Saskatchewan PNP (SINP) in 2026: streams and quotas

This guide is for skilled workers, health and farm workers, graduates and families who want to settle in Saskatchewan and need to know how the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) selects people in 2026. Saskatchewan now divides its nominations by sector, so the first question is no longer only "am I eligible?" but "which share of the quota does my job fall in?"

Who Saskatchewan suits

Saskatchewan suits people who already work in the province, or who have a job offer from a Saskatchewan employer, in one of its priority sectors: healthcare, agriculture, skilled trades, energy, mining (including critical minerals), manufacturing and technology. At least half of all 2026 nominations go to these sectors, and intake for them is open all year.

It also suits Saskatchewan graduates working in a priority sector: 750 places are reserved for them in 2026.

It suits fewer people if they work in accommodation and food services, trucking or retail. These sectors are capped, and applications are accepted only in set windows. It also suits fewer people who are abroad with no Saskatchewan employer: the province's International Skilled Worker EOI page says there are no scheduled EOI draws at this time.

How the SINP works in 2026

A nomination is not permanent residence. It is Saskatchewan's recommendation; you then apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which checks medicals, security and admissibility and decides.

There are two kinds of nomination. A base nomination is made outside Express Entry, and you apply to IRCC directly. An enhanced nomination comes through the Saskatchewan Express Entry subcategory and adds 600 points to your CRS score; in 2026 the federal draws for provincial nominees have had cut-offs in the 700s and 800s.

Saskatchewan's 2026 allocation is 4,761 nominations, divided as follows:

Capped-sector intake opens in six windows in 2026, planned for January, March, May, July, September and November. Priority and other non-capped sectors have continuous intake through the year.

Two subcategories — Occupations In-Demand and Saskatchewan Express Entry — select through an expression of interest (EOI). You can hold only one active EOI profile, not one for each.

The streams open now

The current program list is on Browse SINP programs.

International Skilled Worker: Employment Offer. For skilled workers with a job offer from a Saskatchewan employer. It is one of the pathways still open to holders of a spousal open work permit.

International Skilled Worker: Occupations In-Demand and Saskatchewan Express Entry. For skilled workers selected from the EOI pool; Saskatchewan Express Entry leads to an enhanced nomination. The EOI page currently says: "There are no scheduled EOI draws at this time." Do not count on these until draws resume.

Talent pathways. The Health Talent, Agriculture Talent and Innovation and Tech Talent pathways serve the priority sectors and are also open to spousal open work permit holders.

Saskatchewan Experience. For people already working or studying in the province, including the Existing Work Permit and Student categories. Some open work permits, including spousal permits, no longer qualify for certain pathways here; check your permit type before you apply.

Closed: Entrepreneur, International Graduate Entrepreneur and Farm Owner/Operator. Saskatchewan announced on 27 March 2025 that these categories "will be permanently closed". If you read an older page about them, that route is gone.

A federal pilot also applies in one Saskatchewan city: Moose Jaw takes part in the Rural Community Immigration Pilot, which needs a job offer from a designated employer and the community's recommendation — see IRCC's community list.

What changed in 2025–2026

• 2025: the lowest allocation since 2009. Saskatchewan received 3,625 nominations, half the year before. It capped accommodation, food services, retail and trucking at 25% of nominations.
• 75% already in Canada. For 2025, the federal government required that 75% of nominees already be living in Canada as temporary residents.
• 27 March 2025: the Entrepreneur, International Graduate Entrepreneur and Farm Owner/Operator categories were permanently closed, and the focus moved to health care, agriculture and the skilled trades.
• 25 March 2025: no job-offer points. A job offer no longer earns CRS points in Express Entry; in Saskatchewan it helps through the SINP.
• 2026: sector quotas. An allocation of 4,761, with at least 50% for priority sectors, 750 places for local graduates, and capped sectors limited to six intake windows.
• Open work permits: some, including spousal permits, no longer qualify for certain pathways.

Priority occupations and sectors

Saskatchewan's priority sectors are healthcare, agriculture, skilled trades, energy, mining (including critical minerals), manufacturing and technology. You can browse occupations on this site at /occupations/.

Long-haul truck drivers and hospitality workers, who once had their own pages on this site, now fall in the capped sectors: trucking has 238 places for 2026, accommodation and food services 714, each open only in the intake windows.

Nurses. Saskatchewan's general route for internationally educated nurses is an approved bridging program, such as Saskatchewan Polytechnic's program for internationally educated nurses. A separate government pathway has recruited nurses from the Philippines; we have found no India-specific pathway. Nurses can also apply through the Health Talent pathway with a job offer.

Teachers. Saskatchewan uses Pathways to Teach Canada as the entry point for credential assessment (CAD 500 since 14 July 2026).

Express Entry still matters. Federal healthcare and social services, trades and French-language draws ran through 2026 — see Express Entry.

Students and graduates

Saskatchewan is one of the few provinces that has reserved places for its own graduates: 750 of the 2026 priority-sector nominations go to Saskatchewan post-secondary graduates working in priority sectors. The Student category under Saskatchewan Experience is the SINP category to look at first; check its current rules on the program page before you plan around it.

The International Graduate Entrepreneur category is closed. If you are choosing a programme in Saskatchewan, choose one that leads to a job in a priority sector. Federally, one year of skilled work in Canada can make you eligible for the Canadian Experience Class, and a Canadian post-secondary credential adds 15 or 30 CRS points.

Families and settling in

• Your spouse or partner and dependent children are normally included in your permanent residence application once you are nominated.
• If your family is in Saskatchewan on a spousal open work permit, the permit holder may still apply through the Employment Offer, Health Talent, Agriculture Talent or Innovation and Tech Talent pathways, but not through some other pathways.
• Federally, spousal open work permits are now limited to spouses of workers in TEER 0–1 or priority-sector jobs, and of master's and doctoral students.
• If your job is in a capped sector, plan your application around the intake windows rather than waiting until a permit is about to expire.

Following Saskatchewan draws on this site

We report SINP draws, intake windows and notices under /category/pnp-news/, and collect the background by subject at /topics/. For federal Express Entry rounds, including the provincial-nominee draws, follow IRCNews.

How Polinsys helps

Joy Stephen, RCIC (CICC licence R419719), gives you an honest written assessment before any fee: which sector your job falls in, whether you are in a priority or a capped share, which SINP pathway fits your permit and experience, and whether another province or a federal route suits you better. If you go ahead, we prepare your EOI or application, time it to the right intake window, check your employer's documents, and then prepare your permanent residence application to IRCC. We never promise a result. Ask your questions first at our free Friday Q&A: https://polinsys.com/webinar/.