Canada Atlantic Permanent Residence
Canada
Residency
At a glance
The Atlantic Immigration Program is a permanent-residence route for skilled workers and recent Atlantic Canada graduates with a job offer from a designated employer in one of Canada's four Atlantic provinces.
- Type
- Regional permanent residence
- Job fit
- Skilled workers and Atlantic graduates with designated employers
- Core requirements
- Designated employer job offer and provincial endorsement
- What to know
- Can support a temporary work permit while the permanent-residence application is pending
- Duration
- Permanent residence from approval.
- Renewal / path
- Can support Canadian citizenship after physical-presence rules are met.
Summary
The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) is a permanent-residence route for skilled workers and recent international graduates who intend to settle in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador.
The route starts with a genuine job offer from an employer that the relevant Atlantic province has designated. The applicant then obtains a settlement plan and the province endorses the offer before the permanent-residence application is filed. AIP is open to eligible people living abroad and to temporary residents already in Canada.
Eligibility
The applicant must normally have:
- A full-time, non-seasonal job offer from a designated Atlantic employer. The required offer length depends on the job's National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER level: TEER 0 to 3 offers must normally last at least one year after permanent residence, while a TEER 4 offer must be permanent.
- At least one year of qualifying paid work experience in the five years before applying. The work must match the NOC duties and cannot be self-employment. A recent graduate of a recognized Atlantic institution may qualify for the graduate exemption instead.
- Education appropriate to the offered job. Foreign education generally needs an Educational Credential Assessment.
- A valid approved English or French language test. The minimum is generally CLB/NCLC 5 for TEER 0 to 3 offers and CLB/NCLC 4 for TEER 4 offers.
- Enough settlement money under IRCC's current table, unless already living and working in Canada with a valid work permit.
- A settlement plan prepared with an approved settlement-service provider.
- A provincial endorsement certificate for the job offer and federal admissibility.
The graduate exemption has detailed rules about the credential, full-time study, graduation date, and time lived in Atlantic Canada. Graduating in the region does not remove the designated-employer job-offer requirement.
What This Route Allows
Federal approval gives the applicant and included eligible family members Canadian permanent residence. Permanent residents may live, work, and study in Canada and may later qualify for citizenship under the ordinary citizenship rules.
After receiving provincial endorsement, some applicants can also apply for an optional employer-specific temporary work permit while IRCC processes the permanent-residence application. That permit requires a provincial referral letter and does not replace the permanent-residence application.
What This Route Is Not
AIP is not an open job-search visa, and simply working in an Atlantic province is not enough. The employer must be designated, the offer must meet AIP rules, and the province must endorse it.
Designation also does not mean that an employer may charge a worker for a job or guarantee immigration approval. IRCC still reviews the application, documents, medical results, criminality, security, and other admissibility matters.
Next Steps
- Confirm which Atlantic province and community you genuinely intend to settle in.
- Check the province's current list of designated AIP employers; verify any offer directly with the employer and province.
- Match the job duties—not only the title—to the correct NOC and confirm the required offer length.
- Determine whether you qualify through work experience or the recent Atlantic-graduate exemption.
- Complete the approved language test and, if needed, an Educational Credential Assessment.
- Work with the employer and settlement provider on the settlement plan and provincial endorsement.
- Apply to IRCC for permanent residence only after endorsement. Review the optional work-permit rules separately if you need temporary work authorization while the application is pending.
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