The West Kootenay Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) helps address our region’s critical workforce needs by connecting skilled international workers with local employers in priority sectors.
Who can participate in RCIP?
- Only eligible employers operating in one of the approved priority sectors can apply to become designated and hire through West Kootenay RCIP.
- Fast Food businesses are not eligible to be designated employers. See definition of “Fast Food”
- Gas stations are not eligible to be designated employers. See grocery store exception.
- Recruitment agencies are not eligible to be designated employers.
- Immigration consultants are not eligible to be designated employers.
- Law firms are not eligible to be designated employers.
- The majority of job offers must match one of the approved priority occupations.
- IRCC allows a small percentage of West Kootenay RCIP community recommendations to go to secondary NOC occupations, as long as the job is still in a priority sector.
If your business/organization is not operating in one of the priority sectors, you cannot use the West Kootenay RCIP to hire workers at this time.
Job Offer Requirements
The job must be:
- within the boundaries of West Kootenay RCIP (see map).
- full time (at least 30 paid hours per week)
- non-seasonal (year-round)
- permanent (no end date)
- at a similar skill level as the candidate’s qualifying work experience (see the table).
Volunteer work and unpaid internships don’t count.
Employer Caps
Employer caps vary by sector and company size.
Business, Finance & Administration; Education, Law, Social, Community & Government Services (excluding child care centres); Trades & Transport; and Manufacturing & Utilities
- 49 or fewer employees: up to 3 applications per year
- 50 or more employees: up to 6 applications per year
Sales & Service
- 49 or fewer employees: up to 2 applications per year
- 50 or more employees: up to 4 applications per year
Health care and child care employers are exempt from employer caps.
Example: A Sales & Service employer with fewer than 50 employees may submit up to 2 applications during the 2026 calendar year. If both applications are unsuccessful, the employer has still used its 2 application spaces.
Please Note: Employer caps are applied per calendar year and are based on the number of applications submitted, not the number approved for community recommendation. This is a change from 2025.
Because space is limited and the process is competitive, employers are encouraged to use their annual allocation carefully. Employers should prioritize candidates who clearly meet the eligibility requirements and who present a strong application with a high likelihood of receiving a community recommendation.
Q: Do applications remaining in the pool count toward my cap?
Yes. They were submitted during the 2026 calendar year and therefore count toward the employer’s annual cap. Remaining in the pool does not use an additional application space.
Wage Requirements
Any job offer made to candidates wishing to use the West Kootenay RCIP must meet the the Federal and West Kootenay wage criteria:
Federal Wage Requirements
The federal criteria specify that the job offer must include a wage that is:
- Above or within the range of wages for that particular occupation in the Job Bank (a Government of Canada database), based on the job’s NOC code and the region.
- For example, transport truck drivers in the Kootenay Region have a minimum Job Bank wage of $27.00/hour (as of Aug 2026) and so candidates in this NOC must be offered at least $27.00/hour.
- If the Job Bank does not provide regional wage information:
- The employer may use wage data from:
- A similar region in the same province
- The provincial rate
- Or the national rate
- For example: NOC 94140 – Operators, Food & Beverage Processing, does not have a Job Bank wage specifically for the Kootenay Region, so you must use the Provincial wage in the Job Bank instead.
- The employer may use wage data from:
West Kootenay RCIP Wage Requirements
The Rural Community Immigration Pilot is designed to strengthen our region by attracting and retaining skilled foreign workers who will build their lives and careers here in the West Kootenays. To support this goal, we require employers to offer wages that reflect the realities of living in our communities.
All job offers must provide a minimum wage of $21.00 per hour or align with the wage range listed in the Government of Canada’s Job Bank—whichever is higher. Even if the Job Bank shows an average wage below $21.00/hour, employers must still meet our $21.00/hour minimum.
This standard reflects the higher cost of living in the West Kootenay region, and our commitment to ensuring that newcomers have a fair opportunity to succeed, thrive, and put down roots in the community. We believe that fair compensation is a cornerstone of long-term retention, economic resilience, and community well-being.
What about wage enhancements and/or wage top-ups?
Some jobs, such as Early Childhood Educators and Health Care Aides, may receive wage top-ups or enhancements. These additional payments cannot be included in the base wage calculation. The base wage must still meet the RCIP minimum requirement of $21/hour or the Job Bank wage for that occupation—whichever is higher.
Work Experience Requirements
Assessing work experience can be challenging. It is one of the most complex parts of the RCIP application, and it is the topic we receive the most questions about. There are many details to consider, including the number of hours worked, how recent the experience is, whether it matches the job offer, and how it is documented .
To support you, we have created a step-by-step page that walks both employers and applicants through how to assess whether work experience is eligible. This page explains the requirements in plain language, provides examples, and helps you understand what documents to include so you can feel confident in your application.
Language Requirements
All West Kootenay Rural Community Immigration Pilot applicants must prove their language abilities by taking an approved test.
The minimum score needed will depend on the TEER (skill level) of the job being offered. The TEER is the second number in the NOC code of the job being offered, for example, Cook is NOC 63200 and the TEER is 3, so a cook must score CLB 5 or more in all four categories.
Candidates must meet or exceed the required CLB level in each of the four language abilities: reading, writing, listening and speaking. An overall or average test score is not used to determine RCIP eligibility.
- TEER 0 or 1 occupation must have a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) score of 6 or more
- TEER 2 or 3 occupation must have a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) score of CLB 5
- TEER 4 or 5 occupation must have a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) score of CLB 4
NOTE: Language test results are valid for two years. If the applicant’s language test expires before they apply for permanent residence, they must take a new language test and meet the RCIP language requirements before submitting their permanent residence application.
Education Requirements
All West Kootenay RCIP applicants must have a Canadian educational credential or the foreign equivalent.
Canadian Education Credential
A Canadian educational credential can be one of the following:
- A Canadian secondary school (high school) diploma, or
- A recognized Canadian post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree from a designated learning institution.
To confirm that the Canadian post-secondary credential is recognized, you can search for the institution on the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC) website.
- If the Legal Status of the institution says “recognized,” the applicant’s credential will be accepted.
- If it does not say recognized, the applicant will need to submit an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) showing their education is equivalent to Grade 12 (Canadian high school diploma) or higher.
Foreign Equivalent
If the applicant’s education was completed outside Canada or at an institution that is not recognized (see box above), they must include an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) from a designated organization or professional body.
The ECA report must:
- Be less than 5 years old on the date the applicants applies for Permanent Residence with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and
- Show that the applicant’s foreign credential is equal to a Canadian secondary school (high school) diploma or a Canadian post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree
Settlement Fund Requirements
NOTE: West Kootenay RCIP does not require proof of settlement funds as part of the community recommendation application. However, the applicant will need to provide this proof when they apply for permanent residence to IRCC. For this reason, we strongly recommend confirming that your candidate has adequate settlement funds before submitting a recommendation application.
Candidates will only need to show proof of settlement funds if they are not already working in Canada when they apply for permanent residence.
If the candidate is currently working in Canada with valid status, this requirement does not apply to them.
For everyone else, they must show they have enough money to support themself and their family after they arrive. The amount depends on their family size and is based on 50% of the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) for rural areas.
To find the current settlement fund amounts and full details, visit the Government of Canada website: Proof of settlement funds
Proof of Legal Status in Canada
If the applicant is already living in Canada, they must include proof of their current legal status as part of the community recommendation application.
This means they must submit a copy of their valid immigration document, such as:
- Work permit
- Study permit
- Temporary resident permit
- Proof of maintained status (see below for more information)
Applicants must be legally authorized to remain in Canada and must continue to maintain valid temporary resident status throughout both the West Kootenay RCIP process and any subsequent permanent residence application with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
If the applicant has an employer-specific (closed) work permit, they must be working for the employer named on the permit.
Applicants on Maintained Status
Applicants whose permit has expired but who have applied to extend or change their status before the expiry date may have maintained status.
Maintained status does not automatically make an applicant eligible for West Kootenay RCIP. Applications involving maintained status may be subject to additional review. West Kootenay RCIP may request additional documentation or require the applicant to sign an IMM 5475 Authority to Release Personal Information form, allowing IRCC to confirm the status and outcome of the pending application.
This is because applicants in Canada must maintain valid temporary resident status throughout both the community recommendation process and the permanent residence process. A community recommendation does not resolve immigration status issues.
Important Notes for Employers
It is your responsibility to ensure that your candidate includes proof of their current immigration status in their application.
If you have questions about your candidate’s immigration status, please contact West Kootenay RCIP before applying.
If proof of status is missing, the application may be considered incomplete and returned.
If the candidate holds an employer-specific work permit for a different employer, they may not be legally authorized to work for you.
If the candidate is on maintained status, additional review may be required before a recommendation decision can be made.
Not Eligible: Visitor Visa Holders & Those Without Valid Status
If the applicant is in Canada on a visitor visa or they don’t have valid immigration status they are not eligible for a community recommendation from West Kootenay RCIP. This is because:
- The applicant cannot apply for a work permit from inside Canada.
- IRCC processing times can take over a year, making it unlikely the job offer will still be valid.
To keep the program fair and effective, West Kootenay RCIP only issues recommendations to candidates who can realistically start working and apply for permanent residence in a timely way.