Canadian Government Extends Atlantic Immigration Pilot program

Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program an employer-driven immigration program was introduced in 2017 for a test period of three years. This program allows meeting the labor shortages in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Designated employers were able to hire the eligible immigrants for the vacant jobs in the provinces and also immigration pathway for international graduates of universities and colleges of the Atlantic region of Canada. The federal government of Canada has decided to increase the duration of AIPP to December 2021 to maintain the momentum of the program.

Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released some statistics that show 1,896 designated employers of Atlantic region of Canada have made 3,729 job offers through this program since its introduction in 2017 and a total of 2,535 applicants and their family members have been accepted to apply for permanent residence.

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Ahmed Hussen said extending the duration of the program “will give the Government of Canada and the Atlantic Provinces more time to experiment with different approaches and to assess the program’s medium and long-term impacts on the region. Since 2017, the Atlantic Immigration Pilot has been very successful in attracting skilled Immigrants to the Atlantic Canada region. IRCC and the Atlantic provinces have worked very hard and will continue to do so to ensure the pilot can address the unique labor and demographic challenges to the region.”

Some of the major changes made in the AIP by IRCC are as follows:

• International graduates will now have 24 months post-graduation to apply for AIP. This change will increase the number of eligible international graduates that can participate in AIP and give them time to complete the PR application process.
• Employers in the health-care sector will be able to hire internationally trained nurses to work as continuing care and home care support workers in order to fill job vacancies.
• Atlantic Provinces will have new authorities to focus their AIP spaces on in-demand labor market needs. This change will lead to better oversight of the pilot and give provinces a greater ability to manage designated employers.
• From May 1, 2019, IRCC will require that applicants meet the language, education and work experience requirements of AIP prior to being approved for a work permit.

Main advantage under AIP for employers is that designated employers do not need to obtain Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for the jobs under this program.

Having a Job-offer from a designated employer for a full-time job and also must possess at least one year of full-time work experience in the field of work that is categorized under National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level 0, A or B. To know more about the AIP, visit: Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program

Reference is taken from CIC News.