Canadian immigration for NOC C and D occupations

For years now, Canada has been using the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system to determine the skill levels of different occupations. However, this is all due to change in late 2022 – the country is switching to the Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) system instead.

In the meantime though, NOC codes continue to be integral to economic-class immigration applications, especially those done through the Express Entry system. But for the longest time, Canada was focusing its immigration efforts on occupations categorized under NOC 0, A, or B. In fact, these are the only NOC codes catered to by the Express Entry system.

While NOC 0 occupations are usually management ones, NOC A and B jobs are those that require a university degree and those that require a diploma/apprenticeship training respectively. This doesn’t mean that people whose occupations fall in other NOC codes can’t immigrate to Canada though – there are ways to go about this.

How to immigrate to Canada with a NOC C or D occupation

While NOC C occupations may need you to have a high school diploma, NOC D ones usually only call for on-the-job training. No matter which one of these occupation types you’re in though, several immigration programs are available to you. In fact, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) have recently been focusing on applicants with occupations in NOC C or D to immigrate to Canada. This was particularly seen when the Canadian government launched the Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence (TR to PR) pathways recently.

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Immigrate to Canada with a NOC C or D occupation

The best ways for someone to immigrate to Canada with a  NOC C or D occupation include:

• Provincial Nomination Programs

These programs allow Canadian provinces to have their own personalized immigration pathways that cater to their economic strategies. Generally, these programs are available in all Canadian provinces except Nunavut and Quebec. Some of these programs that accept immigrants with occupations that fall under NOC level C or D include:

• Alberta Opportunity Stream
• Manitoba Skilled Worker Program
• Ontario Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills
• Nova Scotia Occupations in Demand
• Saskatchewan Experience Category 
• BC Skills Immigration Entry Level and Semi-Skilled Category
• Northwest Territories Employer-Driven Entry Level 
• Newfoundland and Labrador Skilled Worker Category
• New Brunswick Skilled Worker with Employer Support
• Yukon Critical Impact Worker
• Prince Edward Island Labor Impact Category Critical Worker Stream

• Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP)

This is an immigration program that allows employers to hire foreigners without having to get a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). But while this is quite convenient, there’s a caveat to this program – it only caters to employers from the Atlantic provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

While there are 3 categories you can apply for under the Atlantic Immigration Program, only one is specifically for NOC C workers – the Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program. To be eligible for this program, you need to:

• Have a high-school diploma
• Have at least one year of experience in an occupation that requires job-specific training or a high school education
• Proof of language proficiency in English or French
• Proof of your ability to support yourself financially

If your application to the Atlantic Immigration Program is successful, you get Canadian permanent residence and an individualized settlement plan.

• Quebec’s Permanent Immigration Pilot Program for Workers in Food Processing

If you speak French and work in the food processing industry, this is a great immigration pathway for you. To be eligible you need to:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be able to financially support yourself for at least 3 months from your arrival in the province
• Have at least a high school diploma/a Quebec vocational diploma in a full-study program (at least a year)
• Have worked full-time for at least one year in the 3 years before the application
• Full-time job offer in an eligible occupation in Quebec. Eligible occupations include specialized cleaner, industrial butcher, and fish/seafood plant worker

• Agri-food Immigration Pilot

This program is designed for immigration applicants who work full-time in the agri-food sector in a Canadian province out of Quebec. Eligible occupations include meat processors, general farm workers, harvesting laborers, and farm supervisors. These could work in meat processing, greenhouse food production, livestock raising, or year-long mushroom production.

Current work aside, eligible candidates for this program should also have at least one year of full-time Canadian work experience in an eligible occupation. In fact, you should have a work permit that was given to you under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Beyond that, you need to have at least a high school diploma and French/English language proficiency of CLB level 4.

• Home Support Worker Pilot and Home Child Care Provider Pilot

Both of these programs are for caregivers. To be eligible for them, immigration candidates need to:

• Have at least one year of post-secondary Canadian education/its foreign equivalent
• Have at least two years of full-time work experience
• Proof of English/French language proficiency of CLB level 5

Beyond that, candidates in the Home Child Care Provider Pilot need to be caring for children under the age of 18 in their home or that of their employer.

• Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP)

This immigration program is run by the federal government and allows all participating communities to nominate Canadian immigrants. The participating communities are:

• Vernon, British Columbia
• Rhineland/Altona, Manitoba
• Brandon, Manitoba
• Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
• Thunderbay, Ontario
• Timmins, Ontario
• Sault Ste Marie, Ontario
• North Bay, Ontario
• Sudbury, Ontario
• Claresholm, Alberta
• West Kootenay, British Columbia

To be eligible for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, immigration candidates must fulfill both federal and community requirements. For instance, on the federal level, they must have the equivalent of one year of full-time work done within three years of their application -a total of 1,560 hours. While work done outside Canada is eligible, self-employed work doesn’t count.

If you don’t have work experience though, a job offer coupled with a credential from a public post-secondary institution in the community may suffice. However, you need to have been a full-time student of a program that was at least two years long. Also, you need to have lived in the community for at least 16 of the last 24 months of study and graduated within 18 months before you applied for the RNIP.

Other requirements you must fulfill to apply for the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot include:

• Have a recommendation letter from one of the participating communities. You’ll need to meet the criteria of the community you wish to join to get this letter from them
• Meet the language proficiency criteria – this is CLB 4 for NOC C and D workers
• Have proof that you have enough funds to support yourself and your family while living in the community

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