The Government of Saskatchewan has announced that it has increased the annual application intake for two popular immigrant sub-categories.

The two-sub categories are apart of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program [SNIP]. The two sub-categories are the International Skilled Worker Express Entry which was increased from 1,700 to 2,600, a 53 percent increase. The other was the International Skilled Worker Occupation in Demand, which increased from 3,000 to 3,300, a 10 percent increase.

Icasiana De Gala, the Executive Director of the Newcomer Welcome Centre, explains what these sub-categories are.

"The Express Entry is getting people with various skills to come here and fill jobs that meet those skills and bringing them into the province because the province needs their skills," said De Gala. "It also measures your skills to make sure that you're going to be able to get a job in Canada and stay here. The Occupation in Demand is for when occupations are not being filled up by the people who are already here and getting people from outside Canada to come in and fill these positions because there is a demand or not enough man power to fill the position."

These changes come after the most recent application intake period for both sub-categories. The Express Entry category was opened earlier in August, and the possible 1,200 applications were filled within a day.

The Occupations in Demand only had 600 applicants and filled in with four days.

Both these sub-categories were launched in 2015, and have proved to very popular. Their popular because neither sub-category requires applicants to have a job offer from an employer, and successful applicants receive a provincial nomination which can be used to apply for a permanent residence. It's also popular because a spouse or common in law and children of the applicant can be included on the application.

De Gala spoke about if Swift Current will be a popular place for these new applicants to come to.

"In the last five years there has been a steady flow of newcomers to the city, and Swift Current has always been one of the most popular destinations for newcomers, with only cities like Regina and Saskatoon beating it out in Saskatchewan. Swift Current has always been a favourite destination among all the communities in Saskatchewan."

Applicants under either sub-category must have work experience in an occupation that is in demand by the province and score at least 60 points out of 100 on the SINP assessment grid.

De Gala spoke about why she thinks newcomers would come to Swift Current.

"We see a lot of newcomers still coming to Swift Current, maybe it's the presence of job opportunities here, or if they have family or friends here or they've heard that Swift Current is a good place to live and raise a family," De Gala said. "If new applicants would come to Swift Current that would be great, that would mean there are jobs available in the city, and that will mean new people in the community that can help Swift Current grow to what it wants to be."