What is the Atlantic immigration program in Canada?      

The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) in Canada is a pathway for skilled foreign workers and graduates who want to settle in any province of Canada comprising of Atlantic Canada. This program is designed to welcome additional newcomers to the Atlantic Canada region to fill the local employers and communities. The program allows designated local employers to identify, recruit, and retain global talent in the country.

The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is a pathway to gain PR in Canada for skilled foreign workers and international graduates from recognized post-secondary institutions in Atlantic Canada. The Atlantic Canada has four provinces to settle in, such as:

• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Prince Edward Island
• Newfoundland and Labrador

A designated Atlantic employer must offer a job to a candidate who will meet their employment needs and program criteria; the employer will need to provide them with a job without requiring an LMIA. The Atlantic Immigration Program has three pathways for skilled workers and international students:

For Skilled workers:

• Atlantic Skilled worker: This pathway is for highly skilled workers with work experience of NOC skill level of 0, A or B
• Atlantic Immediate skilled program: This pathway is for intermediate skilled workers with NOC work experience of skill level C.

For International graduate

• Atlantic International Graduate Program: This pathway is for students with a diploma or related credentials from a public educational institution in Atlantic Canada

Benefits of the Atlantic Immigration Program

• Pathway to gain permanent residency in Canada
• Simplified and easy process
• Streamline application processing time
• Support for newcomers
• Access to quality education and healthcare
• Employer support for job offer
• Work permits without LMIA
• Enjoy individualized settlement services

Eligibility Criteria to apply for Atlantic Immigration Program

To be eligible for the Atlantic Immigration program, an applicant must:

• Must be either a skilled worker or a recent graduate
• Have a full-time job offer
• Work experience of at least 1560 hours
• Graduate from any 24 recognized post-secondary education system
• Language requirement
• Sufficient proof of funds

Requirements to apply to Atlantic Immigration Program

An applicant must fulfill the requirements to apply for the Atlantic Immigration Program:

AIP requirements as skilled workers

• Worked for at least 1,560 hours within the last five years, which is roughly 30 hours per week
• Work experience must be in NOC 2021 in the TEER category of 0,1,2,3 or 4

AIP requirements as International graduates

• Have a credential from a recognized post-secondary institution in 1 of the 4 Atlantic provinces for 2 years of studies
• Full-time student
• Resided in one of the Atlantic provinces for at least 16 months during the last two years before graduating
• Had a legal status to work, study, or get training

General Requirements for AIP

Below are the general requirements for the AIP program:

• Valid passport
• Police clearance certificate
• Employment letter
• Certificate of Endorsement
• Medical certificate
• Education requirements
• The education requirement depends on the NOC TEER of the candidate's job offer:
• For NOC TEER 0 or 1: 1 year of Canadian post-secondary educational credential or higher or equivalent from outside Canada
• For NOC TEER 2, 3, or 4: Canadian high school diploma or the equivalent from outside Canada

*Note: Educational Degrees acquired outside Canada need an ECA (Educational Credential Assessment) that must not be under five years old from the date of application received by IRCC.

Language Requirements

Candidate must demonstrate a certain level of language proficiency according to the NOC TEER job offer.

• NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3: The minimum language requirement must be CLB 5
• NOC TEER 4: The minimum language requirement must be CLB 4

Sufficient funds

Candidates must show sufficient proof of funds to support themselves in Canada, which depends on the size of the family, which is

Number of family members	Funds required
1	$3,303
2	$4,112
3	$5,055
4	$6,138
5	$6,962
6	$7,852
7 or more	$8,742
Each additional family member	$890

*Note: Applicants already living in Canada with a valid work permit don’t need to show sufficient proof of funds.

Requirements for a job offer under the Atlantic Immigration Program       

To be eligible for the Atlantic Immigration Program, the job must meet certain requirements

• It must be a full-time job of 30 hours per week
• Must be non-seasonal of constant and regular work per year
• For NOC TEER 0,1,2 or 3 employment, the job offer must be for one year from the time you became PR 
• The Job offer must not be from the company where your partner is involved
• The job offer must be a similar or higher skill level as the qualifying work experience

How to apply for the Atlantic Immigration Program?

An applicant can follow the below-mentioned steps to apply for the Atlantic Immigration Program:

Step 1: Acquire a job offer from a designated employer

Step 2: Sort out the requirements

Step 3: Apply for an AIP endorsement

Step 4: Wait for the decision

Step 5: Once approved, apply for Canada PR

Processing fees of the Atlantic Immigration Program

The application fee for the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) in Canada is at least t $1,365. Below is the breakdown of processing fees of the Atlantic Immigration program:

Application	Processing cost (CAD)
Processing fee ($850) and right of permanent residence fee ($515)	1365 CAD
Your application (without right of permanent residence fee)	850  CAD
Include your spouse or partner	1365 CAD
Dependent child	230 CAD
Biometrics fee	85 -170 CAD

Processing time of Atlantic Immigration Program

The processing time of the Atlantic Immigration Program typically takes around six months to process, and the processing time under the Atlantic Immigration Program for Canada PR takes around 12 months.

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• Arranging the immigration document checklist
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