Atlantic Immigration Program Requirements & Application Process
The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is a federal permanent residence pathway for skilled foreign workers and eligible international graduates who want to live and work in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador. The program is employer-driven, which means applicants need a qualifying job offer from a designated employer in one of the four Atlantic provinces and must receive provincial endorsement before applying for permanent residence. Applicants may apply from inside or outside Canada, and certain recent graduates from recognized Atlantic Canadian post-secondary institutions may qualify without meeting the usual work-experience requirement.
Atlantic Immigration Program Eligibility
To qualify for the Atlantic Immigration Program, applicants must meet both federal eligibility requirements and the conditions connected to their job offer and provincial endorsement.
Applicants generally need to:
- have a valid job offer from a designated employer in Atlantic Canada
- have qualifying work experience, unless exempt as an eligible international graduate
- meet the education requirement for the offered job
- meet the applicable language requirement
- have sufficient settlement funds, unless exempt
- obtain a settlement plan
- receive provincial endorsement
- meet federal admissibility requirements
Most applicants need at least 1,560 hours of related paid work experience gained over the previous 5 years and accumulated over a period of at least 1 year. Self-employed work does not count, and work performed in Canada must have been authorized.
Certain recent international graduates from recognized post-secondary institutions in Atlantic Canada may be exempt from the AIP work-experience requirement.
To qualify for this exemption, applicants generally must:
- have completed a credential that required at least 2 years of study;
- have studied full time at a recognized post-secondary institution in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island;
- have received the credential less than 2 years before applying for permanent residence;
- have lived in an Atlantic province for at least 16 months during the 2 years before graduation; and
- have held the required immigration status while studying or training in Canada.
Additional restrictions may apply to certain language-study programs, distance-learning programs, and scholarship or fellowship programs that require the applicant to return to another country after graduation.
Language requirements depend on the TEER category of the job offer:
- TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 — at least CLB/NCLC 5
- TEER 4 — at least CLB/NCLC 4
Applicants must demonstrate the required level in all four language abilities using an IRCC-approved language test, and the test results must be less than two years old when the permanent residence application is submitted.
Applicants must meet the education requirement that corresponds to the TEER category of their job offer:
- TEER 0 or 1: at least a Canadian one-year post-secondary educational credential, or the foreign equivalent.
- TEER 2, 3 or 4: at least a Canadian high school credential, or the foreign equivalent.
If the applicant completed their education outside Canada, they must obtain an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for immigration purposes showing that their foreign credential is equivalent to the required Canadian credential. The ECA must be less than five years old when the permanent residence application is submitted.
Applicants who are already living and working in Canada with a valid work permit are generally exempt from the settlement-funds requirement. Applicants who are not exempt must show that they have sufficient settlement funds based on their family size, according to the amount currently required by IRCC.
AIP Job Offer and Designated Employer Requirements
A qualifying job offer under the Atlantic Immigration Program must come from an employer that has been designated by the Atlantic province where the applicant will work. Employer designation is handled by the provincial government, not by IRCC.
The job offer must generally be:
- full-time, with at least 30 paid hours per week
- non-seasonal
- for work the applicant is qualified and intends to perform
- for at least 1 year after becoming a permanent resident if the position is TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3
- permanent, with no set end date, if the position is TEER 4
The job offer generally must be in the same TEER category as, or a higher-skilled TEER category than, the applicant’s qualifying work experience, subject to applicable international graduate and health-care exemptions.
The employer cannot be a business in which the applicant, their spouse or common-law partner is a majority owner.
A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is not required for a qualifying AIP job offer.
The designated employer must complete the Offer of Employment to a Foreign National — Atlantic Immigration Program form (IMM 0157). The applicant reviews and signs the form, which is then used as part of the provincial endorsement and permanent residence process.
The employer must also provide the applicant with a copy of its Confirmation of Designation, which is needed for the settlement plan and permanent residence application.
Provincial Endorsement Process
Before applying for permanent residence through the Atlantic Immigration Program, the applicant must obtain a settlement plan and the qualifying job offer must be endorsed by the province where the applicant will work.
The general process is:
- receive a qualifying job offer from a designated employer
- obtain a settlement plan from an approved settlement service provider
- provide the settlement plan to the employer
- have the employer submit an endorsement application to the province
- include the signed IMM 0157 and other required supporting documents
- wait for the province to assess the endorsement request
- receive a Certificate of Endorsement if the application is approved
- apply to IRCC for permanent residence
Provincial endorsement confirms that the job offer and applicant meet the province’s requirements under the Atlantic Immigration Program. The endorsement process is handled by the province and is separate from IRCC’s permanent residence application process.
Applicants should not submit their permanent residence application until the required provincial endorsement has been issued.
Temporary Work Permit Option
- can be valid for up to 2 years
- is employer-specific
- allows the applicant to work only for the employer connected to the qualifying AIP job offer
- is intended to let eligible applicants begin working while their permanent residence application is processed
- a qualifying job offer from a designated Atlantic employer
- a referral letter from the province where they will work
- the employer’s offer-of-employment number and the completed IMM 0156 form
- to meet the applicable language and education requirements
- to meet the work-experience requirement, unless exempt as an eligible international graduate
Application and Processing
After receiving provincial endorsement, applicants apply online for permanent residence through IRCC’s Permanent Residence Portal. They must complete the required AIP forms, upload supporting documents, pay the applicable fees and submit the complete application. After submission, IRCC may request biometrics, a medical examination or additional documents.
Common documents may include:
- passport and identity documents
- IMM 0157 — Offer of Employment to a Foreign National
- Certificate of Endorsement
- settlement plan
- language test results
- educational credentials or an Educational Credential Assessment, where required
- proof of qualifying work experience, unless exempt
- proof of settlement funds, where required
- police certificates
- medical examination information or proof, if required under IRCC instructions
- biometrics, where required
- supporting documents for accompanying family members
IRCC may request additional documents or information during processing if needed to verify eligibility, admissibility or other aspects of the application.
AIP processing time is not fixed. It can vary depending on application completeness, verification requirements, medical and security screening, applicant response times and IRCC’s application inventory.
Provincial endorsement processing is separate from IRCC’s permanent residence processing and may also vary by province.
Applicants should use IRCC’s current processing-time information and application-status tools for the most up-to-date information rather than relying on older AIP or AIPP timelines.
