Location of Atlantic Provinces

The Atlantic Immigration Program is a pathway to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers and international graduates from a Canadian institution who want to work and live in 1 of Canada’s 4 Atlantic provinces—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador.

The program helps employers hire qualified candidates for jobs they haven’t been able to fill locally.

If you are an international graduate or skilled foreign worker

You must receive a job offer from a designated employer in Atlantic Canada to participate in the program.

You must be either be

  • a recent graduate of a recognized post-secondary institution in Atlantic Canada or
  • a skilled worker

You can be living abroad or in Canada as a temporary resident.

To be eligible for the Atlantic Immigration Program, you must

Qualifying 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

If you are 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
  • 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

ou 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.

The educational credential must have been obtained within 24 months prior to the date you applied for permanent residence.

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.

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. updated annually.

Number of family membersFunds you need
(in Canadian dollars)
1$3,672
2$4,572
3$5,620
4$6,824
5$7,740
6$8,729
7$9,718
If more than 7 people, for each additional family member, add$989

How much money you should bring

It’s a good idea to research how much it costs to live in the place where you plan to settle in Canada.

Bring as much money as you can to make moving and finding a home in Canada easier. Note that Canadian customs regulations require you to declare if you’re bringing more than CAN$10,000 into Canada. If you don’t tell them, you may be fined, and your funds could be seized.

These funds could be in the form of

  • cash
  • documents that show property or capital payable to you (such as stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills)
  • documents that guarantee payment of a set amount of money, which are payable to you (such as bankers’ drafts, cheques, travellers’ cheques or money orders)

Get a settlement plan

After you get a job offer from a designated employer, you need a settlement plan to apply for the Atlantic Immigration Program. A settlement plan will

  • help you and your family adjust to your new home in Atlantic Canada
  • give you useful information and referrals to free services in your new community

The settlement service provider organization will assess your needs and assets. This means they’ll ask you and your family questions (in person, online, or by phone). After, you’ll get a personalized settlement plan.

Once you and your family members receive your settlement plan, send a copy to the employer. The employer will need to send the settlement plan with their endorsement application to the province.