What is the Atlantic Immigration Program?
The Atlantic Immigration pilot program was launched in 2017 as a partnership with the federal government and the participating Atlantic provinces. This pilot program helps the employers in Atlantic Canada to hire skilled immigrants who want to settle in the area and international graduates who want to continue to stay in the area after graduation. This pilot program covers the Atlantic provinces of Canada and those provinces are as follows:
- Nova Scotia
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Prince Edward Island
Due to the success of the pilot program, Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has made the pilot immigration program permanent.
In this article we will be discussing the following topics for the understanding of the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)
- Background of Atlantic Immigration Program
- What are the main categories under AIP and their requirements?
- How does AIP work?
- What are the documents required for the AIP Program?
Check Your Eligibility
Background of Atlantic Immigration Program
The Atlantic Immigration Program is an employer-led immigration program that aims to bring applicants to the region to fill positions for which Canadian citizens and permanent residents are not available.
This three-year program (now permanent) is for designated employers to identify and recruit immigrants around the world. The major goal for this program is to support population growth, develop a skilled workforce and increase employment rates in the Atlantic region.
Here are the five priorities areas that Atlantic Immigration Program focuses on:
- Skilled workforce and immigration
- Innovation
- Clean growth and climate change
- Trade and investment
- Infrastructure
What are the main categories under AIP and their requirements?
Like the provincial nomination programs, the Atlantic Immigration program also has sub-categories that help in providing an immigration pathway to a much larger number of immigrants. Sub-categories and their requirements are as follows:
| Atlantic International Graduate Program | Atlantic High-Skilled Program | Atlantic Intermediate Skilled Program |
| Have a degree, diploma or other credential from a publicly funded institution in an Atlantic province | Have work experience in a managerial, professional or technical/skilled position for a minimum of one year | Have worked in a job that requires a high school education and/or job-specific training for at least a year |
| Have lived in an Atlantic province for at least 16 months in the 2 years before getting your degree, diploma or credential | Minimum requirement is Canadian high school diploma or its equivalent | Minimum requirement is Canadian high school diploma or its equivalent |
| Need to take a language test to prove proficiency in either English or French | Need to take a language test to prove proficiency in either English or French | Need to take a language test to prove proficiency in either English or French |
| Demonstrate you can support yourself and any accompanying family member financially | Demonstrate you can support yourself and any accompanying family member financially | Demonstrate you can support yourself and any accompanying family member financially |
| Need to get Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 for English or the Niveau de compétence linguistique Canadien in French language | Need to get Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 for English or the Niveau de compétence linguistique Canadien in French language | Need to get Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 for English or the Niveau de compétence linguistique Canadien in French language |
Other than the above-mentioned requirements, every employer must also meet certain requirements. In the case of the Atlantic International Graduate Program (AIGP), work experience is not required for international graduates hired via the Atlantic Immigration Program.
How does the Atlantic Immigration Program work?
The main theme for the Atlantic Immigration Program is that it is an employer-driven immigration program to facilitate the hiring of foreign skilled immigrants. To move to the Atlantic region in Canada through AIP, a job offer from a designated employer is mandatory with an individualized settlement plan.
Once the employer is able to find the right candidate for the job vacancy, they will offer them the post via a job offer letter. Employers are not required to go through the process of obtaining a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) under this program.
When the candidate has accepted the job offer, the designated employer will connect the candidate with a designated settlement service provider that will help in developing a settlement plan. The settlement plan is to help the candidate and the family members to adjust easily to daily life in Atlantic Canada. It will provide useful resources and contacts to help the candidate feel welcome in the community.
Employers have access to a temporary work permit that will allow the candidate and the accompanying family members to move to Canada as soon as possible.
For to obtain the temporary work permit, the candidate will require:
- A valid job offer
- A letter from the province
- A commitment from a candidate to apply for a PR Visa within 90 days of submitting their application for a Temporary Work Permit (TWP).
A temporary work permit (TWP):
- Is only for Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program
- Is valid for 1 year
- Will only let the candidate work for the employer who offered the job
After getting the settlement plan, candidates are also required to get the province to endorse their job offer. This will be taken care of by the employer. When the province endorses the job offer, candidates will get a Certificate of Endorsement in their mail. Candidates have to include the Certificate of Endorsement with their application for permanent residence.
What are the documents required for the AIP Program?
Here is the documents list that a candidate needs for the Atlantic immigration program and also this list will help you to avoid any delays when a candidate applies for permanent residency:
Language: Candidates have to take a language test from a recognized educational institution to check their proficiency in either English or French language. IELTS or CELPIP is for the English language and TEF is for the French language.
Education: For the candidates who have pursued education outside of Canada, they need to get an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) that proves that the education that they have done is equal to the Canadian education system.
Proof of funds:Candidate needs to have minimum required funds to support themselves and the accompanying family members for their move to Canada. Following is the table showing the required funds:
| Number of Family Members | Funds Required (In CAD) |
| 1 | 3,303 |
| 2 | 4,112 |
| 3 | 5,055 |
| 4 | 6,138 |
| 5 | 6,962 |
| 6 | 7,852 |
| 7 | 8,742 |
| For each additional family member | 890 |
There can be other documents required depending on the case submitted to the Atlantic provincial office.
