PEI Skilled Worker Stream: PNP Nomination With a Job Offer

The Skilled Worker stream is one of the Workforce streams of the PEI Provincial Nominee Program. A PEI employer offers you a skilled job, you apply to the PEI Office of Immigration, and if the province nominates you, you then apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence.

It is a base stream, which means it runs outside the federal Express Entry system. You do not need an Express Entry profile. If you do have one, compare this stream with PEI Express Entry.

Most candidates are already working in PEI on a work permit. The stream can also be used to recruit workers from outside Canada, but only if the employer gets approval from the Office of Immigration before making the job offer. With that approval, the province can issue a work permit support letter so you can apply for a work permit.

PEI's other Workforce streams cover different situations. The Critical Worker and Intermediate Experience streams are for TEER 4 and 5 jobs, and the International Graduate stream is for graduates of PEI public colleges and universities.

According to the PEI Workforce Application Guide (January 2026), you must:

• have a full-time, non-seasonal job offer from a PEI employer that is permanent or lasts at least two years
• have the job in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation under the National Occupational Classification (NOC)
• have at least two years of full-time work experience in the past five years
• have a valid work permit to be working in Canada (unless your employer has approval to recruit you from abroad)
• have legal status in your country of residence
• have completed a post-secondary degree or diploma from a program of at least two years
• be 18 to 59 years old
• show enough English or French to do the job
• have enough money to pay immigration and travel costs and settle in PEI
• show a genuine intention to live in PEI

How do I prove language ability?

You have two options. You can submit a valid language test from an IRCC-approved testing organization with at least CLB/NCLC 4 (Canadian Language Benchmark, or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens for French). Or your employer can complete form PEIW-02: Workforce Job Offer Form to confirm they are comfortable with your English or French for the job. Language tests are valid for two years. See our language test guide.

Your employer completes form PEIW-02 and confirms that:

• the business has operated in PEI under its current ownership or management for at least two years and has identified labor gaps
• it follows employment, workers' compensation, human rights, and health and safety laws, plus federal immigration law
• it tried and failed to recruit in Canada for the job, and the job is critical to the business
• the pay meets provincial and federal standards and the comparable industry wage rate (the median wage for the NOC code set by Employment and Social Development Canada)
• the job is in PEI and does not break a union agreement or relate to a labor dispute
• any required provincial license or accreditation has been checked

If you need a new or extended work permit, the employer must register in the federal Employer Portal and pay the $230 employer compliance fee. See PNP employer streams for the employer side.

Can I work from home?

Only in limited cases. PEI has a telework policy: you must live in PEI, the employer must have an office in PEI with at least 10 long-term PEI employees (with some exceptions), and no more than 25% of its workforce can be PNP or AIP applicants working from home. Fully virtual businesses are not eligible.

You submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile, which is scored out of 100 points. The Office of Immigration can change the grid at any time.

Some details from the January 2026 grid:

• Age: 25 to 44 gets the full 15 points; over 49 gets none.
• Language: CLB 9 or higher gets 20 points. A signed PEIW-02 form also gets 20 points in this stream.
• Work experience: more than six years gets 20 points; under two years gets none.
• Adaptability: points for close family in PEI, a spouse with CLB 6 or higher, owning a home in PEI, a PEI degree, and similar ties.

A high score does not guarantee an invitation. PEI also looks at provincial priorities and labor needs in each draw.

The guide lists situations that make you ineligible for all Workforce streams. They include:

• an active application with PEI or with another province or territory
• a past refusal for misrepresentation
• living or working in Canada without authorization, or being out of status for more than 90 days without applying to restore it
• being an unresolved or failed refugee or humanitarian claimant in Canada
• a seasonal, part-time, casual, or commission-only job
• being self-employed, a shareholder in the business, or planning to start a business
• a job not based in PEI

If you have a past refusal, a status problem, or a criminal record, talk to a lawyer or a licensed consultant (RCIC) before you apply. Our guide on verifying a lawyer or consultant explains how to check a representative.

The PEI application fee is $300 CAD, paid online when you submit the application form (January 2026 guide). The fee is not refunded if you are refused. You also pay federal fees for permanent residence, biometrics, and medical exams, plus language tests and translations.

PEI does not publish or guarantee processing times. After nomination, you must apply to IRCC for permanent residence within six months. Federal processing times for provincial nominees are on the processing times page.