Following the April 2026 intake and feedback from employers and applicants, the West Kootenay Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) revised its intake process for the remainder of 2026. The updated process is designed to improve fairness, reduce pressure on employers and applicants, support merit-based assessment, and strengthen program integrity.
For 2026, West Kootenay RCIP received 200 Community Recommendation allocations from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). As of May 2026, 53 recommendations for permanent residence have been issued, leaving approximately 147 allocations remaining for the rest of the year.
2026 Intake Dates
To manage the remaining allocations, West Kootenay RCIP will hold two larger intakes:
June 2026 Intake
- Opens: Wednesday, June 3, 2026 at 10:00 AM PT
- Closes: Monday, June 8, 2026 at 4:00 PM PT
September 2026 Intake
- Opens: Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 10:00 AM PT
- Closes: Monday, September 7, 2026 at 4:00 PM PT
Approximately 75 Community Recommendations may be issued per intake, subject to remaining allocations, application quality, program priorities, and review outcomes.
Before You Apply
Employers must first be designated by the West Kootenay RCIP before participating in the pilot.
Designated employers may submit multiple Recommendation Applications during an intake period, up to their pre-established annual application cap. All applications submitted within a calendar year count toward this cap, regardless of outcome.
How Applications Will Be Assessed
Initial Review & Scoring Process
When an application is submitted, the system will automatically generate a preliminary score based on the information provided in the application form.
West Kootenay RCIP staff will then review applications for completeness and to confirm that the candidate meets basic program eligibility requirements. Incomplete applications, or applications that do not meet minimum eligibility requirements, will not proceed beyond this step.
Applications that pass the initial review will have their scores verified by West Kootenay RCIP staff using the official scoring grid. Applications will then be ranked based on verified scores.
Due to high demand and limited allocations, only the top-ranked applications will advance to Steering Committee review.
Steering Committee Review
The RCIP Steering Committee has final decision-making authority on Community Recommendations.
While application score is an important consideration, the Steering Committee may also consider additional factors including:
- Community priorities
- Labour market needs
- Allocation availability
- Program integrity considerations
- Connection to community/ intent to reside
- The overall goals of the pilot
A higher score increases the likelihood of being selected for review, but does not guarantee a Community Recommendation. Final decisions are made at the discretion of West Kootenay RCIP Steering Committee.
All decisions of the West Kootenay RCIP Review Committee are final. There is no appeal or challenge process.
Notification of Recommendation Decisions
Applicants and employers will be notified by email once recommendation decisions have been made.
If a candidate is selected for a Community Recommendation, both the employer and applicant will receive an email confirming the decision and outlining the next steps in the permanent residence process.
Candidates who are not selected for a recommendation during an intake will also be notified by email. If applicable, the notification will confirm whether the application will remain in the pool for consideration during the next intake period.
Application Pool
Candidates who are not selected for a Community Recommendation during an intake may remain in the application pool for one additional intake period.
During the next intake, these applications will be reassessed alongside newly submitted applications and ranked based on verified scores. This means a candidate who was not selected in one intake may still receive a recommendation in a future intake if their score ranks more competitively against the next group of applications.
Remaining in the pool does not guarantee selection for a future intake. All applications continue to be assessed competitively based on score, program priorities, allocation availability, and Steering Committee review outcomes.
Important Integrity Requirements
Applications may be removed from the pool or declined if:
- the use of an immigration representative or recruiter is not disclosed
- the application contains false or misleading information
- the job offer is no longer valid
- the employer loses designation status
- the candidate no longer meets RCIP eligibility requirements
- there are program integrity concerns
