Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP)
Alberta Canada’s prairie province.
Alberta has a rapidly growing economy through its vast natural resources, with its famous national parks such as Banff and Jasper.
The AINP is Alberta’s Provincial Nominee Program. This program is for prospective immigrants with the skills and experience targeted by the province may receive an Alberta Provincial Nomination Certificate, which will speed up the overall immigration process.
The AINP consists of three main immigration streams:
- Self-Employed Farmer Stream
- Alberta Express Entry Stream
- Alberta Opportunity Stream
Self-Employed Farmer Stream
This stream allows individuals with the farming experience and personal funds to purchase and develop a farm in Alberta and apply for permanent residence. Successful applicants are farm owners/operators who plan to live in Alberta in order to purchase and manage their farming business.
Alberta Express Entry
This stream is aligned with the federal Express Entry system. An individual must already have an active profile in one of the three Express Entry programs: Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Skilled Trades or Canadian Experience Class. AINP will directly contact candidates whose profiles are of interest and will invite these candidates to apply for the AINP Express Entry stream. It is important that a candidate must indicate Alberta as a province of interest in their Express Entry profile. Once a candidate is notified by AINP, they may submit an official PNP application to the province. If this application is approved, the candidate will receive a provincial nomination, resulting in a 600 point increase to their Express Entry CRS score. This means that the candidate will receive an official Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence in the next Express Entry draw.
Alberta Opportunity Stream
This stream applies to all candidates and is available here. It does not require candidates to have an active Express entry profile to apply. The following are the eligibility requirement:
- Residency status and work permit requirements
- A candidate must have a valid status as a temporary resident in Canada and must be residing and working in the province of Alberta. Refugee claimants are not eligible in this stream.
- Occupation requirements
- At the time an application is assessed by AINP, the applicant must be working in an eligible occupation in Alberta that matches their previous work experience. Post-Graduation Work Permit holders must be working as well in an occupation related to their field of study in Alberta.
There are two lists of ineligible occupations:
- The Alberta Opportunity Stream Ineligible Occupations list:This list applies to all applicants. If your occupation is on this list, you are not eligible to apply.
- The List of High-wage and low-wage occupations in the province of Albertaas indicated on Canada’s Refusal to Process an LMIA List: This list only applies to applicants who hold a Post-Graduation Work Permit. If you hold a PGWP and your occupation is on this list, then you are not eligible to apply.
- English or French language requirements
- All applicants must demonstrate proficiency in either English or French, equivalent to the CLB Level 4. An must provide valid results from one of Canada’s approved language tests.
- Please note that as of June 14th, 2019, the language requirement will increase to Canadian Language Benchmark Level 5 in either English or French.
4 – Education requirements
- All applicants must have completed a minimum of high school education in their country of origin.
5 – Work experience requirements
- At the time the application is assesses by the AINP, the applicant must be working in an occupation in Alberta which matches their previous work experience. PGWP holders must also be working in an occupation which matches their Alberta educational credential.
- Work experience must have been full-time (30 hours/week) – part-time experience will not be considered. Applicants must have their valid documents/license/ status in Canada to do their work legally.
- Applicants must have a valid full-time job offer from their current Alberta employer to continue working in their recent job. Job offer must be signed by the applicant and the employer and it should be continuous, full-time, paid work in the applicant’s current occupation in Alberta.
6- Income level requirements
- All applicants must meet a minimum gross annual income requirement based on their family size. The family size includes the applicant, a spouse and/or common-law partner, and any dependent children.
| Number of members in family unit (including you) | Required gross annual income (yearly income before tax) (CAD) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $21,833 |
| 2 | $30,876 |
| 3 | $37,816 |
| 4 | $43,666 |
| 5 | $48,820 |
| 6 | $53,480 |
| 7 | $57,765 |
| 8 | $61,753 |
| 9 | $65,499 |
| 10 | $69,042 |
Has a yearly Alberta income that is greater or equal to 42% of the principal applicant’s; andApplicants can include their spouse or common-law partner’s salary when calculating the gross annual income, only if their spouse/partner meets the following two criteria:
- Has a valid job offer from an Alberta employer and is working currently for that employer with the proper authorization.
Alberta Opportunity Stream: Criteria Selection Changes (2019 to 2021)
The Alberta Nominee Program (AINP) will be changing their selection criteria to its Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS) for the next 3 years.
The following table contains details of the forthcoming changes:
| Alberta Opportunity Stream Criteria | Effective April 1, 2019 | Effective January 1, 2020 | Effective January 1, 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residency/Work permit status requirements | No change | No change | No change |
| Occupation requirements | No change | No change | No change |
| Language proficiency requirements | CLB/NCLC 4 | CLB/NCLC 5 (for NOC 0, A and B occupations) | No change |
| Education requirements (for all applicants except Post-Graduation Work Permit Holders) | Minimum High School in applicant's country of Origin | Minimum High School in applicant's country of Origin | Minimum High School equivalent to Alberta standard |
| Education requirements (for Post-Graduation Work Permit Holders only) | Change in eligible Alberta post-secondary certificates/diplomas. If a potential applicant is admitted and enrolled in an Alberta program on or after April 1, 2019, he or she must have a post-graduate certificate or diploma on the Alberta Opportunity Stream List of Alberta Advanced Education Approved Post-Secondary Credentials. No change to other eligible credentials (degrees and graduate level certificates/diplomas) | Change in eligible Alberta post-secondary certificates/diplomas. If a potential applicant is admitted and enrolled in an Alberta program on or after April 1, 2019, he or she must have a post-graduate certificate or diploma on the Alberta Opportunity Stream List of Alberta Advanced Education Approved Post-Secondary Credentials. No change to other eligible credentials (degrees and graduate level certificates/diplomas) | Change in eligible Alberta post-secondary certificates/diplomas. If a potential applicant is admitted and enrolled in an Alberta program on or after April 1, 2019, he or she must have post-graduate-certificate or diploma on the Alberta Opportunity Stream List of Alberta Advanced Education Approved Post-Secondary Credentials. No change to other eligible credentials (degrees and graduate level certificates/diplomas) |
| Work experience requirements (all applicants except Post-Graduation Work Permit Holders) | No change | No change | No change |
| Work experience requirements (Post-Graduation Work Permit Holders only) | Eligible post-graduate certificate holders must show occupation/work experience is related to their prior post-secondary field of study outside Canada. | Eligible post-graduate certificate holders must show occupation/work experience is related to their prior post-secondary field of study outside Canada. | Eligible post-graduate certificate holders must show occupation/work experience is related to their prior post-secondary field of study outside Canada. |
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
The Alberta Opportunity Stream is always open to new applications. Eligible candidates can submit an application at any time and applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Interested candidates must prepare a complete paper-based application. All documents must be prepared in hard copy and submitted in a single envelope, by mail, to the AINP office.
If the province approves the application, Alberta will notify the applicant they have been selected for provincial nomination. Successful applicants will receive an official nomination package in the mail from AINP.
After receiving a provincial nomination, an applicant has six months to submit a federal application for Canadian permanent residence. Applicants in this program must complete and submit a paper-based application for permanent residence and submit it by mail to the appropriate application centre. The processing time for a paper-based PNP applications for permanent residence are generally processed within 18 months.