1. Guidance
If youre interested in applying in this category, contact us to learn more about what youll need to qualify for the program. Well also connect you to officials from Saskatchewan Agriculture--Food and Rural Revitalization. They can advise you on the type of farming operation you plan to operate here.
- Please note this category is strictly for business in primary agricultural production (crops and livestock). If you’re interested in agri-business operations, you may qualify under the SINP Entrepreneur Category.
See the Saskatchewan Farm Land Security Board to learn more about farm ownership legislation.
2. Eligibility
To be approved for nomination in this category, youll need all of the following:
- Available Equity: Youll have to provide financial documents that show a net worth of $500,000 (CAD).
- Refundable Cash Deposit: You must sign a Performance Agreement. By doing this, youll be committing to purchase and actively operating a farm operation in Saskatchewan. Youll also need to make a "good faith" deposit of $75,000 (CAD) in trust. The cash deposit will be returned to you when youve met the terms of the Performance Agreement. If you don’t meet the terms within two years of landing in Saskatchewan, the deposit will be forfeited to the Province.
- Mandatory visit to Saskatchewan: Youll need to make a comprehensive exploratory visit to Saskatchewan for no less than five working days. You must meet with an SINP representative on your visit.
- Farm operation knowledge and experience: Youll need to provide documentation (e.g. education and training, work experience, financial documents of your previous operations) that demonstrates youre an experienced farm operator. If necessary, we may verify this information further through an interview when you are in Saskatchewan.
- A practical, well-thought-out proposal for a commercial Saskatchewan farming opportunity. (See Important Terms: Farm Proposal Viability).
Provincial and Federal immigration program criteria can change at any time. SINP applicants will be assessed against Provincial program criteria and eligibility requirements in place when their application was submitted. Please refer to IRCC’s website for up-to-date information regarding criteria and requirements in place for Permanent Residence applications.
The federal government sets the amount of nominations the SINP can make every year. The SINP also accepts a maximum number of applications, as per the application thresholds for each year. No application is guaranteed to be accepted and/or nominated.
Farm Owners and Operators - Young Farmer Stream
The Young Farmer stream of the Farm Owners and Operators category was created to allow young farm families to establish their lives and farming operations in rural areas of Saskatchewan.
Application Criteria
To be approved for nomination in this stream, youll need to:
- Have a personal net worth of at least $300,000 (CAD) that can be confirmed.
- Have accumulated your net worth legally. We should be able to confirm this as well.
- Be under the age of 40 at the time of your application.
- Have at least three years experience in:
- Farm ownership;
- Farm management; or
- Practical farming experience.
- Provide a documented proposal for a commercial Saskatchewan farming opportunity. Your proposal should be based on research, consultations or formal coursework relevant to Saskatchewan agricultural conditions. Hobby farms dont qualify. Also, the farming proposal should be a commercial project with a reasonable expectation of profit. In Saskatchewan, a qualified farming business must have a minimum of $10,000 CAD annual revenue.
- In addition to all the above, you or your spouse must have marketable employment skills, based on education and experience that allows you to supplement your farming income.
Nomination Requirements
You may be disqualified from this sub-category if:
- You dont meet one or more of the eligibility criteria listed above;
- You or any dependent family member (accompanying you or not) has a serious medical condition;
- You or any dependent family member over the age of 18 (accompanying you or not) has a criminal record;
- You have unresolved custody or child support disputes affecting any member of your family;
- You have intentionally committed misrepresentation during the application process; and/or,
- You have intentionally committed fraud during the application process.
Before you submit your application:
- Ensure you meet the eligibility criteria;
- Ensure youre able to access and prepare the required forms and documents for the application;
- Ensure youre prepared to comply with the requirements and steps involved in the application process, including:
- Paying a $2,500 CAD processing fee;
- Paying the $75,000 CAD deposit; and
- Fulfilling the requirements of the program; and
- Make an exploratory visit to Saskatchewan: Youll stay in Saskatchewan for at least five days, conducting comprehensive research through meetings with service professionals. Youll also meet with an SINP representative to discuss your proposed farm operation.
3. How To Apply
You have to submit all the documents listed in the SINP Farm Category Application Document Checklist. Use this checklist to prepare your application.
If you live in, or are a citizen of a country in the Country Specific Checklist, make sure you include the documents required for this country in the application, or your application wont be accepted for processing.
Document Translation
All your documents must be in English of French. If theyre in another language, you must submit;
- A photocopy of the original document;
- A photocopy of its translation; and
- A Translator Affidavit that describes the ability of the translator.
Translations may be done by anyone, except:
- Your spouse;
- A member of your family; or
- A paid third party that has prepared your application to the SINP.
Some Canadian visa offices ask that documents are translated by a certified translator. The SINP doesnt ask for this, but you should still make sure your translated documents meet all federal requirements.
Who to Include in Your Application
As the Principal Applicant whos applying to the SINP to own and operate a farm in Saskatchewan, you may include the following as part of your application for nomination:
- Your spouse. (See SINP Important Words and Definitions: spouse);
- Your common-law partner (See SINP Important Words and Definitions: common-Law partner);
- Your dependent children (See SINP Important Words and Definitions: dependent children); and
- An employee of yours in your current farming operation. The employee must submit his or her skilled worker application that includes all the required documents and information within the SINP Skilled Workers Category Checklist to the SINP. In this case, the employee would be the Principal Applicant.
- This skilled worker application can be included as part of the Farm category application for simultaneous processing.
- You, as the Principal Applicant of the Farm category application, must provide a letter of offer to the accompanying employee, for application processing.
Passports
Submit photocopies of all passports for you and all the family members that will be coming with you. Each photocopy must include passport pages showing:
- The passport number;
- The date of issue and expiry date;
- The bio-data page showing the photograph, name, date and place of birth; and
- All passport pages showing exit and entry stamps.
If you submit incomplete passport documents, your application may be classified as "Incomplete" and will be returned to you without being assessed by the SINP.
4. Apply
Submit your application by courier or in person to:
The Government of Saskatchewan
Immigration Services Division
Farm Unit
Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program
7th Floor - 1945 Hamilton Street
Regina, Saskatchewan CANADA S4P 2C8
Provide an up-to-date personal email address that can be used to communicate with SINP officers. If not, please not that processing times will increase due to the time needed for mail services.
The SINP Application Review and Assessment Process:
Intake
Once we have received your application, youll receive a Letter of Receipt and file number.
Pre-Screening
Your application will be screened for completeness. Only applications that are complete in accordance with the Application Document Checklist and Country Specific Checklist (where applicable) will be accepted for SINP assessment.
- If your application is considered complete, youll be sent an Acceptance of Application and Request for Processing Fee letter. This letter will tell you how to make the $2,500 CAD application processing fee by wire transfer.
- If your application is considered incomplete, youll be sent a Return of Incomplete Application letter. This letter will tell you what documents are needed to meet pre-screening requirements. The application will also be returned to you.
Application Processing Fee
Once we receive confirmation that you’ve paid the application fee, your application will be accepted for assessment.
At this time well issue you a letter of invitation to make an exploratory visit to Saskatchewan. All applicants are advised to apply to IRCC immediately for a visitor visa to Canada as soon as possible - for a possible interview and at the request of the SINP.
Assessment and Optional Interview
Next, well evaluate your application using the eligibility criteria.
- If we need more documentation to assess your application, we may issue you a request for more information. You must respond to this request within forty-five (45) days.
- If we dont receive the documentation we ask for in the given time, your application may be closed and returned to you without SINP assessment.
- If we need more information or clarification to assess your application, we may issue a request for an interview with you.
- Well provide as much notice of the interview as possible, and will offer two available interview dates. Be sure to respond to the interview request in the time given in the request. If an in-person interview is not possible and youve provided information with the reasons you cant attend the interview in-person, other arrangements can be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Following the review and evaluation process, well let you know the outcome of the assessment.
- If your application is approved for nomination, youll be sent a Nomination Approval and Request for Deposit letter and a Business Performance Agreement.
- The letter will instruct you on how to make the refundable $75,000 CAD Good Faith Deposit by wire transfer. It will also provide you details with of the requirements of the Business Performance Agreement. This agreement is a legally binding contract.
We must receive the full Good Faith Deposit within three months of the issued Nomination Approval and Request for Deposit letter, or your application will be closed and no nomination will be issued.
- If your application is refused, youll be sent a Letter of Refusal.
Nomination:
Once you return the signed and dated Business Performance Agreement to the SINP, and we confirm that the Good Faith Deposit has been received, youll be nominated.
- Well send you a nomination package including a Confirmation of Nomination letter and information on how to proceed with an Application for Permanent Resident Status with IRCC. If you request it, well also issue you a Temporary Work Permit Support letter.
- This will give you the opportunity to come to Saskatchewan earlier to begin preparations for your farm establishment. Note that the SINP does not issue Temporary Work Permit Support letters for all applicants.
- Well send a Nomination Certificate to the appropriate IRCC Visa Post. Certificates are valid for six months.
After Nomination:
Applying for Permanent Residence
After you receive notice that youve been nominated by the SINP, youre responsible for submitting an Application for Permanent Residence to IRCC.
- Be sure to apply for permanent resident status before your Nomination Certificate expires or your application will be closed.
The Confirmation of Nomination letter includes detailed instructions on how to apply to the appropriate Visa Post. Submit your Application for Permanent Residence to IRCC at the Visa Post specified in this letter.
- IRCC will conduct security, criminality and health checks, and will screen applications for misrepresentation. Theyll then send you instructions on medical examinations and may ask for more documentation. In some cases, you may have to attend an interview.
If you meet all federal requirements, IRCC will issue Permanent Residence Visas for you and your accompanying family members.
Landing in Saskatchewan
Once youve arrived in Saskatchewan, youll need to attend a Landing Interview with an SINP Landing Officer. You can request this interview by emailing saskentrepreneur@gov.sk.ca.
- After the interview, well continue to be available to you. Well also provide information and guidance on the establishment of your farm, through referrals to business service providers and on-site visits.
- Youre encouraged to use the settlement services available in Saskatchewan. You can access government funded settlement services through various Regional Newcomer Gateways.
- These organizations are welcoming centres for newcomers to Saskatchewan. They provide language assessment services, career and employment services (for your accompanying family members), and guidance and advice from a Settlement Coordinator. The Regional Newcomer Gateways can also connect you to community and ethno-cultural groups.
Return of the Good Faith Deposit
You may apply for your Good Faith Deposit to be returned:
- Within two years of your landing in Saskatchewan;
- When all terms of the Business Performance Agreement have been met; and
- When you can show that you have actively invested in the relevant Saskatchewan-based farm for a minimum period of six (6) months.
You must submit an Application for Deposit Refund Request as well as all required documentation to prove that the terms of the Business Performance Agreement have been met. Well assess your application using the criteria set within the Business Performance Agreement.
- If we conclude that all conditions for the deposits return have been met, well return the $75,000 CAD Good Faith Deposit and any interest accumulated on it to you. Be sure to provide your financial institutions updated contact information for this transaction.
- If we conclude that the conditions for return have not been met, youll be informed of the outstanding criteria that you must meet before the deposit will be returned.
- If we conclude that youre responsible for any of the following, well retain the Good Faith Deposit and any interest accumulated on it:
- You dont complete the process to become a Permanent Resident;
- You dont complete the process to land in Saskatchewan; or
- You dont meet the conditions of the Business Performance Agreement.
- If we conclude that you purposefully misrepresented yourself and/or committed fraud to obtain permanent residence, well retain the Good Faith Deposit and any interest accumulated on it.
If you dont apply for the return of the Good Faith Deposit before the deadline in your Business Performance Agreement, well send you a Procedural Fairness letter, 60 days before the agreement expires.
- This letter will warn you about the deadline and state that well retain the deposit if you dont fulfill the terms of the Business Performance Agreement. If you need an extension to the agreement, submit an Application to Change Performance Agreement to the SINP no later than 30 days before the deadline in the agreement.
The Good Faith Deposit is also refundable if youre approved for Nomination and are unable to accept it for humanitarian reasons. Humanitarian reasons include, but are not limited to, circumstances in which:
- You and/or your accompanying family members would endure hardship if you were to travel and/or leave your home country because of situations related to personal divorce, a death in the immediate family or other mitigating circumstances;
- You and/or your accompanying family members would endure hardship if you were to travel and/or leave your home country because of personal or family related medical circumstances; or,
- You and/or your accompanying family members would endure financial hardship if you were to travel and/or leave you home country because of circumstances related to contractual agreements regarding the sale or divestment of current financial holdings.