Alberta is a province in Western Canada. Its landscape encompasses mountains, prairies, desert badlands and vast coniferous forests. It has more than 600 lakes, and rich mineral deposits. In the west, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks have glaciers in the Columbia Icefields. The Waterton Glacier International Peace Park is a biosphere reserve that straddles the southern border with the USA.
The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) is an economic immigration program that nominates people for permanent residence in Alberta. Nominees must have skills to fill job shortages in Alberta or be planning to buy or start a business here. They must also be able to provide for their families. The program is run by the governments of Alberta and Canada.
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.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada manages applications for permanent residence. The federal government also makes final decisions on these applications.
AINP Streams
Choose a stream to find out how to get nominated:
Streams for workers
Alberta Opportunity Stream
The Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS) is for temporary foreign workers who are already working full-time in Alberta and have a full-time job offer from an Alberta employer in an eligible occupation. Candidates must have a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or hold one of the accepted LMIA exemption work permits. Candidates must also meet other minimum eligibility criteria for residency and work permit type, occupation, language, education, Alberta job offer and work experience.
Alberta Express Entry Stream
The Alberta Express Entry Stream allows Alberta to nominate a limited number of qualified candidates from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Express Entry system.
Candidates who have demonstrated strong ties to Alberta or who can help support the government’s economic development and diversification priorities may be asked to submit an application.
International graduates from Canadian post-secondary institutions may also be asked to apply under this stream.
Streams for entrepreneurs
The AINP has 2 streams for entrepreneurs who plan to live in Alberta and buy or start a business in the province:
International Graduate Entrepreneur Immigration Stream
The International Graduate Entrepreneur Immigration Stream (IGEIS) allows Alberta to nominate qualified international graduates from Alberta post-secondary institutions who want to establish or operate a business in Alberta to apply for permanent residence.
International graduates of approved Alberta post-secondary institutions who want to start a business or buy an existing business can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI).
Self-Employed Farmer Stream
This stream is for individuals who have the financial resources and farm management experience to purchase and establish a farm in Alberta.
There are 2 steps to applying to this stream:
- Candidates submit their business plan to Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.
- A Ministerial Recommendation Letter is issued to candidates with a business plan approved by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. Candidates can then apply to the AINP.
Note: If the AINP discovers fraud or misrepresentation in an application, a candidate may be banned for up to 5 years from reapplying to the AINP.
Experienced farmers who plan to buy or start a farm in Alberta can apply for permanent residence.
