Effective March 27, 2025, the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program ("SINP") resumed accepting new Job Approval Forms ("JAFs").
For further information about the SINP's previous pause on new JAFs as of February 18, 2025, see our previous post.
What is SINP?
SINP is Saskatchewan's provincial immigration program that allows Saskatchewan to nominate qualified candidates for permanent residence in Canada. It plays a critical role in supporting Saskatchewan's growing economy and labour needs, with more than 90% of Saskatchewan's economic immigration being facilitated through the SINP.
Why another change?
Earlier this year, the federal government announced that it would reduce nomination allocations to all provincial nominee programs by 50% in 2025. The Government of Saskatchewan reacted by pausing new JAFs intake as of February 18, 2025.
Yesterday, the Government of Saskatchewan re-opened JAF intake and announced further plans on how SINP would be administered under the federal allocation cap. This includes a focus on prioritizing growing the work force in the categories of health care, agriculture and the skilled trades. There is also now a greater focus on supporting foreign workers in Saskatchewan with less support for overseas recruitment.
What's changed?
In addition to re-opening JAF intake, the Government of Saskatchewan has announced several SINP changes, including:
- Candidate approval prioritization for Health, Agriculture and the skilled trades.
- Recruitment for all other sectors and occupations will only be supported for candidates that are already temporary residents in Canada on a valid visa.
- SINP nominations from the accommodation, food services, retail trade and trucking sectors will be capped at 25% of total annual nominations.
- The following businesses will no longer be eligible to recruit through SINP: spas, salons and pet care services (excluding veterinarians).
- The following categories will be permanently closed: the Entrepreneur, International Graduate Entrepreneur and Farm Owner/Operator categories.
- Applications under the Saskatchewan Express Entry and Occupations In-Demand sub-categories that do not have Saskatchewan-based job offers will be returned.
- The Student Stream can now only be accessed by candidates who graduated from a Designated Learning Institutions in Saskatchewan.
Further details on program changes can be found in the FAQs released at the time of re-opening.
Employers will need to assess how these new changes to the SINP will impact them. For more information about these changes or to discuss immigration options for your employees, please contact the authors or a member of our immigration group.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
