Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)

The Atlantic Immigration Program is a permanent residence route for skilled workers and for international graduates of Atlantic Canadian institutions who have a job offer from an employer the province has designated. It is not a points system and there is no draw to wait for. You either hold a qualifying job offer from a designated employer in one of the four Atlantic provinces, or you do not.

Run your own numbers against the published rules. Nothing you enter leaves this page.

The offer has to be full time, at least 30 hours a week, and non seasonal, meaning consistent and paid all year. For a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 job it must run for at least one year from the day you become a permanent resident. For a TEER 4 job it must be permanent, with no end date.

It must also be at the same skill level as your work experience or lower, which is the opposite of how most people assume it works. A TEER 1 offer accepts experience from TEER 1, 2, 3 or 4. A TEER 0 offer accepts anything from TEER 0 to 4.

The offer cannot come from a company in which you or your spouse or partner is a majority owner. Once it is made, the employer sends you their confirmation of designation and a signed Offer of Employment to a Foreign National form.

You need at least 1,560 hours of related paid work in the last five years, worked over a period of at least one year. That is 30 hours a week for a year, and part time hours can be added together to reach it.

The work has to match most of the main duties of your NOC, and it cannot be self-employment or unpaid. Work done in Canada only counts if you held a valid work permit at the time.

International graduates of Atlantic Canada are exempt from the work experience requirement if the credential took at least two years, came from a recognised institution in one of the four Atlantic provinces, was finished within the two years before applying, and you were a full time student throughout and lived in the region for at least 16 months in the two years before graduating. English or French language programmes and distance learning cannot make up half or more of the study.

Language is CLB 5 in all four abilities for a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 offer, and CLB 4 for TEER 4. Accepted tests are CELPIP General, IELTS General Training, PTE Core, TEF Canada and TCF Canada, and the result has to be less than two years old when you apply.

Education means a Canadian high school diploma or higher, or a foreign credential with an educational credential assessment showing it is equivalent.

You must show settlement funds for the size of your family, unless you are already living and working in Canada on a valid work permit, in which case the requirement does not apply.

Before the province endorses the job offer, you need a settlement plan from an approved service provider organisation. It is a needs assessment for you and any family joining you, and it is a required document, not an optional extra.

With the settlement plan in hand, the employer applies to the province for endorsement of the job offer. The endorsement is what turns a job offer into an AIP application. You then have a limited window to file for permanent residence, and you can apply for a temporary work permit in the meantime so you can start the job while the PR application is processed.

Three things account for most of the trouble we see. The first is a job offer from an employer who is not designated, or whose designation has lapsed, which cannot be fixed after the fact.

The second is work experience that does not line up with the TEER of the offer, or that cannot be proven because the reference letter does not show hours, duties and dates in the form IRCC expects.

The third is timing. The endorsement and the settlement plan both have their own windows, and a file that drifts can expire before it is filed.