The program helps employers in Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador) hire foreign skilled workers who want to immigrate to Atlantic Canada and international graduates who want to stay in Atlantic Canada after they graduate. 

Employers

The Atlantic Immigration Program helps you hire qualified candidates for jobs you haven’t been able to fill locally. These candidates can be overseas or living in Canada temporarily. Before you make a job offer, you must be designated by the provincial government of the Atlantic province where the candidate will be working.

To be designated, your organization must:

Applicants:

Work Experience

• within the last five years, you have accumulated at least one year of full-time (or part-time equivalent) work experience in your main occupation at NOC 0, A, B or C
• your work experience must be from paid work
• you worked overseas or in Canada
• you are not self-employed

Qualifying international graduates are exempt from work experience requirements

You do not need to meet the work experience requirements if you’re an international graduate who

• has at least a two-year degree, diploma, certificate, or trade or apprenticeship credential from a recognized post-secondary institution in one of the four Atlantic provinces
• was a full-time student for the entire duration of your studies for the above noted credential in a recognized post-secondary institution in one of the four Atlantic Provinces
• lived in either New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador or Prince Edward Island for at least 16 months within the last two years before getting your credential

Job Offer

You must have a job offer that is:

• from a designated employer in one of the four Atlantic provinces
• for full-time employment for at least one year
• non-seasonal
• a one year contract, and at type 0, or skill levels A or B of the or
• for NOC C positions, an indeterminate job offer is needed

Education

• You must have a high-school diploma, post-secondary certificate, or degree that is valid and equal to a Canadian equivalent.
• If you did not complete your studies in Canada, you’ll need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) to show that your studies are equal to a Canadian secondary or post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree.
• Your ECA report must be less than five years old on the date we receive your application.
• Candidates with a job offer at the NOC 0 or A skill levels must have a level of education that is at a minimum the equivalent to a Canadian one-year post-secondary credential, supported by an ECA.
• Candidates with a job offer at the NOC B or C skill levels must have a level of education that is at minimum the equivalent to a Canadian high school certificate, supported by an ECA.

Language requirements

• You must have CLB 5 for listening, speaking, reading, and writing for a job offer at the NOC 0, A or B skill level
• You must have CLB 4 for listening, speaking, reading, and writing for a job offer at the NOC C skill level
• If you have already done language testing, your test results must be less than two years old on the date you submit your application.