Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP)

What is this AINP?

The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP), one of Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), is targeted at skilled people who are capable of dealing with labor shortages’ problems in Alberta.

A provincial nomination certificate is issued to successful applicants in the AINP. This application may be forwarded to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for Canadian permanent residency, if applicable, by the claimant and its accompanying family members. IRCC usually allocates to AINP a limited number of nominations each year.

There are 3 immigration programs that the AINP allows skilled employees to apply including:

• Alberta Opportunity Stream, which was created to ease the application process for immigrants in Alberta, to minimize waiting times and to make the system for applicants and employers fairer.
• Express Entry Stream, which enables Alberta to select a limited number of qualified applicants by regular draws from the federal express entry pool.
• Self-employed Farmer Stream, managed by the AINP in close collaboration with the Alberta, aims at candidates with agricultural management skills and enough financial resources to invest in a farming enterprise in Alberta.

AINP changes

With the launch of two new streams — the opportunities stream and an express entry stream — replacing the strategy recruitment channel and the employers-driven stream in 2018, AINP underwent a revision.

The Opportunity Stream offers a way for foreign workers working in Alberta in Apply for permanent residency, who will have to accept an employer’s offer of employment from Alberta to qualify.

For the first time, a new change was made to the implementation of an AINP stream consistent with the immigration selection system for Canada’s Express Entry.

An additional 600 points of Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) and invitation for permanent residents to apply will be given to applicants receiving the provincial nomination via an Express entry flow from a pool after the draw.

Upcoming rules may be changed

Alberta’s immigration policy laws have recently changed for dependents. The minimum age for adults/children has been increased to less than 22 years of age. The age limit was 19 years previously. The amendment applies on and after 24 October 2017 to all applications issued. The International Immigrant Community has well welcomed this move and it is the first of several upcoming changes to Canada’s national immigration policy which put emphasis on building the community and making it easier for immigrants to move with their families to Canada.

Besides, when it comes to AOS selection requirements, there are some rules that changed between 2019 and 2021. While language proficiency requirements in 2019 based on CLB/NCLC is 4, they tend to increase to 5 from 2020 to 2021. Instead of asking Minimum High School in the applicant’s country of Origin in education requirements like they did before, the government would change to Minimum High School equivalent to Alberta standard in 2021. Except for the things mentioned above, the others have no change.

Eligible requirements

There is a number of minimum requirements that must be satisfied to allow the Alberta Immigration Nominee Program (AINP) immigration nomination:
All applicants should have a job offer letter for full-time and/or permanent employment from an Alberta employer.

•  All applicants are required to possess the basic work experience as required by the employer to qualify for an immigration nomination.
• An applicant needs to attain the minimum scores necessary in IELTS or CLB examination to qualify for nomination.
• All applicants need to demonstrate their intention of living and working in Alberta.
• All applicants considered for immigration need to possess a legitimate work permit and also have other associated documents.
• Each applicant must identify their occupation as per the NOC categories _ O, A and B.
• Applicants must furnish documents validating their legal residence in their home country.
• Applicants need to attain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) confirmation letter.

What documents do you need to prepare?

Any citizenship applicant must request multiple documents, relevant to the specific stream that the candidate is applying, to support their immigration application for the Alberta Immigration Authorities if required. In fact, there are some papers which the employer of the applicant may need to send. The following is a list of documentation submitted by qualified employees before admission to Alberta.

• All hiring Alberta employers, as well as immigrating candidates, will need to submit the Employer-Driven Application for a Skilled Occupation (AINP 005).
• Candidates will have to submit the form (AINP 003) Employer-Driven Application for Nomination
• CIC forms
• CIC Work permit
• A valid passport and travel documents
• Educational certificates (degree, diploma, and certificates)
• Work-Related Reference Letters
• Language proficiency (IELTS, PTE, TOEFL, etc.)
• Civil identity proof (age, name, date of birth must be mentioned)

Process

It is very easy to obtain a provincial appointment from Alberta. The prospective immigrant will obtain a citizenship nomination after following the above formalities. It adds 600 CRS points to their profile and guarantees that the next Express Entry draws are practically selected. Before the points are applied to a candidate’s immigration profile, however, a profile must be first created, and all the details required to complete it must be given.

Please note that this is a standard form for the Express Entry request and meets the general procedure. For those who don’t know about the Express entry, here is a summary:

• Create an online Express Entry Profile to provide information about yourself (e.g. gender, work history, citizenship, marital status, relatives in Canada (if any), etc.)
• For this, you will need to acquire an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) to verify your educational qualifications. This is mandatory for both the Express Entry program and Alberta Immigration Nominee Program.
• You also need to acquire IELTS test scores that must at least be in compliance with Express Entry’s minimum requirements. If you have a simple score of 7 CLB in the various segments of the IELTS exam, i.e. reading, writing, listening and talking, then you must receive English.
• If French is your primary language, you will need to prepare for the TEF test. To find the minimum requirements for primacy in French in the Express Entry, please visit the CIC website. In this context, more points should be awarded for those who demonstrate their proficiency in both languages while proficiency in one language is necessary to qualify. It might be smart to improve your CRS rating by mastering both languages for those who are not picked in Express Entry draws.
• After you have successfully created your profile and submitted it online along with relevant documentation. The IRCC reviews your profile extensively and then assigns you a certain CRS rating. The score is the main focus of your immigration opportunity in Canada and you are encouraged to do everything possible to maximize the score, ensuring that the immigration system is selected for Canada. Most immigration advisory services offer free CRS rating assessment services, which are used instead of risk denial to learn CRS / PNP scores.
• Your CRS ranking will be listed in the Express Entry candidate pool once you have been issued with it. Remember here that your immigration choice depends on the popularity of low-ranking profiles, though you have a high profile. If many profiles are present, then an Application Invitation (ITA) may or may not be given. In the event you don’t, the best way for you to strengthen your profile and raise migration prospects is to find an immigration specialist.
• You will be able to see if your profile meets the minimum ranking when the Express entry drawers are released (they are issued once every 15 days or so). You are most likely to be automatically considered for citizenship if you have a provincial nomination. Nonetheless, when applying for the final document, all other considerations should be kept in mind.

When the Express Entry and the Alberta Immigration Nominee Program has completed all its formalities, the applicant is eligible to apply for a permanent visa, in which he can move into the country and start a new life.

Processing Time

Processing times vary for both federal and regional programs and are subject to a range of factors such as the number of applications submitted, the data intensity to be processed by persona, document validation, and related procedures, industry variables, and evaluations, etc. In particular, any given profile is processed within 7 to 8 months.

Nonetheless, it may take longer for the Canadian immigration authorities to confirm and it is best to be vigilant in that case. Instead, a reputed immigration consultancy firm could speed the immigration process by selecting the quickest and most effective immigration route.

Alberta PNP Occupation List

Alberta, because of its booming economy and diverse professions, is a popular immigration destination in Canada. The following list informs you what jobs are currently required the most in the province for which the Express Entry system is available:

• Trades, Transport and Equipment Operators, and Related
• Unique to the Primary Industry (Oil and Gas)
• Sales and Service
• Business, Finance, and Administrative
• Management
• Restaurant and Food Service Managers, Cooks, Attendants, and Kitchen Helpers
• Underground miners, oil and gas drillers and related workers
• Contractors and supervisors, trades and related workers
• Machinery and transportation equipment mechanics
• Heavy equipment operators
• Metal forming, shaping and erecting trades
• Finance and insurance clerks
• Retail managers, salespersons, sales clerks and cashiers
• Automotive service technicians

AINP Points Calculator

The AINP uses a point-based selection pattern for all its immigration streams just like the PNP point aggregators system of other Canadian provinces. It has set a specific benchmark of points to qualify for entry to Canada using the Express Entry and Provincial Nomination Programs. The minimum certification level for these courses is 60 out of 100. The following immigration criteria are used to determine each given profile.

• Education
• English and French language ability
• Work Experience
• Age
• Arranged Employment
• Adaptability

As previously mentioned, the most reputable immigration agencies and companies offer software services for free CRS and PNP points, and it could help to understand where you are with regard to immigration prospects.