Nomination certificate limits

The following numbers are accurate as of November 14, 2023.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sets the limits for nomination certificates the AAIP can issue each year. AAIP will be able to issue 9,750 nomination certificates in 2023, split between Express Entry and non-Express Entry pathways (which is subject to change throughout the year). Notional increases to more than 10,000 nomination allocations per year are expected in 2024 and 2025.

These AAIP nomination allocation plans are subject to change without notice. They partially depend on several factors and include fluctuating application volumes and on how nominations can best be allocated to meet Alberta’s labour needs.

Summary of 2023 allocations by AAIP stream or pathway

Table 1. Summary of 2023 allocations by AAIP stream or pathway

Stream / Pathway Estimated allocation (October 23, 2023)
Non-Express Entry Streams – Allocations 5,850
Alberta Opportunity Stream 4,970
Rural Renewal Stream 875
All (4) Entrepreneur streams 5
Express Entry Stream and Pathways – Allocations 3,900
Family Connection and Occupation in Demand 1,220
Accelerated Tech Pathway 1,750
Dedicated Healthcare Pathway 75
Sector Priorities (that is, construction, agriculture, hospitality and tourism) 805
Total allocations: 9,750

9,432 nomination certificates have been issued so far in 2023. The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program is on track to use its 9,750 allocated nominations for this year.

We have re-allocated some nominations from lower demand streams to add needed capacity in the Alberta Opportunity Stream and the Rural Renewal Streams. This transfer reflects the increasing demand from temporary workers in the province seeking permanent residence, as well as needs identified by designated communities participating in the Rural Renewal Stream. 

Application volumes and processing

Information on average processing times and dates and application volumes is available to help you determine how long it takes for AAIP to process a complete application for each AAIP stream or pathway.

Approximate volumes, processing times and assessment dates for each AAIP stream or pathway are provided below.

'Assessing' means an AAIP officer was assigned an application to assess and decide if an application is eligible.

The most common factors considered in AAIP application processing include:

  • application quality (completeness, eligibility, outdated information or documents)
  • volume of applications received
  • the date the application was received
  • strategic priorities, informed by labour market and economic development information
  • the number of nomination certificates remaining for the year

To check the status of your application or business application, go to the 'Check Existing Applications' section of the AAIP portal.

To check the status of your Expression of Interest, go to the ‘Check Existing Expression of Interest’ section of the AAIP portal.

Streams for workers

Table 2. Streams for workers: number of applications, allocations, processing time.

AAIP Stream Number of applications in the queue (approximate) Number of allocations remaining (estimated and subject to change) Processing time (estimated average) – from when a complete application is submitted until a final decision is issued The AAIP is assessing applications received before… (approximate)
Alberta Opportunity Stream Approximately 2,810 Estimated 263 allocations Approximately 5 months July 19, 2023
Alberta Express Entry Stream – All pathways Approximately 696 Estimated 44 allocations Dedicated Healthcare Pathway - Approximately 2 months October 15, 2023
      Priority Sectors – approximately 2 months October 16, 2023
      Accelerated Tech Pathway – approximately 2 months October 2, 2023
      Family Connection and In-Demand Occupation – approximately 2 months     October 12, 2023
Rural Renewal Stream Approximately 873 Estimated 10 allocations Approximately 5 months July 30, 2023

Streams for entrepreneurs

Table 3. Streams for entrepreneurs: processing times for EOI scoring, business application, and final report or decision.

AAIP Stream Expression of Interest (EOI) scoring (estimated) – from when EOI is submitted to scoring completed Business Application decision (estimated) – from when a complete business application is received until a support letter is issued Final report and nomination (estimated) – from when final report is submitted until a final nomination decision is issued
Graduate Entrepreneur Stream 1 month 5 months 4 months
Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream 1 month 5 months 4 months
Rural Entrepreneur Stream 1 month 5 months 4 months
AAIP Stream Processing time (estimated average) – from when a complete application is submitted until a final decision is issued
Farm Stream 8 months

Applications by occupation

The AAIP has a high volume of applications in worker streams in the following occupations. When the volume of these applications exceeds the ability to issue nominations, these submissions may take longer to process or may be occupations excluded from Express Entry draws regardless of occupational demand.

  • 62020 – Food service supervisors
  • 63200 – Cooks
  • 62010 – Retail sales supervisors
  • 13110 – Administrative assistants
  • 65201 – Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations
  • 73300 – Transport truck drivers
  • 12200 – Accounting technicians and bookkeepers
  • 13100 – Administrative officers
  • 21222 – Information systems specialists
  • 21231 – Software engineers and designers

Express Entry draws

The AAIP regularly reviews available candidates in the federal Express Entry pool. Based on available profile information in the portal, the AAIP draws to select candidates from the pool, inviting them to submit a completed application to the AAIP. Information on Alberta Express Entry Stream Notification of Interest factors is included on the Eligibility page. Accelerated Tech Pathway candidates are invited to apply, depending on the outcome of the review of their Accelerated Tech Pathway form.

The following parameters will apply to Alberta Express Entry Stream selection for 2023:

  • an estimated 31% of nominations will be allocated to candidates in in-demand occupations who have a close family connection (parent, child, brother or sister) in Alberta. In-demand occupations include occupations with significant cumulative imbalance on Alberta’s Occupational Outlook and occupations in 'High' or 'Moderately High' demand in the Short-Term Employment Forecast.
  • an estimated 23% of nominations will be allocated to candidates with a primary occupation in the health care, construction, agriculture, hospitality and tourism sectors, with priority given to candidates with an Alberta job offer
  • an estimated 45% of nominations will be allocated to the Accelerated Tech Pathway

Past draws

Draw information is updated within one week from a draw. Information on 2023 AAIP draws is provided below.

Read the 2022 AAIP Draw History Summary (PDF, 137 KB)

Table 4. List of past draws

Date of draw Number of Notification of Interest letters sent Draw parameters Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of lowest ranked candidate who received a Notification of Interest letter
November 9, 2023 16 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 305
October 26, 2023 100 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 369
October 24, 2023 22 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 326
October 24, 2023 110 Priority sector - Construction occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-500 300
October 10, 2023 13 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 327
October 5, 2023 150 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 323
October 3, 2023 33 Priority sector - Agriculture occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-500 313
September 26, 2023 18 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 311
September 14, 2023 142 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 301
September 12, 2023 16 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 327
September 12, 2023 300 Priority sector - Tourism and hospitality occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-500 383
August 29, 2023 18 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 300
August 24, 2023 168 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 302
August 22, 2023 89 Priority sector - Construction occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-500 303
August 16, 2023 300 Priority sector - Tourism and hospitality occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-500 408
August 15, 2023 14 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 326
August 3, 2023 201 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 315
August 1, 2023 32 Priority sector - Agriculture occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-500 322
August 1, 2023 11 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway, Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 317
July 18, 2023 14 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway, Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 311
July 13, 2023 142 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 302
July 11, 2023 150 Priority sector - Tourism and hospitality occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-500 435
July 4, 2023 12 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway, Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-1200 354
June 29, 2023 65 Priority sector - Construction occupation and French as first language, CRS score 300-500 316
June 22, 2023 125 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 306
June 21, 2023 19 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway, Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-1200 318
June 20, 2023 68 Priority sector - Construction occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-500 301
June 8, 2023 150 Priority sector - Agriculture occupation and French as a first language, CRS score 300-500 382
June 1, 2023 117 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 304
May 30, 2023 20 Priority sector - Agriculture occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-600 342
May 23, 2023 5 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway, Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-1200 401
May 11, 2023 119 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 311
May 9, 2023 175 Priority sector - Tourism and hospitality occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-600 444
May 9, 2023 8 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway, Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 307
April 25, 2023 8 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway, Alberta job offer, CRS score 300 and above 316
April 24, 2023 124 Priority sector - Construction occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-500 301
April 20, 2023 152 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 302
April 18, 2023 68 Sector priority - Agriculture occupation with Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-700 307
April 5, 2023 53 Dedicated Healthcare Pathway, Alberta job offer, CRS score 300-600 351
March 30, 2023 150 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 372
March 9, 2023 134 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 301
February 16, 2023 100 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 357
January 23, 2023 154 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 385
January 19, 2023 46 Family connection and primary occupation in demand, CRS score 300-500 324

Contact

Connect with AAIP if you have questions about the program:

Use the AAIP online contact form

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-644-7534

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