Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program ( Alberta PNP )

         The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program or Alberta PNP is a separate PNP authorizing Alberta to nominate candidates depending on skill-set to migrate and settle in Alberta. The Alberta Ministry of Employment and Immigration is the governing body accounting for the nominee program and annual immigration quota required to address the immigration needs of the Alberta province

Under the new agreement, the Candidates fulfilling federal admissibility requirements are offered with Alberta Provincial Nomination Certificate which fast-track their application.

Under the new PNP agreement, there is no longer a cap on the immigrants’ figure that can be nominated for permanent residency in province of Alberta annually as well as no expiry date. The AINP will run until further notice, with Alberta providing targets for CIC to fit in its yearly immigration levels planning.

Under the new PNP agreement, steps have been taken to ease and fast-track overseas worker immigration and hiring by employers in need, including the Canada-Alberta Working Group creation to quickly identify labor shortage and address the problem. Also, Federal government and Alberta have approved a pilot project targeting to accelerate immigration of health-care professionals.      

Overview

 (Facts about Alberta) Population and Geography 

The province of Alberta is among the top settlement destinations for Canada immigration 

and is amongst the most prosperous province of Canada offering high standard lifestyle. The province is home to more than 3.3 million and is known as the Energy Province of Canada due to its insignia as the international leader in natural oil and gas industry. The capital city Edmonton and city of Calgary together share largest population of Alberta that is over 1 million each.

Economy and Employment

Alberta province exhibits high economic growth rate and full of opportunities for further economic growth. Alberta economy is majorly driven by blooming energy industry which is the major job provider of the province, accounting for more than 275,000 employments. The oil sands project has been the top employment provider in 2010-2011 as well as in past. Alberta possesses a diversified economy as apart from the natural oil and gas other sectors like manufacturing which has grown double in size and traditional large ranching and farming industries continue to create jobs for migrating foreign nationals. For Canada immigrants desiring to find job in Canada, Alberta is the right place to start off your career.

Jobs and Working Conditions

Alberta has the amongst the lowest unemployment rate as compared to rest Canadian provinces and has great demand for overseas skilled workers offering higher and competitive salary and wage, further boosted with the lowest personal taxation in the Federal Canada. In addition, you can save greater chunk of your earnings due to lower taxation! Recently, the annual immigration quota for permanent residence and temporary foreign workers has been expanded to allow more immigrants to settle in Alberta. Edmond and Calgary constantly ranked among the best places to work in the world by international surveys. Availability of job, higher wages, lowest taxation, robust economy and high lifestyle - all these facts together push Alberta as the top destination to immigrate and work in Canada under Provincial Nominee Program.           

Eligibility (Who can apply)

The Alberta PNP or AINP applicant must receive a Nomination Certificate by Alberta before submitting the application. The candidate has to prepare a separate application to CIC after being nominated by the province of Alberta. The AINP offers visa approval for different classes, each having its own sub-classes.

AINP Strategic Recruitment Stream Eligibility:

No job offer require to be eligible for this class and you must be currently residing in US for US Visa Holder, otherwise Alberta, sub-classes are :

1.  U.S. Visa Holder Class (On hold until further notice)

2.  Engineering Occupations Class
 

3.  Compulsory and Optional Trades Class
 

AINP Employer Driven Stream Eligibility:

This requires a valid job offer from an Alberta employer to be eligible for this class, sub-classes are –

1.    Skilled Worker Class   

o Job offer should be in a skilled occupation (NOC O,A,B)

o Must have prescribed education and specialized training required for the applying position

2.    International Graduate Class

o Job offer should be in a skilled occupation (NOC O,A,B)         

o Must have concluded a diploma, degree or graduate level credential from an authorized Canadian academy

o Must have prescribed education and specialized training required for the applying position

3.    Semi-Skilled Worker Class

Must have the required qualifications for the job in one of the industries :

o Food and Beverage processing

o Hospitality - Hotel and Lodging

o Manufacturing

o Trucking - Transportation

o Food service (pilot project)

AINP Self Employed Farmer Stream Eligibility:

·      Prior experience of managing a farm business

·      Qualification and training required to build up a farming business in the province

·      Business plan and objective for the farming business to be developed in the province

·      Proof that a financial institution of Canada is offering finance for proposed farming business

·      At least C$500,000 of equity to invest in the proposed farming business

·      Minimum net worth of C$500,000 or proof of access to that much amount funds from other sources

AINP Family Stream: (On hold until further notice)

How to Apply

After you received your approval package from the Alberta province including your nomination document, you need to apply for your permanent residency to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Your PNP nomination is valid for six months only and you must apply before expiry date. If you have authorized a representative then you will not receive the nomination document and it will be directly handed to your representative.

You have to submit the complete application to CIC along with all required documents including -

·      Original AINP Nomination Document (photocopy should be retained for reference by you)

·      Completed and duly signed CIC application forms

·      All prescribed documents along with visa fees        

FAQ on Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program:

Question: What is the processing time for Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program?

Answer:    Application processing time of AINP depends on the category you applied and CIC office where you have submitted the   application. However it takes around six to twelve months for Skilled Worker and International graduate category, and around nine to fifteen months for Semi-skilled worker category.

Question: What type of employment or job offer needed to be eligible for the AINP?

Answer:    You need to have permanent, full-time job letter from an employer of Alberta.

Question: Do I need to apply to CIC office after receiving nomination document from Alberta province?

Answer:   Yes

Question: Can I obtain a status update or track my AINP application?

Answer:   Status updates or follow-ups are not provided.

Question: Do I need to deposit any fee at the time of submitting application to AINP?

Answer:   No, you don’t have to submit any fee at that time. However, after receiving nomination you need to submit fee to CIC office along with your application.