Alberta is not only the most populated amongst Canada’s three ‘Prairie Provinces’, but it’s also considered to have some of North America’s most stunning national parks, such as Banff and Jasper. If you ever want to permanently reside here, the Province of Alberta offers prospective immigrants that possess the right mix of skills and work experience to get their Alberta Provincial Nomination Certificate through the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program.
What Is The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program?
The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) is an economy-centric program that nominates individuals for permanent residence in Alberta that have the potential to fill job shortages or businessmen who plan to buy or put up a business in the province.
This gives you and your spouse or common-law partner, and your dependent children a chance to be able to apply for a permanent resident status should you be nominated through the AINP.
Keep in mind that the AINP can only nominate individuals to apply, but the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) manages all the applications and the federal government makes all the final decisions for all applications.
What Are The Streams, and How Do I Qualify?
Each of Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is unique, and the AINP is no exception. AINP does not seek out individuals with specific work experience or skills, rather they provide a list of occupations that are eligible for the AINP.
What are the streams?
What are the AINP Streams?
There are currently five streams that individuals who want to immigrate can take through the AINP.
- Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS)
For foreign workers who are currently residing or plan to live in Alberta, and have a job offer from an Alberta employer - Alberta Express Entry Stream
For qualified candidates that currently has an Express Entry profile - International Graduate Entrepreneur Immigration Stream
For international graduates from Alberta colleges or universities who plan to buy or build a business - Self-Employed Farmer Stream
For skilled and seasoned farmers who plan to buy or start a farm in Alberta - Foreign Graduate Start-Up Visa Stream
For foreign graduates who plans to create a start-up and apply for permanent residence in Alberta
What are the minimum qualifications?
You can apply for different AINP streams depending on your qualifications, education, job experience, or entrepreneurial abilities.
For Workers
Individuals who want to apply through the Alberta Opportunity Stream must:
- Have valid work permit;
- Be working in an eligible occupation in Alberta. Most occupations under the National Occupation Classification (NOC) skill 0, A, B, C, D, are eligible (with some exceptions);
- A minimum of Level 4 or 5 in the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB), depending on occupation;
- Have at least a high school degree;
- Have at least a year of work experience in Alberta in the last 18 months, or at least 24 months of work experience in Canada in the last 30 months.
Individuals who want to apply through the Alberta Express Entry Stream must:
- Have a presence in the Express Entry pool
- Have an expression of interest of permanent immigration to Alberta;
- Be holding a job that supports the province’s diversification and economic development;
- A score of 300 in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
For Entrepreneurs
To apply for permanent residency through the International Graduate Entrepreneur Immigration Stream, individuals must:
- Have at least 24 months of full time education in Alberta;
- Possess a Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) with a two-year validity;
- Be holding a job that supports the province’s diversification and economic development;
- A score of 300 in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
If you want to apply through the Self-Employed Farmer Stream, you should have:
- Sufficient farm management expertise;
- A minimum investment of CAD $500,000;
- A proposed business plan that documents your investments plans
Individuals who want to apply through the Foreign Graduate Start-Up Visa Stream must:
- A minimum of six months of full-time experience operating and/or running a business is required.
- A business plan with expected financials is required;
- A foreign post-secondary education is required, as well as an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). The degree must have been earned within the previous two years.
- A 10-minute slide-only presentation that discusses the business and includes all of the information that an investor would want to see;
- A minimum level of 7 on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB);
- If the firm is located in a city, it must have at least 34 percent ownership, or at least 51 percent ownership if it is located outside of Calgary or Edmonton.
- A minimum investment of $100,000 in an urban center or $50,000 in a regional location is required. Higher investments get you more points. Must have a letter of recommendation from an AINP-approved agency;
- Must have enough money to start their business and sustain themselves and their family in Canada.
The video below will guide you through the application process for Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program
- Know the eligibility Criteria for applying under the Alberta Express Entry Stream
- Know the Step-By-Step Process to get a nomination and know where to mail the application Package as this is a Paper-Based Application
- Know the different draw dates and cut-off scores so that you are aware about the current CRS Score trend
- Know the fact that you can get a provincial nomination even if you have a very low CRS score as low as 300
- Know the documents and forms you need to gather and fill out when applying under this stream and so on and so forth
- Know how to express your interest to the province of Alberta so that you can get a Notification of Interest
- Know how to submit your Application for Alberta Express Entry Stream
- Know how to find out the different cut-off scores drawn previously and understand the CRS Score trend
Here are Related Articles You Can Read Now
Canadian Immigration Pathways
Immigrate to Canada with Express Entry
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs)