What is AIP?
AIP enables immigrants who have been offered jobs to apply for permanent residence in Canada while working in the Atlantic area. Early in 2022, AIP became a permanent program due to its success. Since its implementation, the Atlantic provinces have been able to meet immigration limits more easily under the AIP, taking in roughly 6,000 immigrants annually.
Free Immigration AssessmentThe Atlantic Immigration Program hopes to boost economic development in Canada’s Atlantic provinces by luring qualified workers. New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are the Atlantic provinces. Applicants should have an official job offer to be eligible for the Atlantic Immigration Program. In addition, the candidate must get a Labour Market Impact Assessment to receive a Canadian employment offer acceptable for immigration purposes (LMIA). However, for the Atlantic Immigration Program, this is not necessary. Instead, the employer that makes the job offer must be listed.
Beginning in 2017, the Atlantic Immigration Program was an experimental project that was later made permanent. As a result, over 6,000 people were welcomed to the Atlantic provinces annually, thanks to the AIP.
Are you eligible?
A job offer from a designated individual under the program is required for a skilled worker to qualify for AIP. When an employer submits an AIPP application, they are designated. You must also complete additional evaluation requirements for education, job experience, and language ability, which vary depending on the AIP stream you apply through.
How may one receive a job offer?
You must apply for employment with Atlantic Canadian companies that AIP has identified to be considered for a job offer. Below is a list of companies from each province permitted to use the AIP to hire foreign workers. Be aware that some Atlantic provinces have not yet made the most recent list of authorized employers available because the program just reopened.
Atlantic Immigration Program Requirement
The Atlantic Immigration Program facilitates immigration by connecting two parties:
1. Foreign nationals interested in becoming residents of Atlantic Canada
2. Employers designated by the government to hire foreign nationals/ International citizens seeking to settle in Atlantic Canada companies that the government has authorized to employ foreign nationals.
Atlantic Immigration Program has different requirements for each of these parties.
Need of Foreign Nationals
Only foreign nationals who meet specified qualifications may apply through the Atlantic Immigration program for immigration to New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island. In addition, the foreign national must initially obtain a formal job offer from an authorized employer.
The Atlantic provinces include New foundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
The foreign national must also fulfill the prerequisites to qualify. Whether the individual has finished the necessary postsecondary education in Atlantic Canada will determine which requirements apply.
Work Experience Requirement
Candidates must have at least one year of recent full-time, paid work experience. You may include hours worked outside of Canada based on a valid status. The job experience has to be at least at level 0 of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) or level A, B, or C.
Requirements for International Graduates
Candidates qualifying as overseas graduates are exempt from the criteria for job experience. However, candidates must fulfill the following criteria to qualify as an international graduate:
Possess a two-year minimum degree, diploma, certificate, trade certification, or apprenticeship certificate from an accredited postsecondary institution in one of the Atlantic provinces;
- Have completed their courses while enrolled full-time
- Have spent the two years before graduation spending at least 16 months living in an Atlantic province
- Have maintained the necessary job authorization/study authorization during their studies in Canada
- Have held the required study permit, and if required, work permit, during their studies in Canada
Educational Requirement
Different educational requirements will apply depending on the type of occupational skill required for the job offer. For information on the necessary education by skill type, please see the chart below:
Skill Type 0; the Lowest level of education- minimum of one year of postsecondary education (Canadian or equivalent),
Skill Type A; the lowest level of education- minimum of one year of postsecondary education (Canadian or equivalent),
Skill Type B; Lowest level of education- High school diploma as a minimum (Canadian or equivalent)
Skill Type C; the Lowest level of education- High school diploma as a minimum (Canadian or equivalent)
You must submit an Educational Credential Assessment to receive your education outside of Canada
Language prerequisites
The required Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level varies depending on the job’s skill requirements. For a breakdown of language requirements by skill type, please see the chart below:
Skill Type 0; CLB level 5
Skill Type A; CLB level 5
Skill Type B; CLB level 5
Skill Type C; CLB level 4
Proof of Funds
Additionally, candidates should be able to show they will have enough money to maintain themselves and their families after they move to Canada.
Needs for Designated Employers
Employers wishing to participate in the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program must apply to be recognized as employers. A company can engage foreign nationals as designated employers without conducting a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). However, employees hired in the pilot program must get assistance from designated employers in relocating to their province of residence.
Organization Designation
An employer must first apply to be formally recognized before hiring foreign nationals through the Atlantic Immigration Program. The province where the company that wants to hire foreign nationals is located is where the employer can apply to become designated. The employer must show that all provincial regulatory agencies are in good standing. They must also provide a summary of their labour requirements, including the justification for hiring foreign workers.
Finally, selected employers must show that they can assist immigrants hired through the Atlantic Immigration Program with settling down. Businesses can look up applications to become designated employers on the websites for immigration in the Atlantic provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
Events for New Brunswick Recruitment
New Brunswick frequently arranges international gatherings for foreigners looking to move to Canada. Please look at our list of future job fairs and information sessions in New Brunswick. Those successful in these information sessions will be qualified to immigrate to Canada via the Atlantic Immigration Program or the PNP for New Brunswick.
Once the Job offer is received, further process is required
Applicants will be allowed to move forward with the further steps once they have received an employment offer from a specific Atlantic employer. This will involve working with your business during the endorsement phase and developing a settlement package that details the individualized settlement services the applicant will receive once they arrive in Canada.
If the province concurs, the individual will be nominated and eligible to submit a federal application for permanent residence in Canada. They will also be permitted to start working in Canada with a work permit while they wait for their application to be processed.
