Permanent residence in Atlantic Canada, built around a real job offer.
The Atlantic Immigration Program is employer-driven. That makes it different from Express Entry; you are not competing on a points score against the whole country. You need a designated employer, an endorsed job offer, and a settlement plan. Get those three right and the pathway is one of the most reliable routes to permanent residence in Canada.
We work both sides of it: applicants who need representation, and Atlantic employers who need designation and endorsement handled properly.
Check your eligibility — 2 minutes → Employers: talk to us about designation
For workers
Do you qualify?
You need to be either a skilled worker or a graduate of a recognised Atlantic Canadian post-secondary institution.
As a skilled worker, you need:
- At least one year of work experience in the past three years, in a NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation
- Language: CLB 7 for TEER 0 and 1 roles; CLB 5 for TEER 2 and 3 roles
- Education, training or experience relevant to the job you have been offered
- A job offer from an employer who is already designated under the programme
As an Atlantic graduate, the work experience requirement is waived — your credential from a recognised institution in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI or Newfoundland and Labrador does that work instead.
The part most people get wrong
Your employer must be designated before your job offer means anything. An offer from a non-designated employer does not start an AIP application — it starts a conversation with that employer about getting designated. We check this first, every time, before anyone spends money.
How it runs
- Eligibility and job offer review — we confirm your NOC classification, TEER level and language requirement against the actual offer
- Confirm employer designation — verified with the province, not assumed
- Settlement plan — prepared with you and your employer, through a designated settlement service provider
- Provincial endorsement — submitted to the province. Processing typically runs four to eight weeks where the file is complete
- Permanent residence application — filed to IRCC, with a temporary work permit alongside it if you need to start work sooner
For employers
Designation, endorsement, and getting it right the first time
If you are hiring in Nova Scotia and cannot fill a role locally, the AIP lets you recruit internationally without an LMIA. That is the single biggest advantage over other work permit routes — no recruitment test, no advertising requirement, no LMIA fee.
What it requires of you:
- Designation by the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration before you can make any AIP job offer
- Endorsement of each specific position, applied for per hire
- A commitment to support the employee’s settlement — which is a real obligation, not a formality
We handle the designation application, the endorsement filings, and the compliance side, so your HR team is not learning immigration law on the job.
What changed in 2026 — and what didn’t
| Change | Effective | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Expressions of Interest now expire after 12 months | 1 May 2026 | Transition arrangements apply to EOIs already in the pool. |
| New Brunswick moved to a candidate pool for AIP endorsements | 3 February 2026 | Selected monthly against provincial priorities — currently healthcare, education and construction trades — rather than first-come, first-served. If your file is New Brunswick-based, timing strategy now matters in a way it did not before. |
| Nova Scotia’s NSNP consolidated from ten streams to four | 18 February 2026 | This did not change Nova Scotia’s portion of the AIP — a distinction worth being clear about, because plenty of advice online currently conflates the two. |
Frequently asked
Is the AIP faster than Express Entry?
Often, yes — because you are not waiting for a draw cutoff. But it depends on your employer being designated and the endorsement being clean. A rushed endorsement that gets returned costs more time than it saves.
Can I apply without a job offer?
No. The AIP is employer-driven by design. If you do not have an offer, Express Entry or an NSNP stream may suit you better — we will tell you honestly which applies. Our full fee schedule is published, so you will know the cost before you commit.
My employer has never heard of the AIP. Now what?
That is common and it is fixable. We can approach them about designation. Many Atlantic employers qualify and simply do not know the programme exists.
Does a job offer still add CRS points?
No — job offer points were removed from the Comprehensive Ranking System in March 2025. This does not affect AIP eligibility, which does not use CRS at all.
What happens if my application is refused?
We review the refusal reasons and GCMS notes to establish what actually went wrong before advising on next steps. Sometimes that is a stronger resubmission; sometimes it is a different pathway entirely.
About your consultant
Howard Brown, M. Sc., RCIC-IRB
Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, licence R713090 — verify on the CICC public register. Read more about our approach.
Ready to find out where you stand?
Take the free two-minute assessment, or get in touch to talk it through with a licensed RCIC.