Alberta Advantage Immigration Program: AAIP 

(Formerly known as AINP)

Alberta is one of the western provinces that is made up of mountains and rolling hills.  It has two major cities: Edmonton and Calgary and multiple mini cities, such as Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Lethbridge.

The AAIP has 3 streams for foreign workers who are living and working in Alberta, or plan to live and work here:

1. Alberta Opportunity Stream
   Qualified candidates who live and work in Alberta and have a job offer from an Alberta employer can apply for an AAIP nomination usually after 12 months of Canadian Work Experience.

Eligible applicants

At the time your application is submitted, and at the time the AAIP assesses your application, you must have:

•  a valid work permit – not status maintained during processing (formerly implied status) or restoration status. OR
• a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) held by a graduate of an Alberta Advanced Education publicly funded post-secondary institution, OR
• an open work permit issued under one of IRCC’s open work permit public policies OR
• an open work permit issued under the public policy for Hong Kong recent graduates OR
• an open work permit issued under IRCC’s Ukraine immigration measures (also known as the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET)).
• Applied for your education credential assessment with a minimum of high school diploma, unless applying with Post-Graduate Work Permit.
• Have a minimum of 12 months full-time work experience in your current occupation in Alberta within the last 18 months, or

• a minimum of 24 months of full-time work experience in your current occupation in Canada or abroad within the last 30 months or both – this work experience can be a combination of experience gained in Alberta, in Canada (outside Alberta) or abroad.

• Valid job offer
• Obtain your IELTS based on the following numbers:

Language requirements National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER category Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) test score required Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) test score required If you are working in a NOC 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation Minimum of 5 for each English language skill Minimum of 5 for each French language skill If you are working in a NOC 4 or 5 occupation Minimum of 4 for each English language skill Minimum of 4 for each French language skill Here is a list of ineligible occupations - DO NOT APPLY NOC Code (2021) NOC TEER category Occupation 00010 0 Legislators 40021 0 School principals and administrators of elementary and secondary education 40030 0 Managers in social, community and correctional services 40041 0 Fire chiefs and senior firefighting officers 60040* 0 Escort agency managers, massage parlour managers 41100 1 Judges 41220 1 Secondary school teachers 41221 1 Elementary school and kindergarten teachers 51111 1 Authors and writers (except technical) 51122 1 Musicians and singers 42200* 2 Justices of the peace 42202* 2 Early childhood educators who do not have certification through Alberta Children's Services – Child Care Staff Certification Office or who have been certified as Level 1 Early Childhood Educator (formerly Child Development Assistant) 43100 3 Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants 43109 3 Other instructors 53121 3 Actors, comedians and circus performers 53122 3 Painters, sculptors and other visual artists 53124 3 Artisans and craftspersons 53200 3 Athletes 63101 3 Real estate agents and salespersons 33100* 3 Dental laboratory assistants/bench workers 44100 4 Home child care providers 44101 4 Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations 64321 4 Casino occupations 55109 5 Other performers 65109 5 Other sales related occupations 65211 5 Operators and attendants in amusement, recreation and sport 65229 5 Other support occupations in personal services 65329 5 Other service support occupations 75200 5 Taxi and limousine drivers and chauffeurs 85101 5 Harvesting labourers 85102 5 Aquaculture and marine harvest labourers 85104 5 Trappers and hunters 85110 5 Mine labourers 85121 5 Landscaping and grounds maintenance labourers

If you do not see your job title on the list above and you meet the eligibility requirements, chances are you have a good chance of applying under this program.  For more information to see if you qualify, purchase your Pre-Qualification Assessment today and receive a full breakdown of what you will need and other information to apply.

2. Alberta Express Entry Stream
   Qualified candidates with an Express Entry profile may be invited by AAIP to apply for nomination for permanent residence. Tech workers can qualify for expedited processing under the Accelerated Tech Pathway.

Accelerated Tech Pathway

Under the Alberta Express Entry Stream, candidates may be selected for expedited processing if they are currently working for, or have a job offer with, an Alberta-based tech industry employer in an eligible tech occupation. Refer to the list of eligible Accelerated Tech Pathway occupations (PDF, 135 KB).

Application steps

The Alberta Express Entry Stream has 3 steps:

1. Candidates must have an Express Entry profile with the Government of Canada to be considered under this stream.

• Candidates interested in applying under the Accelerated Tech Pathway must send information about their Express Entry profile and their Alberta employment or job offer with an Alberta tech employer to the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) by filling out an online form.
• All other candidates of the Express Entry stream must receive a Notification of Interest (NOI) letter from AAIP in their Government of Canada Express Entry profile. Candidates must email a copy of this NOI letter to the AAIP and state they are interested in applying to the AAIP.
• The AAIP determines if candidates meet the minimum eligibility criteria to apply. Candidates who meet minimum eligibility criteria will receive an email inviting them to submit an application.
• Candidates determine if they meet assessment criteria and submit an application. Complete applications go into a pool of eligible applications for consideration for processing.

Note:

• Candidates cannot apply directly to the Alberta Express Entry Stream.
• Candidates must be invited to submit an application. The AAIP invites candidates who demonstrate they meet minimum eligibility criteria. See the steps outlined above.
• You cannot use a nomination under a different AAIP stream to apply under the Alberta Express Entry Stream or the federal Express Entry system.
• If the AAIP discovers fraud or misrepresentation in an application, a candidate may be banned for up to 5 years from reapplying to the AAIP.
• Alberta Express Entry Stream nominees cannot extend their nomination

3. Rural Renewal Stream
   Qualified candidates who have a job offer from an Alberta employer to work in a designated rural Alberta community can apply for an AAIP nomination.

The Rural Renewal Stream supports the attraction and retention of newcomers to rural Alberta through a community-driven approach that supports local economic development needs and contributes to the growth of the community. The Rural Renewal Stream empowers rural communities to recruit and retain foreign nationals to live, work and settle in their communities.

Communities must apply for and become designated before they can recruit and endorse candidates for the Rural Renewal Stream. Candidates with an endorsement of candidate letter from a designated community can apply using the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program portal.

Provincial Fees for processing: 

An application fee of $500 applies to all online applications. The AAIP application fee is non-refundable once an application has been submitted to the AAIP. Refund requests for application fees will not be considered.

 

Other government fees will be listed on the IRCC website or in your retainer agreement when you sign up.

 For assistance please complete a generic Pre-Qualification (Assessment) or navigate to our home page and you can choose which country you are immigrating from in the drop down.