Informed by the framework of Intellectual Migration (IM: Mobility of international students and skilled professionals), this study aims to explore the transitional paths of international students from temporary to permanent status in Halifax, NS, an intellectual periphery (IP). Unlike IG (Intellectual Gateway), IP is not a popular destination for education and career development among international students. Despite the significant changes in federal government’s immigration policy direction towards international students, the province of Nova Scotia has endeavoured to attract and retain the skilled labour force through several immigration programs. This study recognizes the potentially important role of immigration policies and a set of institutional support systems (either driven by public or private sectors). Beyond similar provincial nominee programs that are implemented elsewhere across Canada, this study focuses on specifically designed immigration programs of Nova Scotia which target international students in the province. Drawing upon a comparative policy analysis of provincial-level of immigration programs targeting international students, this paper examines how institutional system matters in shaping the geography of intellectual migration. This paper further reports on the preliminary findings of semi-structured interviews that explore the insights of key informants and the experiences of international students in navigating support systems.