Tourism and Hospitality Stream – Eligibility

Overview

Tourism and Hospitality Stream criteria may apply at the time your application is submitted, at the time the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) assesses your application, or both. Review the criteria carefully to understand eligibility requirements.

Approved employer requirements

Your current employment, and Alberta job offer must be with a single, approved Tourism and Hospitality employer.

Requirements for approved Tourism and Hospitality employers are provided below.

Eligible industries and Worker’s Compensation Board (WCB) – Alberta coverage requirements

At the time your application is submitted and at the time the AAIP assesses your application, your Alberta employer’s primary business activities must belong to an eligible industry, as defined by the WCB – Alberta industry code or exempt activities.

At the time your application is submitted, you must demonstrate that your Alberta employer has valid WCB coverage or is exempt from needing coverage through a WCB clearance letter.

Use Table 1 to determine if your Alberta employer’s primary business activities belong to an eligible WCB Industry. If you need assistance in determining a WCB industry, or if you need to know if coverage is required, contact WCB – Alberta.

Table 1. List of eligible WCB industries

Sector association and Travel Alberta membership requirements

At the time your application is submitted your Alberta employer must be a member of an eligible sector association, provided in Table 2 below.

Most Alberta tourism and hospitality employers are eligible for membership in at least one of the sector associations. Where an Alberta employer can demonstrate that they cannot be a member of any of the eligible sector associations, such employer must meet Travel Alberta's requirements and be listed as an Experience Provider on the Travel Alberta website.

Table 2. List of eligible sector associations

Occupation, employment requirements

Eligible occupations

Your current employment in Alberta and Alberta job offer must all be for an eligible occupation.

Table 3. List of eligible occupations

If you are unsure whether your occupation is on this list:

• find your occupation on the NOC website, based on your job title and job duties
• contact the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program

Current employment

At the time your application is submitted and at the time the AAIP assesses your application, you must:

• be living and working in Alberta in an eligible occupation for an approved Tourism and Hospitality employer; and
• have a valid work permit based on:
  • a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment for an eligible occupation, or
  • Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada temporary special measures for those directly affected by wildfires.
    Note: maintained status is not considered a substitute for a valid work permit. Other types of work permits are not eligible at the time of application submission.

Work experience

At the time your application is submitted and at the time the AAIP assesses your application, you must have been working full-time (30 hours per week minimum) with an approved Tourism and Hospitality employer, in one of the eligible occupations, for a minimum of 6 consecutive months (or minimum of 780 hours) the time you apply.

Work experience:

• must have been for the same employer as your current Alberta job offer
• must have been paid
• must have been authorized by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and with valid temporary resident status if completed in Alberta or Canada

Job offer or employment contract

Applicants must meet the following requirements when an application is submitted and when we assess it:

• You must have a full-time job offer or employment contract for an eligible occupation in Alberta with your current employer.
• You must have 6 consecutive months (780 hours) of work experience with your current employer.
• Your Alberta job offer or employment contract and the Alberta employer offering the job must meet all Alberta job offer and employment requirements.

You are responsible for working with your Alberta employer to ensure that all Alberta employer requirements are met.

Your application will be declined if these requirements are not met.

Ineligible applicants based on job offer

The following individuals are not eligible to apply for or be nominated, even if they have a job offer to work 30 hours a week or more in a 12-month period:

• part-time, casual or seasonal employees, regardless of their working hours
• independent contractors, business owners or temporary agency workers, including individuals listed as directors, shareholders or agents of the Alberta employer on the Corporate Registry System (CORES)
• employees who work in Alberta in a place of employment that is not zoned for commercial or industrial operations, such as a home-based business
• employees who do not work on premises in Alberta, such as those who work in a ‘virtual’ location or serve the employer by telecommuting from a location outside Alberta

You are responsible for working with your Alberta employer to ensure that the employer and job offer or employment contract requirements are met and that all required employer and job offer or employment documents are submitted with your application. Your application will be declined if these requirements are not met. Your application fee will not be refunded where an application is declined based on employer requirements not being met.

Language requirements

At the time your application is submitted, you must demonstrate you meet the following language test score:

• Minimum of 4 for each English language skill, or
• Minimum of 4 for each French language skill

You must provide official test results for one of these accepted language tests:

• Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) General Test
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) General Training Test
• Test d'évaluation de français Canada (TEF Canada)
• Test de connaissance du français Canada (TCF Canada)

Official test results must be less than 2 years old at the time your application was submitted. The date used to determine the age of your tests results is the date you took the test, not the date your test results were released. The AAIP will not accept confirmation of registration to take a language test in place of a test result.

Check the federal guideline on CLB/NCLC equivalency for each of the tests.

Education requirements

At the time your application is submitted, you must have completed a minimum of high school education equivalent to Canadian standards.

At the time you submit your application, you must provide a copy of an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) issued by an organization designated by IRCC for your highest level of education. If your ECA report shows that your credential is not equal to completion of Canadian high school or the ECA states your foreign educational institution is not recognized, you do not meet the education requirement.

You do not need to provide an ECA if:

• you have a Canadian degree, diploma or certificate from a Canadian post-secondary, technical college or secondary institution listed as:
  • a recognized institution in the Directory of Educational Institutions in Canada, or
  • an authorized, registered, or licensed institution in the Directory of Educational Institutions in Canada, and the institution was authorized by Advanced Education to grant your degree, diploma or certificate. Contact your educational institution or Advanced Education to confirm if your institution had the authority to grant your credential
• you have a valid Alberta Qualification Certificate or a trade certificate recognized by Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT).

The AAIP reserves the right to request an ECA from any candidate or to seek an internal educational assessment from the International Qualification Assessment Service or Advanced Education to confirm a candidate meets the minimum Canadian high school equivalent requirement.