Alberta Nominee Program

At the time your application is mailed to the AINP or submitted in the AINP portal, and at the time the AINP assesses your application, you must have a valid work permit – not implied status, automatic extension of status, or restoration status – for an eligible occupation.

Valid work permits are based on one of the following:

• a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
• a LMIA exemption for workers based on one of the following exemptions as determine by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC):
  • international trade agreements
  • workers transferred within a company
  • International Experience Canada
  • Mobilité Francophone
  • an open work permit issued by IRCC to:
    • vulnerable workers who have demonstrated they are experiencing abuse or are at risk of abuse in the context of their employment in Canada, including under the Vulnerable Workers Open Work Permit (VWOWP) exemption, or
    • the family members of a vulnerable worker under the VWOWP exemption
• a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) held by a graduate of an Alberta Advanced Education publicly funded post-secondary institution

The following individuals cannot apply for or be nominated under the Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS):

• refugee claimants or individuals involved in a federal appeal or removal process – the AINP does not intervene in the federal refugee claim, appeal or removal process
• temporary residents living or working in a province or territory of Canada other than Alberta, or
• foreign nationals living or working in Canada who do not have valid temporary resident status

At the time your application is mailed to the AINP or submitted in the AINP portal, and at the time the AINP assesses your application, you must work in an eligible occupation in Alberta. Occupation requirements also apply to your work experience and job offer.

You must review the work experience criteria and eligible job offer criteria sections below for details.

The occupation you are working in at the time your application is mailed to the AINP or submitted in the AINP portal is your ‘current occupation'.

Most occupations under National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill levels 0, A, B, C and D are eligible under the AINP.

Individuals working in the following occupations at the time of application and assessment are not eligible to apply for or be nominated under the AOS.

Table 1. List of ineligible occupations

*This National Occupation Classification (NOC) code consists of both eligible occupations and ineligible occupations. The ‘Occupation’ column specifies which occupations are ineligible for each NOC Code listed.

*This National Occupation Classification (NOC) code consists of both eligible occupations and ineligible occupations. The ‘Occupation’ column specifies which occupations are ineligible for each NOC Code listed.

*This National Occupation Classification (NOC) code consists of both eligible occupations and ineligible occupations. The ‘Occupation’ column specifies which occupations are ineligible for each NOC Code listed.

*This National Occupation Classification (NOC) code consists of both eligible occupations and ineligible occupations. The ‘Occupation’ column specifies which occupations are ineligible for each NOC Code listed

If you are a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holder, your occupation must also be related to your field of study in Alberta

Language requirements changed for some applicants as of January 1, 2020. For information about this planned change in language requirements, read AOS Planned changes below.

If your application is mailed to the AINP or submitted in the AINP portal on or after January 1, 2020, you must demonstrate you meet the following language test score in English or French

Table 2. Language requirements

*This National Occupation Classification (NOC) code consists of both eligible occupations and ineligible occupations. The ‘Occupation’ column specifies which occupations are ineligible for each NOC Code listed

If you apply to the AINP under NOC code 3413 (nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates), the AINP requires a minimum language test score of CLB of 7 for each English language skill, or NCLC of 7 for each French language skill.

Official test results must be less than 2 years old at the time your application was mailed to the AINP or submitted in the AINP portal. The AINP will not accept confirmation of registration to take a language test in place of a test result.

At the time your application is mailed to the AINP or submitted in the AINP portal, you must have completed a minimum of high school education in your country of origin. Starting January 1, 2021, all candidates except PostGraduation Work Permit holders must have completed a minimum of high school Equivalent to Alberta standards.

Your ‘current occupation’ is the occupation you are working in at the time your application is mailed to the AINP or submitted in the AINP portal.

Your current occupation must also match your work experience at the time your application is mailed to the AINP or submitted in the AINP portal and at the time the AINP assesses your application.

At the time your application is mailed to the AINP or submitted in the AINP portal you must have either:

• 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

Post-Graduation Work Permit holders require a minimum of 6 months full-time work experience in your current occupation in Alberta within the last 18 months.

For all applicants, including Post-Graduation Work Permit holders, work experience in the qualifying period:

• must have been full-time, for a minimum of 30 hours a week
• must be for the same occupation as your current occupation
• must have been authorized by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and with valid temporary resident status if completed in Alberta or Canada
• cannot have been gained while studying in Canada and doing co-op work placements or internships as part of a study program, unless you are a PGWP holder who completed during paid co-op work terms as a part of your program of study at an Alberta post-secondary institution. To qualify, the work terms must have been:
  • paid and full-time (minimum 30 hours per week)
  • for work experience directly related to your current occupation, and
  • for work experience all gained in Alberta

All applicants, including PGWP holders, must meet the following licensing, registration and certification requirements:

• You must have the required licensing, registration or certification to work in your current occupation in Alberta at the time your application is mailed or submitted in the AINP portal and at the time the AINP assesses your application for nomination.
• f you are working in a compulsory trade in Alberta, you must have a valid Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Trade (AIT) recognized trade certificate.
• If you are working as childcare worker, you must have valid certification as a child development worker (formerly Level 2) or child development supervisor (formerly Level 3).

For all applicants, including PGWP holders, at the time your application is mailed to the AINP or submitted in the AINP portal, and at the time the AINP assesses your application for nomination, you must have a bona fide full-time job offer or employment contract from an Alberta employer to work in your current occupation in Alberta. Your Alberta employer must be incorporated or registered by or under an act of the legislature of a province, territory, or the Parliament of Canada and operating as a business that has an established production capability, plant or place of business in Alberta.

Your job offer or employment contract must be signed by you and your Alberta employer and must offer:

• continuous, paid work
• full-time work, defined as a minimum of 30 hours per week
• employment for 12 months or more
• work in your current occupation
• wages and benefits that meet provincial minimum wage and:
  • meet or exceed the requirements set out in your LMIA, or
  • f you are LMIA exempt, meet or exceed the lowest starting wage for your occupation across all industries in Alberta as set out on the Alis website
• work for an eligible AINP occupation for which you have a work permit that meets AINP work permit requirements

You must meet the terms agreed to in your job offer or employment contract at the time of application and assessment.

The following individuals are not eligible to apply for or be nominated under the AOS, even if they have a job offer to work 30 hours a week or more in a 12-month period:

Your job offer or employment contract must be signed by you and your Alberta employer and must offer:

• part-time, casual or seasonal employees, regardless of their working hours
• independent contractors, business owners or temporary agency workers, including individuals listed as directors, shareholders or agents of the Alberta employer on the Corporate Registry System (CORES)
• employees who work in Alberta in a place of employment that is not zoned for commercial or industrial operations, such as a home-based business
• employees who do not work on premises in Alberta, such as those who work in a ‘virtual’ location or serve the employer by telecommuting from a location outside Alberta

For the Alberta Opportunity Stream, there are planned increases to election criteria for language and education between 2020 and 2021.

Table 3 lists what is expected to change and when it is expected to change. Changes to selection criteria may happen without notice at any time. These changes will be communicated by the AINP. The summary of changes below is for information only and will not be used to assess applications

Table 3. Summary of AOS planned changes