To apply to the Skilled Worker in Manitoba (SWM) Pathway, you must demonstrate ongoing Manitoba employment as your established connection to Manitoba.

Ongoing Manitoba employment means that you possess a valid work permit and a Manitoba company has offered you a full-time, long-term job after you have completed at least six months (continuous) full-time employment with that company as a temporary foreign worker or international student working graduate.

If you are able to obtain a temporary work permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), you may be able to apply to the MPNP as a temporary foreign worker. Please visit the IRCC website for more information about work permit options.

Qualifying employment

Your employer must be incorporated or registered by or under an act of the legislature of a province or the Parliament of Canada and operating as a business that has an established production capability, plant or place of business in Manitoba.

Your employer must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the MPNP that they are an established business with an ability to offer you full-time and long-term employment in Manitoba.

Any periods of self-employment, unauthorized work, or periods of employment during which you were engaged in full-time study (ex: work experience gained on a co-op permit) will not be included when calculating the period of qualifying work experience in Manitoba.

Self-employed individuals, business owners, owner-operators and individuals providing services as independent contractors to the business supporting their application are not eligible to apply under the Skilled Worker in Manitoba Pathway, and any work experience in Manitoba gained in those capacities will not be considered when calculating the qualifying period of work in the province.

Note: The MPNP will only issue a work permit support letter to you if there is a demonstrated employee-employer relationship.

Requirements for international students from other provinces: If you graduated from a post-secondary program in another Canadian province and want to apply to the Skilled Worker in Manitoba Pathway because you've been offered a job in Manitoba, to be eligible, you must first have been working for that Manitoba employer for at least one year.

Temporary foreign workers

Conditions

• The offer of long-term employment must be from the same employer for whom you have been working full-time for the required time period.
• You must have all qualifications for the position including training/education and any required licence or certification.
• You must have job-ready English; specifically, you must demonstrate the English or French proficiency to fulfill the duties of your job description.
• Your connection to Manitoba through employment must be stronger than ties you may have to another province.
• You must demonstrate in a Settlement Plan your intention and plan to live, work and establish your work and family life in Manitoba as a permanent resident.

Note: People exempt from requiring a work permit to work in Manitoba (e.g., Ministers of Religion) are not eligible to apply to the MPNP under this category.

Employment that is part of a work-study program is ineligible.

International student working graduates

Only graduates of Manitoba post-secondary educational institutions are considered. You are eligible if your Manitoba employer offers you a long-term job following at least six months of continuous full-time employment on a valid post-graduation work permit.

Note: Some international graduates may be eligible for an extension of their post-graduation work permit (PGWP) for up to 18 months. Please see the IRCC news release for more information.

Conditions

• You attended an authorized education or training program at a public, or registered private vocational, post-secondary institution in Manitoba. (Language programs are specifically excluded.)
• Your academic/vocational program was full-time and at least one academic year in duration.
• You successfully completed your program and were awarded a diploma, degree or certificate.
• You have been continuously working at least six months for the same employer who has offered you a permanent (long-term) full-time job.
• You have a valid post-graduation work permit issued by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
• Your connection to Manitoba through employment is stronger than ties you may have to another Canadian province.
• You demonstrate in a Settlement Plan your intention and plan to live, work and establish your work and family life in Manitoba as a permanent resident.
• You have all qualifications and the English or French language proficiency to fulfill the duties of your job.

Note: If you are an international student graduate who does not meet the conditions to apply as an International Student Working Graduate, you may be eligible to apply to the MPNP through the Skilled Worker Overseas Pathway or a pathway under the Business Investor Stream.

Who cannot apply to the MPNP?

The following are not eligible to submit an application to the MPNP:

• Refugee claimants, or individuals involved in a federal appeal or removal process
• Live-in Caregivers currently living in Canada
• Temporary foreign workers currently working and residing in a province other than Manitoba
• Spouses of Canadian citizens or permanent residents
• Individuals who have been refused by the MPNP within the last six months and who are not able to address the reason(s) for refusal
• Individuals who have an active immigration application with any other provincial immigration program or federal immigration program in Canada. Note: an Express Entry profile is not considered an immigration application.

If you or your spouse already have an active MPNP application, you are not eligible to submit an additional application to any other stream/pathway of the MPNP.