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After your nomination is accepted, you may apply for permanent residence or to extend your work permit or nomination.
Prioritizing applications for Ukrainians
Temporary processing measures are now in place for the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) for Ukrainian nationals who apply to the program. Find out how the AAIP is responding to the crisis in Ukraine.
COVID-19 response
The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) continues to accept and process applications and Expressions of Interest (EOIs), with temporary adjustments to some application and assessment processes.
Find out how the AAIP is responding to COVID-19.
System maintenance for the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program portal occurs Fridays from 11 pm to Sundays at 7 pm. If you experience technical issues during these times, try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Once you are nominated under the Rural Renewal Stream, there are several things to consider:
To obtain permanent residence status, you must apply for permanent residence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) with your AAIP nomination certificate and supporting documents. You must:
IRCC completes a review of your application for permanent residence including health, security, and criminal reviews. IRCC may request any additional information that it deems appropriate at any time during the application process. IRCC is responsible for assessing each nominee’s eligibility for permanent residence.
Your AAIP nomination certificate will be sent to you by email. If you have an authorized representative, they will be copied on the same email.
Read everything in the package carefully. Contact the program officer who issued your nomination if you find mistakes on your nomination.
Make a copy of your nomination for your personal records.
IRCC may require you to provide a copy of this nomination certificate with your application for permanent residence. You may also be asked to provide a copy of this nomination certificate to renew your work permit.
After you get your AAIP nomination, you must apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as soon as possible. Your nomination is only valid for 6 months; you must apply to IRCC before it expires.
You may qualify to have your AAIP nomination extended. A $100 fee applies for all requests for nomination extensions.
The sooner you apply for permanent residence, the sooner you can get an Acknowledgement of Receipt of your application from IRCC, and your IRCC file number. Your Acknowledgement of Receipt and IRCC file number are very important if you need to extend your work permit.
Visit the IRCC website to get all the information you need to apply for permanent residence.
Use the ‘PNC’ column of the federal document checklist (PDF, 1.8 MB) to prepare the required forms and documents, including:
If you are waiting for police certificates, you can send your application to IRCC without them. IRCC will ask for them later.
IRCC will return your application if it is incomplete or you have not paid the required fees.
Submit your application online if you are selected by IRCC to submit your permanent residence application online.
If you are not selected to apply online by the IRCC or prefer to apply by mail, send your application to the IRCC Centralized Intake Office (CIO) in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Send your application by registered mail or courier service to make sure it is received by the CIO.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Provincial Nominee Program
Centralized Intake Office
PO Box 1450
Sydney, Nova Scotia B1P 6K5
Canada
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Provincial Nominee Program
Centralized Intake Office
49 Dorchester Street
Sydney, Nova Scotia B1P 5Z2
Canada
Do not send your application to any other visa office.
After you apply for permanent residence, the Centralized Intake Office will determine if your application is complete. If the Centralized Intake Office accepts your application, they will send you a file number and tell you the next steps.
You can check the status of your IRCC application online using your file number.
The AAIP does not have any information about your IRCC application and cannot provide status updates.
You and your family must pass medical, criminal and security checks to receive permanent residence.
Do not have a medical check until IRCC asks you to get one. Instructions on how to take the medical examination will be sent to you after you submit your application to IRCC.
Your AAIP Nomination does not mean that you will receive permanent residence. Only IRCC can issue a permanent resident visa.
If there are changes to the following information while IRCC is processing your permanent residence application, you must contact both the AAIP and IRCC:
IRCC will tell you how to contact them with any changes after receiving your application for permanent residence.
How you update the AAIP of changes will depend on what kind of information you are updating.
All updates of your contact information (except email address), employment and family information and changes to your representative must be completed in the portal. Withdrawals must also be completed in the portal.
If you need to change your email address for corresponding with the AAIP, you must update your MADI account.
For all other updates, you must email the updated information, along with your file number, to the AAIP officer who sent you your nomination. Ensure you attach all relevant documents. You must keep track of the changes you send to the AAIP. The AAIP will update its internal system with changes.
Forms to notify the AAIP of updates
The AAIP will review your request to withdraw and will notify you by email after the review is completed.
We will make the changes to your contact, family, employment and representative information in our internal system. Changes will only be reflected in the individual requests in the Check Existing Request section in the portal. Changes to your information will not be reflected in the online application.
IRCC will tell you how to contact them with any changes after receiving your application for permanent residence.
All AAIP nominees must apply to IRCC for a work permit renewal if their current work permit will expire before their permanent residence application is finalized.
An AAIP nomination is not an automatic work permit renewal. It is very important to not let your work permit expire.
There are 4 ways that AAIP nominees can apply to IRCC for a work permit renewal.
The AAIP recommends that you first explore option 1, 2 or 3.
Renew your work permit with a new Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from your Alberta employer.
If your Alberta employer has a new LMIA, you can apply to IRCC for a work permit renewal.
Make sure you include a copy of the LMIA.
Renew your work permit based on an LMIA exemption as determined by IRCC.
Renew your work permit by applying for a Bridging Open Work Permit. This option is available to all AAIP nominees in all streams and categories who have applied for permanent residence to IRCC and who:
Follow these steps when applying for the Bridging Open Work Permit:
If Options 1, 2 or 3 are not available to you, you may be eligible to receive a 204(c) Letter of Support from the AAIP to renew your work permit.
The AAIP will review your request and determine if a letter can be issued.
There is no guarantee a 204(c) Letter of Support will be issued.
The AAIP will only issue one 204(c) Letter of Support per nominee. A second 204(c) Letter of Support may be issued to nominees who have a written request from IRCC for a 204(c) Letter of Support.
Step 1. Complete the online request
Step 2. Pay the fee
All requests for a 204(c) Letter of Support are subject to a service fee of $100.
Exception: Nominees who have a written request from IRCC for a 204(c) Letter of Support do not need to pay the service fee.
Fee conditions
The request for a 204(c) Letter of Support fee is non-refundable once a request has been submitted in the AAIP portal. Refund requests for requests for a 204(c) Letter of Support will not be considered. The fee covers the cost of processing your request and is required whether a 204(c) Letter of Support is issued or not. There is no guarantee you will be issued a 204(c) Letter of Support.
Online payment
Instructions on how to pay your fee are available in the portal. For any online fee payment issues, contact the Service Alberta Contact Centre:
Phone: 1-844-643-2788
Email: [email protected]
You will need to pay your fee in full within 24 hours of submitting your request in the portal. If you do not pay your fee within 24 hours of submitting your request, your request will be cancelled. Cancelled requests cannot be reinstated and a new request must be created and submitted.
Check the Request Status of your application on the Check Existing Requests page to confirm if your request fee has been paid. Your fee has not been paid if the status is 'Payment Pending.' Your request has been accepted for processing by the AAIP if the status is 'Submitted'. You will also have an email from eServices with your fee payment receipt.
If you receive a written request from IRCC for a 204(c) Letter of Support, AAIP will attempt to respond to your request by the deadline provided by IRCC. It will take 30 to 45 days to respond to your request for a 204(c) Letter of Support.
Your online information and supporting documents will be reviewed. You will receive an email notifying you if the request meets the conditions required for a 204(c) Letter of Support to be issued.
To apply for a new work permit:
More information on applying to IRCC to renew a work permit with a 204(c) Letter of Support can be found on the IRCC website under the section 'Foreign workers nominated by a province or territory'.
All requests for a nomination extension emailed are subject to a service fee of $100. Information on how to pay the fee is provided below.
Your AAIP nomination gives you 6 months to submit your application for permanent residence as a Provincial Nominee to IRCC.
You must apply to IRCC before your nomination expires. If your nomination expires and you request an extension, AAIP will review your reasons for needing an extension.
There is no guarantee that you will be issued an extension.
If you have already been granted an AAIP nomination extension, you will not be granted any further extensions.
To be considered for an extension request:
Extension requests will take up to 30 days to process.
The AAIP will not respond to any inquiries about the status of your nomination extension request.
All requests for nomination extension are subject to a service fee of $100.
Fee conditions
The AAIP request for a nomination extension fee is non-refundable once a request has been submitted to the AAIP. Refund requests for nomination extensions will not be considered. The fee covers the cost of processing of your request and is required whether a nomination extension is issued or not.
Online payment
Instructions on how to pay your fee are available in the portal. For any online fee payment issues, contact the Service Alberta Contact Centre:
Phone: 1-844-643-2788
Email: [email protected]
You will need to pay your fee in full within 24 hours of submitting your request in the portal. If you do not pay your fee within 24 hours of submitting your request, your request will be cancelled. Cancelled requests cannot be reinstated and a new request must be created and submitted.
Check the Request Status of your application on the Check Existing Requests page to confirm if your request fee has been paid. Your fee has not been paid if the status is 'Payment Pending.' Your request has been accepted for processing by the AAIP if the status is 'Submitted'. You will also have an email from eServices with your fee payment receipt.
Connect with us if you have questions about this program:
Email: [email protected]
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