Immigration Pilot Programs

Immigration Pilots

Immigration pilots are designed for skilled foreign nationals in certain industries and occupations who want to gain permanent residence in Canada. Additionally, pilots are limited-term programs introduced to address the labour force needs and shortfall of skills within specific Canadian provinces or regions.

Let's find out how you can maximize your chances of immigrating through the Canada immigration pilot programs.

What Are Immigration Pilots?

Immigration pilots are limited-term programs specifically designed to address the needs of particular areas and communities in Canada. These pilot programs target unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled foreigners to address the labour market needs and shortages. The idea is to create a path to permanent residence for those who want to live and work permanently in Canada.

A good example of a pilot program is the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP), which later became an actual program known as the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). Because the pilot did exceptionally well bridging the worker-to-retiree ratio, adding value to the Canadian economy, it later transitioned into a permanent program.

An Introduction to the Various Pilots

For you to gain a better understanding of the different pilots, we will dive into each pilot and the requirements thereof. These are as follows below:

Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP)

This pilot is geared toward individual towns and communities to address shortages in their labour market. It is similar to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in that if you can get a job offer from a participating business within the community, you will receive a nomination from the local government for permanent residency. There is no skill level required; all occupation levels are eligible.

Employers in participating communities will have the opportunity to post employment opportunities. Skilled foreigners looking to live and work in Canada can apply for these positions. If you succeed, the community can recommend you to the government for permanent residence.

Eligibility Factors

You must ensure that you are eligible before applying. To be considered for the RNIP program, you need to meet the following criteria:

For work experience, you must:

• You must have at least one year of accumulative work experience in the last three years. This experience can be accumulated by more than one occupation and different Canadian employers.
• The hours you worked as a volunteer or intern will not be recognized.
• The hours as a self-employed person will not be recognized unless you acquired experience as a medical practitioner under the jurisdiction's laws.
• You must include the main duties listed in your National Occupational Classification (NOC) and the activities listed in the lead statement of your NOC.

For International students, you must:

• International students will be expected to meet the requirements stipulated under work experience. However, you must have graduated with a credential from a post-secondary program of two years or longer.
• Under this program, you must have studied as a full-time student and completed the full duration of the two years.
• You must have received the credential no more than 18 months before your application to apply for permanent residence.
• You must have been in the community for at least 16 months of the last 24 months you spent studying to obtain your credential.
• You must meet or exceed the language requirements in either English or French. Find out more about the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test requirements when applying for permanent residence.
• You must provide all the necessary documentation, including your qualifications.
• If you are not working legally in Canada by the time you apply, you must prove that you have sufficient funds to take care of yourself.

Or, you can still be exempted from the work experience requirements if:

• You have a master's degree or higher, which you did in less than two years while studying as a full-time student.
• Obtain your degree more than 18 months before applying for permanent residence.
• If you were in the community for the duration of your studies.

You cannot apply as an international student if:

• Your course consists of studying English or French, making up more than half of the program.
• If most of your course consisted of distance learning, it made up more than half of the program.
• If you studied on a scholarship or fellowship, it requires you to return to your home country.

Note that different communities in Canada may be subject to different requirements. For community-specific requirements, visit the official Canadian Government website.

Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP)

If you are a skilled foreign worker with a valid job offer or a foreign graduate from a publicly funded post-secondary school institution in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, or Newfoundland and Labrador, or you may be eligible to apply for permanent residency through the AIP.. With the region's labour force still contracting, this year is a great time to secure permanent residency in Canada through this pathway.

Eligibility Factors

For work experience, you must:

• Have worked in the last five years, accumulating to at least 1,560 hours, which is the hours accumulated in one year (30 hours per week).
• Hours in part-time and full-time jobs will be recognized.
• The hours counted must be paid work.
• Hours accumulated while self-employed will not be recognized.
• You can count hours while working inside or outside Canada legally.
• Hours accumulated over or at least 12 months will count.
• If you worked while studying, these hours can be added but should amount to the authorized hours stipulated.
• The work performed should fall within the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) categories.

Here is a brief breakdown of the TEER levels:

• TEER 0: management jobs
• TEER 1: professional jobs that require a degree from a university.
• TEER 2: Technical jobs and skilled trades that require at least two years of college or apprenticeship or occupations that include supervisory or safety responsibilities, such as police officers and firefighters.
• TEER 3: Technical jobs and skilled trades requiring less than two years of college or apprenticeship. Alternatively, you can still apply under this if you have more than six months of practical experience.
• TEER 4: Refers to intermediate jobs that require high school and/or weeks of job-specific training. Examples are industrial butchers, long-haul truck drivers, or food and beverage servers.

For your interest, learn more about the TEER levels here.

Note: In your work experience, you must include the actions in the description of your NOC and the main duties or roles of your NOC.

Requirements for international graduates:

• You are not subject to the work experience requirements if you have a degree, diploma, certificate, or trade or apprenticeship certification of two years. Your credentials must be obtained from a recognized post-secondary institution in one of the four Atlantic provinces.
• You should be a full-time student for the program duration while studying.
• You must have lived in one of the Atlantic provinces for at least 16 months in the last two years before you graduated.
• You must have had the visa or permit required to work, study or get training while you were residing in Canada.

Educational requirements, one of these is relevant:

• You must secure a job offer at the NOC 2021 TEER 0 or 1 category.
• You must have a one-year post-secondary credential or higher or the equivalent of a Canadian credential from outside Canada.
• Job offers at the NOC 2021 TEER 2, 3 or 4 category require a Canadian high school diploma or the equivalent from outside Canada.
• International students who study outside require an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA), confirming that their studies are equivalent or higher for your job offer.
• Your ECA report must be less than five years old when the application is received.

Agri-Food Immigration Pilot

This pilot opens the door for unskilled and semi-skilled workers who may have struggled to find pathways to permanent residency. Canada has a significant shortage in the food production industry and has thus created this avenue to address the problem. Canadian immigration will process several permanent resident applications annually for foreign farm labourers, farm supervisors, harvesters, butchers, and food processing labourers. The program works on a first-come, first-served basis, so it is important to get in early.

To apply for this pilot, you must have a valid job offer and show that you are an experienced worker in one of the specified occupations within the meat production and agricultural sector. Below, we highlight the requirements.

Eligibility Factors

For work experience, you must:

• Have a minimum of one year of the non-seasonal hour which should be full-time work in the past three years.
• If you apply through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, these hours can be in one or more of the listed eligible occupations.
• You will require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) with a minimum 12-month duration, which your employer will submit.
• The hours you worked in full-time jobs will count.
• These hours are not subject to one eligible occupation but can be in various eligible occupations with different employers.
• The hours must be accumulated over at least 12 months.
• Volunteering or unpaid internships will not count.
• Hours you accumulated as a self-employed person will not be recognized.
• Hours you accumulated in part-time or seasonal positions will not be recognized.
• If your hours were not authorized by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), they would not count.