Farm Ownership Under the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP)

The immigration process can be a daunting and sometimes confusing process for prospective and potential immigrants to Canada. Recent changes the Federal Government has made in the past few years to Citizenship and Immigration Canada has limited the routes available for immigration. While there have been limits placed on traditional categories under Federal routes to Permanent Residency, in Saskatchewan we still have a very active and thriving Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP).

One of the quickest routes to Permanent Residency under the SINP can be found under the Farm Ownership Program. Under the Farm Ownership Program, potential applicants must:

• show proof of having a net worth of either $350,000 or $500,000 CAD (dependent on age);
• sign a performance agreement and make a good faith deposit of $75,000 in trust with the Province;
• have firsthand farm knowledge and should show proof of documents where they have gained this experience;
• submit a thoughtful and well-planned Farm Establishment plan; and
• make a mandatory visit to Saskatchewan for a period of no less than 5 days.

SINP will not provide assistance to applicants for the purpose of obtaining visitor’s visas to come to Canada for the exploratory visit. During the exploratory visit, applicants will meet with SINP and should arrange meetings with other potential advisors, such as lawyer(s), credit assistance (banks), accountants, real estate advisors, amongst many other things. SINP looks to see that applicants had a well-planned exploratory trip to Saskatchewan when the applicant their application under this category. 

If you currently operate a farming operation oversees and are looking to immigrate to Canada, the Farm Ownership route under SINP may be a good opportunity to pursue. It must be kept in mind that the Saskatchewan Government does place restrictions of foreign investment in farm land and the purchase of the farm land is usually only made after the candidate has been approved for this particular SINP stream.

Current wait times for processing of applications is approximately 9 months from the time SINP receives the application. For any help with applications under SINP or other immigration applications, please contact Jyoti S. Haeusler.