Who can apply

To be eligible for the Atlantic Immigration Program, you must

• have qualifying work experience, unless you’re an international graduate of a recognized post-secondary institution in Atlantic Canada
• meet or exceed the educational requirements
• meet or exceed the language requirements
• show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family when you get to Canada
  • If you’re already living and working in Canada with a valid work permit, you don’t need to show proof.

If you meet all of these requirements, you can start looking for a job with a designated Atlantic employer.

Work experience

In the last 5 years, you must have worked at least 1,560 hours. This is the number of hours you would have worked in 1 year if you were working 30 hours per week.

To calculate your hours

• Count hours worked in part-time and full-time jobs.
• Count only paid hours of work. Volunteering or unpaid internships don’t count.
• Don’t count hours when you were self-employed.
• Count hours worked inside or outside Canada. You must have been legally authorized to work in Canada as a temporary resident.
• Count hours that were accumulated over a period of at least 12 months.
• Count work experience acquired while studying, as long as the work hours don’t exceed what was authorized.

This work should be at one of these National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) categories

• TEER 0 (management jobs such as restaurant managers or mine managers)
• TEER 1 (professional jobs that usually need a degree from a university, such as doctors, dentists or architects)
• TEER 2 (technical jobs and skilled trades requiring at least 2 years of college or apprenticeship, or occupations with supervisory or safety responsibilities such as police officers and firefighters)
• TEER 3 (technical jobs and skilled trades requiring less than 2 years of college or apprenticeship; or more than 6 months of on-the-job training)
• TEER 4 (intermediate jobs that usually call for high school and/or several weeks of job-specific training, such as industrial butchers, long-haul truck drivers, or food and beverage servers)

Your work experience must include

• the actions in the description of your NOC
• most of the main duties of your NOC

International graduates

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

• has a degree, diploma, certificate, or trade or apprenticeship certification that
  • took at least 2 years of studies
  • is from a recognized post-secondary institution in 1 of the 4 Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador)
• was a full-time student for the entire time you were studying
• lived in one of the following provinces for at least 16 months during the last 2 years before you graduated
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Newfoundland and Labrador or
  • Prince Edward Island
• had the visa or permit you needed to work, study or get training while you were in Canada

Educational requirements

You must have one of these:

• If you have a job offer at the NOC 2021 TEER 0 or 1 category, you must have a one-year Canadian post-secondary educational credential or higher, or the equivalent from outside Canada.
• If you have a job offer at the NOC 2021 TEER 2, 3 or 4 category, you must have a Canadian high school diploma, or the equivalent from outside Canada.

However, if you studied outside Canada, you need an educational credential assessment (ECA) to confirm that your studies are equal to or higher than the required level of education for your job offer.

• Your ECA report must be less than 5 years old on the date we receive your application.

Language requirements

You must meet the minimum language requirements based on the NOC 2021 TEER category that applies to your job offer. This can either be the

• Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) or
• Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC)

The minimum language requirements for each NOC 2021 TEER category are

• CLB/NCLC 5 for TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3
• CLB/NCLC 4 for TEER 4

You must submit your results from a designated language testing organization with your application. These results must be less than 2 years old when you apply.

Find out more about language testing.

Settlement funds

You need to have enough money to support yourself and your family when you get to Canada. The amount you need depends on the size of your family. The size of your family also includes anyone you support who isn’t immigrating with you.

Learn how much money you should have when you arrive in Canada.

If you’re already living and working in Canada with a valid work permit, you don’t need to show proof of funds.