On January 18th, the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP), which also acts as Alberta’s Provincial Nominee Program, expanded the candidate entry requirements for the Alberta Express Entry stream to include having family already living in the province.
Applicants in the federal Express Entry program who are listed as having quick family members in the province who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada) will now be required to fulfill additional selection factor criteria.
This influence will occur immediately. Applicants who do this have a better chance of getting a Notification of Interest (NOI) from the Alberta Express Entry stream, increasing the likelihood of being requested to apply for permanent residence.
It is important to remember that applicants’ eligibility is evaluated by the information they submit to their profile in the Express Entry pool.
The province of Alberta believes that new immigrants’ ability to establish themselves in the province and effectively settle in Alberta is greatly aided by the presence of immediate family members.
This program update affects the Alberta Express Entry stream and introduces this selection criteria without altering any current selection factors. It is important to note that all of the eligibility criteria for any streams that fall under the AAIP have remained the same.
Rajan Sawhney, the Minister of Trade, Immigration, and Multiculturalism of the Canadian province of Alberta, stated, “This is not a family reunification scheme.”
Because of the changes, the Alberta Express Entry stream is now allowed to allot 25% of its NOIs to individuals who have close family links in Alberta and have experience working in occupations in high demand within the province require workers for.
The AAIP provides a mechanism for Alberta employers to address the issue of labor shortages. In the previous month, the province has seen significant growth, generating approximately 41,000 new employment in December of 2022, the vast majority of which were in the private sector.
On the other side, Alberta has a high rate of job vacancies, with about 100,000 today, and a further expected cumulative shortage of over 33,000 people by 2025 across various occupations and industries. These are some of the main motivations driving efforts to boost the number of newcomers in the province.
What are Alberta Express Entry stream and AAIP?
Alberta’s provincial immigration program (AAIP) is the provincial government of Alberta’s initiative to support immigration from other countries into the province. The program is now in charge of eight different streams, all of which are classified as either streams for workers or business owners.
The following are examples of streams for workers:
The Alberta Opportunity stream, the Alberta Express Entry stream, which further incorporates the Alberta Accelerated Tech Pathway (AATP), and the Rural Renewal stream are the three different streams that are available.
Candidates must fulfill all of the following requirements to be eligible for the Alberta Express Entry stream:
- Have a profile that is currently active in the federal Express Entry pool (preferably with a validity of more than 5 months);
- Have already expressed an interest in making Alberta their permanent home;
- Are now employed in, or have previous experience working in, a high-demand occupation that contributes to Alberta’s economic development and diversification; Possess a CRS score of at least 300.
Candidates have an increased likelihood of being extended an invitation to apply if they additionally satisfy the following requirements:
- Are a degree holder of a post-secondary institution in Alberta; Have a job offer that is still active; Have previous work experience in Alberta; Or
- Have a citizen or permanent resident parent, child, brother, or sister living in Alberta and a family member.
- Applicants must first upload a profile to the federal express entry pool to participate in the competition. Suppose an applicant is chosen and given an NOI. In that case, they must send an electronic copy of the document to the AAIP and a statement indicating they are interested in applying for the position.
If the AAIP determines that applicants satisfy the minimum eligibility criteria, those applicants will be sent an email inviting them to apply for the program.
Now known as petitioners, applicants must submit an application to be considered further. Those who do so will earn an additional 600 CRS points in the federal pool (working as an enhanced provincial nomination). The applications that have been completed are then added to a pool of applications that are eligible for processing.
After the release, Minister Sawhney stated that “the Alberta Express Entry stream improvements recently announced is one of the numerous actions our government will be doing to ensure that Alberta receives the qualified and trained workforce that it needs…”
