Since 2002, the Nova Scotia Nominee Program ("NSNP") has sought to attract immigrants who meet the province’s industrial, economic and labour market needs, resulting in a more diverse workforce and economy. The NSNP consists of two streams: 1. Skilled Worker Stream; and 2. Economic Stream.

1. Skilled Worker Stream

The NSNP seeks Skilled Workers who wish to settle in the province and who are qualified to fill critical skills shortages. Individuals in most skilled occupations can qualify, provided that a Nova Scotia employer offers standard wages and working conditions for that occupational field. Also, the employer must have exhausted all other means of finding workers.

To become a Skilled Worker through the NSNP, an applicant must meet the following criteria:

• A guaranteed job offer from a Nova Scotia employer;

• The desire for permanent, full-time employment;

• Basic literacy in English, French or both;

• Minimum of Nova Scotia grade 12 or equivalent (generally, 13 years of schooling); and

• Legal working age (18).

Skilled Worker applications require a two-stage processing fee of $5,500, which includes a $1,700 non-refundable application fee.

2. Economic Stream

The NSNP allows immigrants to carefully review their work options in the province before making a long-term commitment. Specifically, the Program gives each Economic Nominee a six-month work experience contract with a Nova Scotia employer. This serves as a valuable orientation to basic business operations in the province - as well as a chance to assess the Economic Nominee’s range of job opportunities and the best fit for his/her skills over the long term.

The Economic Nominee must be an experienced manager and/or business owner, and must meet the following criteria:

• The applicant should have reached the minimum age of 25 years, and be no more than 60 years of age at the time of his/her application;

• The applicant should have basic skills in English, French or both. These skills include speaking, reading and writing, and need to be sufficient for the applicant to be understood or function in a job situation;

• The applicant should have a minimum education of grade 12 (or equivalent);

• The applicant should have owned (wholly or in partnership) and operated a business. OR, the applicant should have two years (in the previous 5 years) of management experience. This experience may be in a business, governmental, institutional, or other organizational unit, either for profit or not for profit;

• The applicant must have legally accumulated, by his or her own endeavours, a minimum net worth of Canadian $300,000. Documentation is required, supporting the applicant's net worth and method of accumulation;

• The applicant must make a one-time, non-refundable economic contribution of $128,800. This amount will be held in trust and returned, without deduction or interest, if the applicant is refused a Canadian residence visa;

• Upon visa issuance and subsequent landing in Canada, the nominee will be able to select, a six-month, middle-management employment contract from a list of companies approved by the Province of Nova Scotia, with a salary of $20,000; and

• At the time of interview, the applicant must state his/her intention of settling in the Province of Nova Scotia.

 

In May of 2005 the Real ID Act of 2005 was enacted, giving the United States what amounts to a national identification card. The Real ID Act establishes uniform standards for state driver’s licenses, which must include a "common machine-readable technology."

The Real ID Act gives the Department of Homeland Security the power to set the requirements that the states must meet for their drivers’ licenses to be accepted for federal purposes (such as boarding commercial aircraft or entering federal buildings). It will phase in and fully apply in 3 years. Anyone without such an ID card will be effectively prohibited from traveling by air or Amtrak, opening a bank account, or entering federal buildings.

These requirements include verification of the citizenship or lawful immigration status of drivers' license applicants, the issuance of temporary drivers' licenses valid only during the period of lawful stay in the United States to certain categories of aliens, and marking of non-conforming licenses to be recognizable as unacceptable for Federal purposes. Proponents of the Real ID Act say that it is needed to stop illegal immigrants from obtaining drivers’ licenses in the United States.

The Real ID Act requires that federally accepted ID cards must be "machine readable," but lets the Department of Homeland Security determine the details. The machine readable technology could mean a magnetic strip, enhanced bar code, or radio frequency identification (RFID) chips. In the past, the Department of Homeland Security has indicated it likes the concept of RFID chips. The U.S. State Department is already going to be embedding RFID devices in passports, and the Department of Homeland Security wants to issue RFID-outfitted IDs to foreign visitors who enter the country at the Canadian borders. The Department of Homeland Security plans to start a year long test of the technology in July at checkpoints in New York and Washington states. The Department of Homeland Security says RFID will allow officers to assign a unique and automatic identifier to pedestrians and visitors crossing in vehicles and also record their arrival and departure times at the borders. It could give border officers quick verification on the length of a person's stay in the U.S., as well as whether he or she overextended the visa.