Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) [R205(a) – C15] – Public policies, special initiatives and pilot projects – International Mobility Program | Mercan Canada Employment Philippines. Inc.

Place and method of application

Applications should be received electronically unless the applicant is exempt from the mandatory requirement to apply online.

for outside of Canada applicants – refer to the Ministerial Instructions with respect to the submission of online applications for temporary resident visas and other documents
for in-Canada applicants – refer to programs exempt from the in-Canada mandatory electronic application (e-application) requirement for temporary residents

Although temporary resident visa-exempt foreign nationals may apply for a work permit under the International Mobility Program (IMP) work category at the port of entry, due to the complexity of the application and for reasons of client service and program consistency, foreign nationals should be encouraged to submit their work permit application online to IRCC under the administrative code C15.

The instructions on this page should be reviewed in conjunction with the following:

The Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) is a federal permanent resident pilot program established by Ministerial Instructions on December 1, 2024. While this is a permanent resident pilot program, applicants may be eligible to obtain a work permit under the International Mobility Program while awaiting the processing of their permanent residence application.

The department uses specific administrative codes to identify situations where it considers the work of a foreign national to create significant social, cultural or economic benefits or opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents, as described in paragraph 205(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). The factors provided for each code demonstrate how the situation may meet the requirements of paragraph R205(a). Officers must also always be satisfied that all the requirements of section R200 have been met.

C15 is an administrative code created on November 19, 2019, for the previous Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot program, which ended on August 31, 2024. This code will continue to be used to describe the work of a foreign national entering or remaining in Canada before the finalization of their permanent residence application through the RCIP. This work may be considered to create significant economic or social benefits for the community of destination.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a work permit as a participant in the RCIP, applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements and provide the supporting documentary evidence at the time of application:

have a pending application for permanent residence (PR) in the RCIP program
- applicants applying from in-Canada only need to have submitted a PR application
- applicants applying from outside Canada must have passed the completeness check on their PR application
have an eligible offer of employment from a designated employer in the community
have a recommendation certificate from a designated economic development organization of a participating community
have submitted a work permit application online (inside or outside Canada)
meet the employment requirements as stated in the National Occupation Classification (NOC) of the occupation they are being offered

Documentary evidence

The applicant must provide evidence that proves they meet the considerations of administrative exemption code C15 and will be able to perform the work being sought, as stated in the IMP offer of employment. Further details on assessing the documentary evidence can be found in the section entitled Application assessment.

With the application for a work permit, officers should be satisfied that they have the following documentary evidence to make an assessment:

proof of an existing RCIP application for permanent residence (APR)
- for applications submitted outside Canada:
  - acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) from the principal foreign national showing that their APR has been received by the department
- for applications submitted in Canada:
  - proof that the applicant has submitted their APR through the RCIP, such as
    - a copy of the AOR, or
    - a copy of the email confirming that the APR was submitted in the online portal and proof of payment of the application fees, or
    - confirmation in the IRCC system that an APR was received and is still pending (includes prospective applications)
recommendation from the Designated Economic Development Organization – Rural Community Immigration Pilot form [IMM 0249]
an offer of employment number from an IMP offer of employment submitted in the Employer Portal (or an alternate submission, if it was approved and proof the employer has paid the employer compliance fee)
the Offer of Employment to a Foreign National for the Rural Community Immigration Pilot [IMM 0247] form
- the information in the offer of employment should match the information provided in the IMM0247
evidence that the applicant meets the employment requirements of the occupation they are being offered according to the NOC, for example, proof of education, experience or any additional training required.

Application assessment

The following sections provide detailed explanations of which documents officers should accept as evidence and what they should review.

Application for permanent residence

For work permit applications submitted outside of Canada, in order to confirm that the APR has been submitted and that it has passed the completeness check, officers should verify that the following has been received:

the AOR letter from the application for permanent residence through the RCIP

For work permit applications submitted within Canada, the AOR is not necessarily required. The applicant only needs proof that they have submitted their APR through the RCIP.

Offer of employment for work permit

The employer must submit an offer of employment in the Employer Portal, as per section R209.11, before a work permit application is made.

The information in the offer of employment should match the information provided in the Offer of Employment to a Foreign National for the Rural Community Immigration Pilot [IMM 0247] submitted with the permanent residence application.

Note: Officers processing the work permit application can find the information from the IMM 0247 form on the permanent residence application screen, under the Eligibility view tab or the Job offer sub-tab, or the form should be uploaded in eDocs.

When assessing the work permit application, officers should review the following fields under the Employment details tab in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) for information provided by the employer:

Field	Considerations
LMIA exemption code and title	The employer is required to select this from a drop-down list of values in the Employer Portal. This code cannot be changed on the offer of employment. Employers should select C15 – Community Pilots.
Requirements exemptions met	Information in this field should indicate that there is a recommendation from the designated economic development organization of the participating community that indicates that the job offer is genuine, that the NOC category is appropriate, and that the temporary worker has submitted their permanent residence application. This should not be a cut and paste from IRCC’s website. If the employer indicates only “See attached,” there should be a document uploaded to GCMS in the Organization and Entities screen tab, under the Offer of employment view tab, Attachments view.
NOC and job title	The designated employer selects the NOC code that aligns with the duties of the job.
Worker information fields	The passport number and citizenship in the Worker information fields in the Employment details tab must be identical to those in the Clients & Parties tab.
Address list	The Address list sub-view provides the physical location of the employment. This location must be within the boundaries of the community of the designated economic organization. If there are multiple job locations, select the principal and add others in the remarks section of the work permit. Note: While some duties may sometimes be performed outside the community boundaries, the primary location of employment should be within the community. Each application is considered on its own merits, with a final decision based on a review of all the information available to the officer at the time of the decision.
Duties	The duties are the activities that the foreign national will be performing. Do they make sense for the occupation and TEER category? Note: Applicants must demonstrate all of the following: They are able to perform these duties. They are likely to accept and carry out the employment. They meet the relevant employment requirements of the occupation as set out in the NOC. Failure to do so may result in a refusal.
Hours of work	The offer must be for non-seasonal, indeterminate employment.
Wages	The wages being offered must fall within or exceed the wage range for that particular occupation as set out in the Job Bank of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). It is not always possible to determine occupational wages for all provinces, territories and economic regions in the Job Bank. If the regional wage is unavailable, the employer may offer the wage from a region in the same province that has similar characteristics the provincial rate the national rate
Other training required	The employer may indicate specialty training as a requirement.

Designated economic organization recommendation

The recommendation form is the Recommendation from the Designated Economic Development Organization for the Rural Community Immigration Pilot [IMM 0249].

The participating communities for the RCIP can be found here:

Participating communities – Applications locked in on or after January 30, 2025

Applicants under the RCIP must include the IMM 0249 form with their work permit application. The applicant can include either a copy of the recommendation form with a handwritten signature or a copy of the electronically signed recommendation form with their application.

The IMM 0249 form is valid for a period of 6 months from the date it is issued. The permanent residence application must be submitted within this validity period. The IMM 0249 form does not have to be valid when the applicant submits the work permit application, but it must not have been revoked.

The IMM 0249 form may be revoked by the economic development organization, or the economic development organization may be removed from the schedule. In those cases, the recommendation is invalid beginning on the day of revocation or removal.

Work permit renewals

RCIP participants who require additional time in Canada while their application for permanent residence is being processed may apply to renew their work permit as long as the permanent residence application remains in process (has not been refused, withdrawn or rejected). While an applicant’s first WP issued under the RCIP should be issued to a maximum of 2 years, subsequent renewals should be issued for a maximum of 1 year.

For a renewal under R205(a) – C15, they will first need their employer to submit an updated offer of employment (including the employer compliance fee) in the Employer Portal. The applicant will then need to apply to extend their work permit and provide the new offer of employment number as well as evidence that they meet the employment requirements of the job.

Note that applicants under the RCIP are not eligible for a bridging open work permit. This is because their permanent residence application is tied to a specific job in their designated community.

Final decision

Approval

If an officer is satisfied that the applicant is eligible for this specific category and has met all the other requirements of section R200, then the officer should confirm or enter the following information in these specific fields of the Application screen:

Field	Selection or input
Case type	52 when the offer of employment was submitted through the Employer Portal and an “A” number exists. 20 only when authorized to submit the IMM 5802 form as noted in the Client notes.
Province of destination	Province of the sponsoring community The province of destination entered by the applicant should match the address of employment in the IMP offer of employment. This information is under the Employment details – LMIA-exempt tab.
City of destination	Name of the designated community The city of destination entered by the applicant should match the address of employment in the IMP offer of employment. This information is under the Employment details – LMIA-exempt tab.
Exemption code	C15 This administrative code will auto-populate when matched with the offer from the Employer Portal.
NOC	The NOC code will auto-populate when matched with the IMP offer of employment submitted in the Employer Portal.
Intended occupation	Job title The job title will auto-populate when matched with the offer from the Employer Portal.
LMIA/LMIA-exempt #	“A” number from the work permit application. This number is populated from the work permit application and is used to find a matching offer of employment in the Employer Portal. If the work permit application was submitted on paper, the officer must manually enter the number.
Duration	First permit under the RCIP: 2 years or validity of passport, whichever is first Subsequent RCIP WP renewals: 1 year Note: Port of entry: Please issue for 24 months from the date of entry into Canada or until the expiry of the travel document, whichever comes first.
Fees	Work permit processing fee – $155
Biometrics	Work permit applicants are required to provide biometric information and pay the biometric fee – $85 The regular biometric exemptions apply (for example, under 14 or 1 in 10 rule).

Refusals

If an officer is not satisfied that the applicant has met the requirements of section R200, including the assessment under paragraph R205(a), they must record their reasons and outline the rationale for their decision as well as the facts and elements considered. They must also provide an explanation for the decision in a case note.

Refusal reasons should clearly indicate which criteria or what requirement of section R200 was not met and explain how the officer reached that conclusion. For assistance, officers can follow the steps in Decision making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision.

Example of a decision note: The applicant did not provide a copy of the recommendation form from a designated economic development organization. This form must be provided for the applicant to be eligible for this category. Because the criteria has not been met, I am not satisfied that this applicant’s work would bring the significant benefit of attracting and retaining skilled immigrants to rural communities and ensuring these immigrants are able to work and contribute to their community while transitioning to permanent residence.

Open work permits for spouses and common-law partners and family members

Officers may issue an open work permit to the spouse or common-law partner of an RCIP applicant, with a location restriction to the community where the principal applicant works. See [C17] General eligibility for spouses or common-law partners of RCIP participants for further information.

Dependent children are eligible for an open work permit under subparagraph R205(c)(ii) [administrative code C49].

Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) [R205(a) – C15] – Public policies, special initiatives and pilot projects – International Mobility Program