International grads now have immigration route to N.S.

It will now be a little easier for international graduates to settle in Nova Scotia after their studies in Canada are finished.

The province announced today that any international graduate from a Canadian college or university can apply for permanent residency if they have a job offer from a Nova Scotia employer.

This is good news for Durgesh Singh, a student in NSCC's construction management technology program.

"Now, because of these changes to the NovaScotiaNominee Program, international graduates will have an avenue to immigrate to NovaScotiathat wasn't open to them before," he said in a news release issued by the province.

NovaScotiauniversities welcome more than 7,000 international students a year, but fewer than 50 have applied to stay since the paperwork moved to Ottawa.

FarhanaChowdhury, a St. Mary's University graduate with a masterof finance degree, said withoutthe program, banks won't hire her.

"From this Iwill definitely have an answer that 'okayif you give me a job offer, Iwill pretty soon get a permanent residency,'" she said.

Nova Scotia's population is expected to decline over the next 20 years as young people continue to leave the province to search for work.

According to the recent Ivany report, immigration would help to combat that.The report stated that Nova Scotia must find a way to attract immigrants and keep them.

• N.S. doomed to decline unless economic trends reverse: report

The policy change will also help colleges and universities attract international students.

The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration negotiated the change with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program, the province can nominate potential immigrants, but Citizenship and Immigration Canada makes the final decision.