Nova Scotia Opens One-Time Nomination Round for Workers With Expiring Permits

Key Takeaways

Nova Scotia has launched a one-time provincial nomination initiative aimed specifically at workers whose work permits are expiring in 2026 or earlier.
Eligible candidates must already have an active expression of interest (EOI) submitted by June 30, 2026, and meet one of several wage, occupation, or location criteria.
The province confirmed the initiative supplements, rather than replaces, the priority occupations list it announced in April 2026.

Nova Scotia is opening a fresh, one-time round of provincial nominations designed to catch workers who are running out of time on their current work permits before their status lapses.

Who the Initiative Targets

According to a release published on the province's official immigration website, the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) will issue invitations to apply for provincial nomination to candidates who are currently living and working in Nova Scotia and who meet both of the following conditions:

They hold a work permit expiring in 2026 or earlier; and
They have an active expression of interest (EOI) submitted on or before June 30, 2026.

Within that pool, candidates become eligible for consideration if they fall into at least one of the following categories:

Workers earning at least $27/hour at the time their EOI was submitted.
Workers earning at least $20/hour in a TEER 0–2 Sales and Service occupation at the time of EOI submission.
Workers who graduated from a Nova Scotia postsecondary institution, regardless of current occupation.
Workers living outside the Halifax Regional Municipality, regardless of occupation.
Workers employed in a TEER 0–4 occupation within a designated key sector, including agriculture, construction, health and social services, manufacturing, natural resources, professional and scientific services, or transportation.

TEER refers to Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities — the six-level skill classification used under Canada's National Occupational Classification (NOC) system, where 0 represents the highest-skilled occupations and 5 the lowest.

How Selection Will Work

The province's release states that candidates selected through this one-time initiative "will be contacted directly." It also notes that work permit expiry "may be considered as a secondary factor when determining the order in which selected applications are processed" — meaning permit urgency can influence processing order but is not the sole determining factor.

Nova Scotia published the release on the NSNP updates page on July 14, 2026, and confirmed explicitly that this initiative does not replace or supersede the priority occupations the province had already announced in April 2026.

The Standard Path to Permanent Residence via NSNP

Outside of this special initiative, obtaining permanent residence through the NSNP generally requires a foreign national to:

Meet the requirements of one of the NSNP's provincial immigration streams;
Submit an expression of interest through the NSNP's online system;
Be selected by the NSNP and issued an invitation to apply;
Submit a complete application for provincial nomination;
Be issued a provincial nomination; and
Apply to the federal government's immigration department for permanent residence.

Applicants must also satisfy Canada's general entry requirements, including not being inadmissible due to prior immigration violations, a criminal record, or medical conditions that would place excessive demand on health or social services.

A provincial nominee who has already applied to the federal government for permanent residence may, in certain circumstances, be eligible to apply for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP), which allows them to continue working while their permanent residence application is processed.

In June 2026, the federal government introduced measures allowing provincial nominees to qualify for BOWPs sooner than before. Separately, in July 2026, Manitoba members of Parliament announced measures to extend work permits for Manitoba provincial nominee candidates who were at risk of losing status while their provincial immigration applications remained under review.

What This Means for Applicants

For workers already established in Nova Scotia whose permits are set to expire, this initiative offers a direct route to provincial nomination consideration without requiring a new application process — provided they already have an EOI on file and meet one of the listed wage, education, location, or sector criteria. Because selected candidates will be contacted directly rather than through a public draw, workers who believe they may qualify should ensure their EOI and contact details are current and accurate.