Rural Community Immigration Pilot · Northeastern Ontario
RCIP Greater Sudbury 2026: intake status, priority sectors and occupations
What the Greater Sudbury Rural Community Immigration Pilot actually requires right now, taken from City of Greater Sudbury Economic Development (Invest Sudbury) and re-checked every month. Most guides to this programme are months out of date.
Intake open · verified 1 October 2026
Intake 7 is open now, 28 September to 2 October 2026. One more window follows.
Intake 8 runs 2 to 6 November 2026, with the employer designation deadline of 6 October 2026 at 11:59pm. Roughly 133 of the 525 allocations remained after intake 6.
At a glance
| Administered by | City of Greater Sudbury Economic Development (Invest Sudbury) |
|---|---|
| Region | Northeastern Ontario |
| Next intake | 2-6 November 2026 (designation deadline 6 October) |
| Priority sectors | 6 |
| Priority occupations | 25 |
| How candidates are selected | Points-ranked pool. Minimum 79 points to enter. Maximum 125. Ties broken by earliest submission. Unsuccessful applications stay in the pool up to six months. |
| Who submits the application | The designated employer, not the candidate |
Priority sectors for 2026
- Business, Finance and Administration
- Natural and Applied Sciences
- Health
- Education, Social, Community and Government Services
- Trades and Transport
- Natural Resources and Agriculture
The occupation list, and its traps
Greater Sudbury publishes 25 priority occupations. Being on that list is necessary but not sufficient, and the detail below is where most self-prepared applications come apart.
The full list, with the codes and any wage requirements, is published by the community: see the official occupation list. We do not reproduce it here, because it changes mid-year and a stale copy is worse than no copy.
Caps and limits
- 2026 allocation: 525 recommendations
- Maximum 15 new employer designation applications per intake window
- No per-employer cap on recommendation applications is published
- No RCIP occupation caps published
Who cannot use this programme
- Consulates
- Staffing and placement agencies
- Businesses owned or controlled by the applicant or their spouse
- Businesses owned by an immigration representative
- Candidates on visitor status or without valid status
- Candidates scoring below 79 points
What the numbers actually show
| 2026 allocation | 525 |
|---|---|
| Recommended to date | 392 across six intakes |
| Lowest accepted scores | 88, 87, 87, 88, 89, 90 across intakes 1 to 6 |
| Remaining | Roughly 133 across intakes 7 and 8 |
Intake windows in 2026
- 17-20 Feb
- 23-27 Mar
- 27 Apr - 1 May
- 1-5 Jun
- 6-10 Jul
- 24-28 Aug
- 28 Sep - 2 Oct
- 2-6 Nov
Processing
No published service standard. Applications are assessed after each draw date and candidates may be asked to attend a formal interview.
Worth knowing
Maintained status alone is no longer sufficient. Letters of intent that rely solely on AI-generated content may be declined, and reference letters from religious organisations are not accepted. Sudbury also runs the Francophone pilot, whose 2026 allocation rose from 45 to 85 in August.
Official sources
Everything above is taken from the community's own pages, not from secondary reporting:
- Programme page — City of Greater Sudbury Economic Development (Invest Sudbury)
- Designated employer list
- Community boundary map
- IRCC — Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots
Is this route realistic for you?
Thirty minutes with a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, licence RCIC-IRB R731653. We will tell you whether Greater Sudbury is worth pursuing, and say so plainly when it is not.
Book a consultationRCIP Sault Ste. MarieRCIP TimminsRCIP North BayRCIP Thunder Bay
The full RCIP guide, all 14 communities
Verified against City of Greater Sudbury Economic Development (Invest Sudbury) on 1 October 2026 by Mary Unogwu Ogenyi-Igoche, RCIC-IRB R731653. We re-check monthly. This page is general information about a government programme and is not legal advice on your own situation.
