is notorious, so you can evaluate your chances of applying faster and more successfully for residency.

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The higher the score obtained, the greater the possibility of obtaining permanent residency.

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Remember that the above requirements are the basics, but your training counts for selection, therefore:

• If your English level is higher than the basic BLC 4 required, you will get more points.
• If you have a technical or college degree instead of just a bachelor's degree, you will get more points.
• If you have more than two (2) years of work experience in your home country or if you have been academically prepared for a specific field, you will get more points.

In short, a good score will be in your favor when applying for permanent residency in PEI.

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Critical Worker Program Application Steps

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This application is done in two steps:

1. If you meet the requirements, the province of PEI will give you the provincial nomination and this implies that you intend to stay and live on the island at least until you become a citizen, why, because when you apply you affirm that you have a genuine interest in living there. Remember that this aspect is within the requirements and, if you change provinces before the time, you may have problems when you apply for citizenship.
2. Once nominated, you will apply to the federal government for residency.

On the official website of Prince Edward Island Canada, you can see the forms to register at no cost.

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At Immiland Canada, we are very happy to give you this news that makes it easier for you to settle in Canada, so take advantage of this program to achieve your Canadian dream faster!

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If you are not here yet, but you are thinking of studying, working and living in Canada, we recommend that you start now to prepare yourself to accumulate more points, a good way to do it is learning English or French, in Immiland we offer very practical courses that will take you to another level. Visit our Planeta Immiland Education academy and take your level evaluation test.

If you wish to seek advice from our regulated consultants, please contact us at info@immilandcanada.com.

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With love,

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Immiland

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