Alberta Nominee Program - Rural Renewal Stream

Rural Renewal Stream – Communities must apply for and become designated before they can recruit and endorse qualified candidates. Temporary workers who have a job offer from an Alberta employer in a designated community, and an endorsement letter from a designated community, can then apply for an AAIP nomination.

Temporary workers who have a job offer from an Alberta employer in a designated community, and an endorsement letter from a designated community, can then apply for an AAIP nomination.

Overview This page includes eligibility requirements for applicants who have been offered a full-time job in a Designated Community and have an Endorsement of Candidate Letter from the Designated Community. Applicants to the Rural Renewal Stream may be temporary workers residing in Canada with a valid work permit or individuals who are not in Canada. The Rural Renewal Stream has a 2-step process: Once a community is designated by the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP), the community follows one of these endorsement processes: A Designated Community directly recruits foreign workers to meet labour needs and provides an Endorsement of Candidate letter to selected candidates. Candidate submits a Worker Expression of Interest. If selected by AAIP , the candidate will be invited to submit an application. Read the details on community requirements for designation and the endorsement process .

Community endorsement requirement At the time your application is submitted and at the time AAIP assesses your application, you must have a valid Endorsement of Candidate letter issued by the Economic Development Organization (EDO) of your designated rural community in Alberta. The recommendation must be based on criteria established by the EDO. In addition, you must meet AAIP Rural Renewal Stream eligibility criteria. Endorsement of Candidate letter All candidates must have an Endorsement of Candidate letter from their Designated Community. Endorsement of Candidate letter is only valid for one year from the date of issuance. The letter must be issued by the local EDO of the community and must outline the following: date of issuance name and address of the EDO supporting the application your full name and residential address details of the bona fide job offer: name of the business name and contact information of the employer location of employment position and description of job duties duration of employment and work conditions detailed description of how filling the position you are offered aligns with the economic growth of the designated community your employer’s efforts to fill the position with Canadian citizens, permanent residences or youth within the community, and outcomes name, title and contact information of the person issuing the Endorsement of Candidate letter

Occupation requirements At the time your application is submitted, and at the time AAIP assesses your application, you must have a job offer in an eligible occupation. An occupation is considered eligible if it is not on the list of in-eligible occupations in Table 1 below. Use IRCC’s Find your NOC tool to find the NOC 2021 version of your occupation. Most occupations under NOC TEER categories 0, 1, 2, 3,4 and 5 are eligible under AAIP with the following conditions: Eligible for TEERs 0–5: Temporary workers who reside in Alberta and hold a valid work permit. Eligible for TEERs 0–3 only: Temporary workers who reside outside Alberta but within Canada and hold a valid work permit. Individuals who reside outside Canada. Ineligible occupations All individuals with job offers for the following occupations at the time of application submission and assessment are not eligible to apply for or be nominated under the Rural Renewal Stream. Table 1. List of ineligible occupations *This National Occupation Classification (NOC) code consists of both eligible occupations and ineligible occupations. The ‘Occupation’ column specifies which occupations are ineligible for each NOC Code listed. NOC Code (2021) NOC TEER category Occupation 00010 0 Legislators 60040* 0 Escort agency managers, massage parlour managers 41100 1 Judges 51111 1 Authors and writers (except technical) 51122 1 Musicians and singers 42200* 2 Justices of the peace 53121 3 Actors, comedians and circus performers 53122 3 Painters, sculptors and other visual artists 53124 3 Artisans and craftspersons 53200 3 Athletes 33100* 3 Dental laboratory bench workers 44100 4 Home child care providers 44101 4 Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations 64321 4 Casino Occupations 55109 5 Other performers 65229 5 Other support occupations in personal services 85101 5 Harvesting Labourers

Job offer requirements At the time your application is submitted, and at the time AAIP assesses your application, you must have a full-time job offer or employment contract from an Alberta employer to work in an eligible occupation within an established business operation in your Designated Community. Alberta job offers or employment contracts and the Alberta employer offering the job must meet all the requirements outlined on Alberta Job Offer and Employment Requirements . You are responsible for working with your Alberta employer to ensure that all job offer or employment contract and employer requirements are met. Your application will be declined if these requirements are not met. Your application fee will not be refunded where an application is declined based on Alberta employer requirements not being met. Ineligible applicants based on job offers The following individuals are not eligible to apply for or be nominated under the Rural Renewal Stream, even if they have a job offer to work 30 hours a week or more in a 12-month period: part-time, casual or seasonal employees, regardless of their working hours independent contractors, business owners or temporary agency workers, including individuals listed as directors, shareholders or agents of the Alberta employer on the Corporate Registry System (CORES) employees who work in Alberta in a place of employment that is not zoned for commercial or industrial operations, such as a home-based business employees who do not work on premises in Alberta, such as those who work in a ‘virtual’ location or serve the employer by telecommuting from a location outside Alberta foreign nationals in Canada without a valid work permit Qualifying work experience requirements At the time your application is submitted, you must have a minimum of 12 months full-time work experience in an eligible occupation within the last 18 months prior to your application. This work experience can be a combination of experience gained in Alberta, in Canada (outside Alberta) or abroad. For all applicants, work experience in the qualifying period must: have been paid full-time employment, for a minimum of 30 hours a week meet the TEER category requirements meet the occupation requirements above Table 2 . Job offer and work experience TEER Categories. TEER Category of job offer or current occupation is: TEER Category of work experience must be: TEER 0 TEER 0 or 1 TEER 1 TEER 0, 1 or 2 TEER 2 TEER 1, 2, 3 or 4 TEER 3 TEER 1, 2, 3 or 4 TEER 4 TEER 2, 3, 4 or 5 TEER 5 TEER 5 and must be in the same occupation – NOC code have been authorized by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and with valid temporary resident status if obtained in Canada not have been gained while studying in Canada and doing co-op work placements or internships as part of a study program, unless you are a PGWP holder who completed paid co-op work terms as a part of your program of study at an Alberta post-secondary institution. To qualify, the work terms must have been: paid and full-time (minimum 30 hours per week), and for work experience all gained in Alberta Post-Graduation Work Permit holders who have completed a 2-year post-secondary education program at an IRCC designated learning institution in their Designated Community are not required to meet the 12 months of work experience criterion. Licensing, registration and certification requirements At the time your application is submitted and at the time AAIP assesses your application, you must meet the following licensing, registration and certification requirements: You must have the required licensing, registration or certification to work in your current occupation in Alberta or occupation in your Alberta job offer. Information on the occupation specific requirements is on the Alis website . If you are working or have a job offer in a compulsory trade in Alberta, you must have a valid Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Trade (AIT) recognized trade certificate. If you are working as childcare worker in Alberta, you must have valid certification as a Level 2 Early Childhood Educator (formerly Child Development Worker) or Level 3 Early Childhood Educator (formerly Child Development Supervisor) prior to applying to AAIP.

Language requirements Important : You must confirm the TEER Category for your job offer/occupation in the NOC 2021 version and use the TEER Category to determine the minimum language score using Table 3 below. At the time your application is submitted, you must demonstrate that you meet the following language test score in English or French. Table 3 . Language requirements. National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER category Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) test score required Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) test score required If your job offer is for NOC 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation Minimum of 5 for each English language skill Minimum of 5 for each French language skill If your job offer is for NOC 4 or 5 occupation Minimum of 4 for each English language skill Minimum of 4 for each French language skill You must provide your official test results with your AAIP application for one of the following language tests: Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) General Test International English Language Testing System (IELTS) General Training Test Pearson Test of English (PTE) Test d'évaluation de français Canada (TEF Canada) Test de connaissance du français Canada (TCF Canada) Official test results must be less than 2 years old at the time your application was submitted. AAIP will not accept confirmation of registration to take a language test in place of a test result. Check the IRCC guideline on CLB NCLC equivalency for each of the tests. Education requirements At the time your application is submitted, you must have completed a minimum of high school education equivalent to the Canadian education standard. Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) At the time you submit your application, you must provide a copy of an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) issued by an organization designated by IRCC for your highest level of education. If your ECA report shows that your credential is not equal to completion of at least a Canadian high school diploma, or the ECA states your foreign educational institution is not recognized, you do not meet the education requirement. You do not need to provide an ECA if: you have a Canadian degree, diploma or certificate from a Canadian post-secondary, technical college or secondary institution listed as: a recognized institution in the Directory of Educational Institutions in Canada, or an authorized, registered, or licensed institution in the Directory of Educational Institutions in Canada, and the institution was authorized by Advanced Education (for Alberta credentials) or a Canadian provincial or territorial body responsible for education (for credentials issued elsewhere in Canada) to grant your degree, diploma or certificate. Contact your educational institution, Advanced Education (Alberta credentials only) or the appropriate provincial or territorial ministry to confirm if your institution had the authority to grant your credential. you have a valid Alberta Qualification Certificate or a trade certificate recognized by Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT). AAIP reserves the right to request an ECA from any candidate or to seek an internal educational assessment from the International Qualification Assessment Service (IQAS) or Advanced Education to confirm a candidate meets the minimum Canadian high school equivalent requirement.

If you are nominated through the program, you may apply for permanent residence status together with your spouse or common-law partner, and dependent children.

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) is an economic immigration program that nominates people for permanent residence in Alberta.