Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP)

What is the Atlantic Immigration Program?

The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is a federal program, run in partnership with the four Atlantic provinces, that helps employers in the region hire skilled workers and international graduates who then become permanent residents. It became a permanent program in 2022, building on the success of the earlier Atlantic Immigration Pilot. The idea is simple: Atlantic Canada needs workers, local employers identify the people they want to hire, and the program turns that hire into a path to permanent residence.

What sets the AIP apart from Express Entry is that it is employer-driven. The starting point is not a points score, it is a genuine job offer from a designated employer, an employer the province has approved to use the program. That employer supports your application, helps with your settlement plan, and is part of why this route can feel more direct than the federal pool for the right candidate.

The four Atlantic provinces

The Atlantic Immigration Program spans Canada's four eastern coastal provinces, each with its own economy, labour shortages and lifestyle. Whichever you settle in, the program works the same way: a designated employer there hires you, the province endorses the offer, and you apply for permanent residence. Each province also runs its own Provincial Nominee Program alongside the AIP, so it is worth knowing both routes into the place you want to live:

• Nova Scotia, the most populous Atlantic province, with a strong economy in Halifax and active nominee streams alongside the AIP.
• New Brunswick, Canada's only officially bilingual province, with demand across healthcare, trades and services.
• Prince Edward Island, the smallest province, with its own nominee program and a close-knit community feel.
• Newfoundland and Labrador, with opportunities in healthcare, ocean industries and growing sectors served by its nominee program.

Who the program is for

The AIP serves two broad groups, each with its own entry route into the same permanent-residence outcome:

• Skilled workers with a qualifying job offer from a designated Atlantic employer and the right recent work experience.
• International graduates who completed an eligible credential at a recognised institution in Atlantic Canada, who can use the international-graduate route without the same work-experience requirement.

In both cases the destination is the same: permanent residence in one of the four Atlantic provinces, with a designated employer behind your application and a province endorsing it.

The international-graduate stream

If you studied in Atlantic Canada, the program has a route built for you. The international-graduate stream recognises that graduates of a recognised post-secondary institution in one of the four provinces already have local credentials and, often, local connections. Where the skilled-worker route asks for recent qualifying work experience, eligible graduates can apply without meeting the same experience requirement, provided they completed an eligible credential at a recognised Atlantic institution and meet the other criteria.

It is a natural next step after a study permit, and it sits alongside the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) as a way to turn study in the region into permanent residence. We confirm whether your specific program and institution qualify before you count on this route.

How the employer-driven process works

The mechanics of the AIP are different from a points-based system, so it helps to understand the moving parts. Four things have to come together:

• A designated employer. The employer must first be approved (designated) by the province to use the program. You cannot use the AIP with an employer who is not designated.
• A genuine job offer. That employer makes you a real, qualifying job offer in an eligible occupation, full-time and non-seasonal for most roles.
• A provincial endorsement. The province reviews the job offer and your settlement plan and, if satisfied, endorses your application. The endorsement is what unlocks the federal permanent residence step.
• A settlement plan. You complete a settlement plan with an approved service provider, so you and your family arrive with a clear plan for housing, schooling, language support and work.

Because the employer is so central, much of our work on an AIP file is making sure the offer, the occupation and the endorsement paperwork all line up cleanly before anything reaches IRCC.

Atlantic Immigration Program requirements

The exact thresholds can change and vary slightly by route and role, so treat the table below as a working overview and always confirm the current criteria on canada.ca and with the relevant province before you rely on them.

Eligibility in more detail

Beyond the headline requirements, a few specifics decide whether an AIP application holds together. We work through each of these with you early, because fixing a gap before you apply is far easier than explaining one afterwards:

• Work experience. The skilled-worker route generally asks for recent, qualifying experience in your occupation. The international-graduate stream can substitute an eligible Atlantic credential for that experience.
• Language. You usually need an approved language test result in English or French, typically around CLB 5, with CLB 4 acceptable for some intermediate-skilled occupations. Even strong speakers normally sit an approved test such as IELTS or CELPIP to claim the result.
• Education and ECA. You need a Canadian credential, or a foreign credential assessed through an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) so it can be compared to Canadian standards.
• Funds. You generally show proof of settlement funds to support yourself and your family on arrival, unless you are already living and working in Canada.
• The job offer itself. The offer has to come from a designated employer and match an eligible occupation and skill level under the National Occupational Classification (NOC), so the NOC code matters as much as the wage. Some routes accept intermediate-skilled occupations at a lower language threshold.

Step by step: how an AIP application works

1. 01

   Secure a designated-employer offer

   You receive a genuine, qualifying job offer from an employer the province has approved to use the program. This is the foundation everything else rests on.

2. 02

   Complete a settlement plan

   You work with an approved settlement service provider to build a plan covering housing, schooling, language support and work for you and your family.

3. 03

   Get the provincial endorsement

   The province reviews your offer and settlement plan and, if satisfied, issues an endorsement letter for your application. You may apply for a temporary work permit at this stage to start sooner.

4. 04

   Apply to IRCC for permanent residence

   With the endorsement in hand, you submit your permanent residence application with biometrics, medical, police certificates and proof of funds.

AIP vs Express Entry vs the provincial PNP streams

Many people who qualify for the Atlantic Immigration Program also qualify for Express Entry or for an Atlantic province's own Provincial Nominee Program. They lead to the same destination, permanent residence, but they get there differently, and the right one depends on your profile rather than your preference. Here is how they compare:

A job offer can also boost an Express Entry profile, and a CRS score that is competitive may make a federal draw faster than waiting for an employer match. If you already have Canadian experience, the Canadian Experience Class may apply; if your experience is foreign, the Federal Skilled Worker program may fit. You can estimate where you stand with our free CRS calculator, and our team weighs all of these against the AIP before you choose.

Costs and timelines

Costs on an AIP file fall into two buckets. Government and third-party fees include IRCC processing, the right-of-permanent-residence fee, biometrics, an approved language test, an ECA if you studied abroad, a medical exam, police certificates and proof of settlement funds. These figures change periodically, so we itemise the current numbers for your case and you can confirm government amounts on canada.ca. Our fees guide explains how our professional fee works and how it differs from the government fees above.

On timelines, AIP processing time moves with application volume, so we plan against current IRCC estimates rather than a fixed promise. The practical advantage of the program is that, once you hold your endorsement letter, you may be able to apply for a temporary work permit and begin your Atlantic job, whether that is in Halifax or elsewhere in the region, while your permanent residence application is assessed, rather than waiting at home.

How the Atlantic Immigration Program leads to PR

The AIP is a route to permanent residence, not a temporary work scheme. Once you have a designated-employer job offer and a provincial endorsement, you submit your permanent residence application. While it is processed, you may be eligible for a temporary work permit so you can start your job in Atlantic Canada sooner rather than waiting at home. The endgame, though, is PR.

If the AIP is not the right fit, or you do not yet have a designated-employer offer, the Atlantic provinces also run their own Provincial Nominee streams. You can explore Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, or the federal Express Entry system, as alternative paths to the same region.

How Wild Mountain Immigration helps with the AIP

Wild Mountain Immigration is a CICC-regulated practice led by a licensed RCIC (R706497), and we represent clients entirely online by video call and secure document sharing. On an Atlantic Immigration Program file, our job is to make sure the designated-employer offer, the occupation classification, the provincial endorsement and your permanent residence application all line up before anything reaches IRCC.

We assess your eligibility honestly, compare the AIP against Express Entry and the Atlantic PNPs, and build the route where you are strongest. Our scope is standard RCIC work, and what we do is give your application the best possible chance.

1. 01

   Confirm your eligibility

   We review your job offer, experience or graduation, language and education to confirm which AIP route fits and whether you meet the current criteria.

2. 02

   Prepare endorsement and PR

   We help line up the designated-employer offer, the provincial endorsement, your settlement plan and the supporting documents IRCC expects.

3. 03

   Apply and arrive

   We build a complete permanent residence application, flag any temporary work permit option, and represent you through to your move to Atlantic Canada.