Choosing a nomination via Express Entry
Candidates may be considered for an enhanced nomination if they meet both Manitoba program and federal Express Entry eligibility. You must create an Express Entry profile before creating an MPNP EOI, provide the correct profile number and job seeker validation code, and maintain a valid profile. Having an Express Entry profile does not automatically create a nomination and does not guarantee an invitation from Manitoba.
Not all MPNP nominations fall under Express Entry. Individuals nominated through a non-Express Entry stream cannot automatically transfer that nomination to Express Entry to receive CRS points. You must verify the nomination type and MPNP guidelines before submitting your federal application.
Source: MPNP — enhanced nomination; MPNP — distinguishing nomination types. Checked on 07/10/2026.
Program Updates – 06/10/2026
The Skilled Worker Overseas pathway requires an eligible connection to Manitoba and a minimum of 60 points on the 100-point eligibility assessment grid. This is a different grid from the EOI ranking score. Scoring 60 points or having a relative in Manitoba does not guarantee an LAA; invitations are based on the criteria of each draw, labor market needs, and strategic recruitment initiatives.
Source: Skilled Worker Overseas.
To apply under the Skilled Worker Overseas (SWO) Pathway, you must demonstrate an established connection to Manitoba through one of the following methods:
- supported by family or friends (Manitoba Support)
- previous education or work experience in the province (Manitoba Experience)
- received an Invitation to Apply directly from the MPNP under a Strategic Recruitment Initiative (Manitoba Invitation)
You can see more information about eligible connection types below.
In addition to a connection to Manitoba, you must score at least 60 points based on 5 factors: language proficiency, age, work experience, education, and adaptability. If you do not have a connection to Manitoba, you are ineligible to apply under the SWO, regardless of your total score.
Connection to Manitoba
1) Manitoba Support
A Manitoba Supporter is a resident who is established in Manitoba, is a friend or relative of the applicant, and is willing and able to review and sign off on the applicant's settlement and job search plan in the intended community.
A Manitoba Supporter must be a close relative or a distant relative/friend of the applicant, and must:
- be able to provide documents proving they reside and are established in Manitoba and have lived continuously in the province for at least 1 year (e.g., a copy of a Manitoba Health Card)
- be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- prove a sufficiently close relationship to the applicant and to Manitoba
- prove that the files they previously supported led to the supported applicant's long-term economic establishment in Manitoba
- be able to support the applicant's Settlement Plan
For close relatives, both the applicant and the supporter must provide documents proving their blood relationship. A close relative may support more than one skilled worker at a time if they can adequately demonstrate the capacity to do so.
Who is considered a “close relative”?
A Manitoba Supporter is considered a close relative if they are related to the applicant (or the applicant's spouse) as follows:
- sister or brother
- niece or nephew (child of a sister or brother)
- aunt or uncle (sister or brother of a mother or father)
- first cousin (child of an aunt or uncle)
- mother or father
- grandmother or grandfather
For friends and distant relatives, their household must not be currently supporting the settlement of another MPNP applicant, a provincial nominee, or a person under another Canadian immigration program.
Finally, a Manitoba Supporter must not be, and the MPNP will not accept a Settlement Plan Part 2 signed by:
- a paid immigration representative
- anyone who cannot prove they are a relative or friend of the applicant or the applicant's spouse
- a Canadian elected official or their staff
Applicants with a Manitoba Supporter should declare them and their contact information so the MPNP can discuss the file with the supporter. The MPNP requires that the Manitoba Supporter's contact information be kept up to date. The supporter must notify the MPNP if they change their address or have any other changes to their contact details. If the MPNP cannot contact the supporter using the information on file, your application may be refused.
Note: The MPNP is not a sponsorship program. Because the MPNP is an economic immigration program, all applicants must be skilled workers capable of working and adapting, have sufficient English to be ready for work, have sufficient settlement funds, and have a genuine intention and ability to economically settle in Manitoba as a permanent resident.
Frequently asked questions
Can children support their parents?
No. Children living in Manitoba cannot act as a Manitoba Supporter for their parents' MPNP application. Instead, you may sponsor your parents or grandparents under the federal Family Class. Please see the IRCC website regarding parent and grandparent sponsorship.
Can a Canadian citizen/permanent resident support an application for their spouse?
No. If you are married to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you are not eligible to apply for the MPNP, but you may be eligible under IRCC's spousal sponsorship stream. Please see the IRCC website regarding sponsorship of a spouse, partner, or child.
2) Manitoba Experience
Manitoba Experience means you previously lived in Manitoba as a temporary foreign worker or international student.
If you were a temporary foreign worker, you must have worked full-time for a Manitoba employer for at least 6 consecutive months. You will be required to submit a signed employment verification letter on company letterhead and a copy of your Manitoba work permit.
If you were an international student, you must have attended and completed an authorized education/training program at a public post-secondary institution or a registered private vocational school in Manitoba; language training is not considered an authorized program. You will be required to submit your study permit, transcripts, and the certificate/diploma/degree received.
3) Manitoba Invitation
The MPNP frequently issues Invitations to Apply to eligible candidates identified through one of the Strategic Recruitment Initiatives in Manitoba and abroad. Issuing an Invitation to Apply is entirely at the discretion of the MPNP, and candidates cannot choose to become eligible under this connection type.
To apply to the MPNP with a Manitoba Invitation connection, in your MPNP Online profile, you must upload the Letter of Invitation you received directly from the MPNP after being interviewed by a program officer during a recruitment mission or exploratory visit.
Recruitment missions
The MPNP frequently travels abroad to recruit, often in coordination with Manitoba employers. Monitor this page for updates on the next initiative.
Exploratory visits
An exploratory visit is a pre-arranged trip for potential applicants to research communities and employment opportunities in Manitoba to help them decide whether they have the intention and ability to find work and settle with their family in Manitoba as permanent residents.
Following an MPNP interview during an approved exploratory visit, the MPNP may invite you to submit an MPNP Online application. Note that it is the Invitation to Apply, not the exploratory visit, that creates the necessary Manitoba connection.
The MPNP conducts exploratory visits at its discretion as resources allow, to create opportunities for skilled workers who are qualified—but otherwise would not meet the mandatory Manitoba connection required of all MPNP applicants. Exploratory visits must be approved by the MPNP and then arranged through the MPNP, only upon invitation after your request is accepted.
Criteria for participating in visits and missions may change, but generally include:
- between 21 and 45 years old
- able to convince the MPNP that you do not have a stronger connection to another province
- able to demonstrate the ability to work and adapt as required by the MPNP
- completed at least a 1-year post-secondary education/training program and received a diploma/degree/certificate
- at least 2 years of full-time work experience in the last 5 years and able to demonstrate the ability to find employment in Manitoba in that occupation (including a plan to obtain licensing for regulated professions)
- a genuine intention and ability to economically settle in Manitoba as a permanent resident, demonstrated in part by a Settlement Plan
- provide the MPNP at the time of requesting participation in the initiative with official results of an accepted language test from within the last 2 years showing you have scored the equivalent of at least CLB 5 in each skill and overall
Only candidates whose requests are accepted will be provided with instructions by the MPNP on what to do during the exploratory visit and documents to bring (e.g., educational certificates and employment verification letters). Activities during an exploratory visit include meeting potential employers, working with professional regulatory bodies, and learning about housing, schools, and the lifestyle in the intended Manitoba community.
Note: Having a request accepted, taking a trip and being interviewed, or receiving an Invitation to Apply does not guarantee your MPNP Online application will be approved, nor does it guarantee that a permanent residence application submitted separately to the Government of Canada will be approved.
Points assessment
The MPNP will fully assess any application received and score each candidate based on the information and supporting documents you provide at that time, according to current criteria and information regarding eligibility, policies, and procedures published on this website.
Factor 1: Language Proficiency
Language points are calculated based on evidence of training and ability to use one or both of Canada's official languages, English and French. If you are proficient in both, choose the language you are most confident in as your first language.
You must submit valid results from a language test accepted by the MPNP. To be considered valid, the test must have been taken no more than 2 years before the date you submit your MPNP Online application.
CLB stands for Canadian Language Benchmarks (or NCLC for French). To see accepted tests and how to convert scores to CLB, please see the Language Proficiency section on this website.
Candidates in occupations under TEER 4 or 5 (formerly NOC C or D) must have at least CLB/NCLC 4 to be eligible to apply.
First language
- CLB 8 or higher: 20
- CLB 7: 18
- CLB 6: 16
- CLB 5: 14
- CLB 4: 12
- CLB 3 or lower: 0
Second language
- CLB 5 or higher: 5
Maximum points: 25 (25% of total score)
Factor 2: Age
Age points are calculated based on the date the MPNP receives your complete application.
- 18: 4
- 19: 6
- 20: 8
- 21 to 45: 10
- 46: 8
- 47: 6
- 48: 4
- 49: 2
- 50 or older: 0
Maximum points: 10 (10% of total score)
Factor 3: Work Experience
Experience points are based on evidence of full-time employment in the last 5 years. Only full-time work of 6 consecutive months or more is counted.
- Less than 1 year: 0
- 1 year: 8
- 2 years: 10
- 3 years: 12
- 4 years or more: 15
- Maximum points: 15 (15% of total score)
Factor 4: Education
Education points are based on evidence of completed schooling/training at an accredited educational institution. A completed program is one where you met all requirements and received a certificate/diploma/degree. The MPNP reserves the right to require a third-party assessment to prove vocational training is equivalent to Canadian standards.
- Master's or Doctoral degree: 25
- Two post-secondary programs, each at least 2 years: 23
- One post-secondary program of 2 years or more: 20
- One post-secondary program of 1 year: 14
- Trade certificate: 14
- No post-secondary: 0
- Maximum points: 25 (25% of total score)
Factor 5: Adaptability
Adaptability points are based on evidence of an established connection to Manitoba and the ability to work in the assessed occupation, showing you have a genuine intention and ability to settle and establish yourself economically in Manitoba as a permanent resident.
All applicants must have a connection to Manitoba. You only receive points for one type of connection, even if you have multiple types.
In addition to adaptability points, you may receive “regional immigration” bonus points if you have a connection to and intend to settle in a region outside the city of Winnipeg. Regional points are additional and cannot replace another type of connection to Manitoba.
Connection to Manitoba
- Close relative in Manitoba: 20
- Invitation to Apply from the MPNP under a Strategic Recruitment Initiative: 20
- Previous work experience in Manitoba (at least 6 months): 12
- Completed a post-secondary program of 2 years or more in Manitoba: 12
- Completed a post-secondary program of at least 1 year in Manitoba: 10
- Friend or distant relative living in Manitoba: 10
- Supplemental factors
- Regional immigration(*): 5
Maximum points: 25 (25% of total score)
(*) All applicants intending to settle outside Winnipeg must, at the time of application, convincingly demonstrate that they have compelling connections to a region outside the capital, showing a high likelihood of contributing economically to that region in the long term.
Who cannot apply to the MPNP?
The following individuals are ineligible to apply to the MPNP:
- Refugee claimants, or individuals in the federal appeal/deportation process
- Live-in Caregivers currently living in Canada
- Temporary foreign workers currently working and residing in a province other than Manitoba
- Spouses of Canadian citizens or permanent residents
- Individuals refused by the MPNP in the last 6 months who cannot address the reason for refusal
- Individuals with an active immigration application with another provincial or federal immigration program in Canada (Note: An Express Entry profile is not considered an active immigration application)
- If you or your spouse already have an active MPNP application, you are not eligible to submit an additional application for any other MPNP stream/pathway
How to Apply
This process applies to pathways under the Skilled Worker Stream and International Education Stream, except for the International Student Entrepreneur Pilot. Pathways under the Business Investor Stream have a different, separate process and do not use the MPNP Online portal.
- Create an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile.
- If you receive a Letter of Advice to Apply (LAA), submit a full application to the MPNP.
- The application will be thoroughly assessed by an MPNP officer.
- Successful candidates will be nominated by the MPNP.
- Within 180 days of being nominated, submit a separate application to the Government of Canada for permanent residence for you and your family.
Discuss your case with KeyApply
Provide your needs, current application status, and goals regarding the MPNP - Skilled Worker Overseas (SWO) Pathway for KeyApply to discuss appropriate support options.
Book a consultation appointment
Email: info@keyapply.com. You can call, email, or message via the website KeyApply.com.