PEI limits the Atlantic Immigration Program for workers in three sectors. Foreign nationals must now work in healthcare, construction, or manufacturing.
The PEI Office of Immigration will not accept endorsement applications for workers in any other sectors as of 24 January 2025.
Foreign nationals working in other sectors and seeking to settle in PEI will now have to pursue other pathways to permanent residence.
PEI employers outside these sectors will need to rely on other pathways or work permit programs for bringing in foreign workers.
Getting PR Through The AIP
The AIP is a pathway to permanent residence for foreign workers and international student graduates seeking to settle in one of Canada’s Atlantic provinces: PEI, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Nova Scotia.
In order to be eligible for the AIP, you must:
- Have a job offer from a designated employer in an Atlantic province
- Have your job offer endorsed by the province
- Have at least a one-year post-secondary credential, for NOC TEER 0 or 1 occupations, OR a high school diploma, for NOC TEER 2, 3, or 4 occupations
- Have language proficiency of at least Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 for TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupations, OR CLB 4 for TEER 4 occupations
- Have at least one year of work experience OR have at least a two-year post-secondary credential earned while studying in an Atlantic province
- Have enough settlement funds, based on the size of your family
Note that the National Occupation Classification is Canada’s national system for identifying and classifying jobs based on Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER). All jobs fit into one of six TEER levels, ranging from TEER 0 to TEER 5.
How To Apply For PR Through The AIP?
PEI limits the Atlantic Immigration Program for workers in three sectors. Well, if you meet the language, education, work experience, and settlement fund requirements, and you have a job offer from a designated employer, you must:
- Get a settlement plan
- Get your job offer endorsed by the province
- Apply to the federal government for permanent residency
Your designated employer will handle getting your job offer endorsed by the province.
Because PEI is no longer endorsing job offers outside the healthcare, construction, and manufacturing sectors, you will have to pursue other PR pathways if you don’t work in one of these sectors.
Alternative PR Pathways
You can pursue other economic pathways to PR when seeking to settle in PEI, including:
- Express Entry
- The Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program
Express Entry
You can pursue PR through Express Entry, the federal government’s application management system, if you intend to reside in any province/ territory other than Quebec.
In order to immigrate to PEI via Express Entry, you must meet the requirements for a minimum of one of the three federally managed economic immigration programs:
To pursue PR through Express Entry, you must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) in the online Express Entry system and then obtain an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence from the Canadian federal government.
Submitting an EOI merely allows you to compete against other applicants in the Express Entry pool; it does not guarantee that you receive an ITA.
The higher your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, the more likely you are to obtain an ITA. You have the best chances of success through Express Entry if you have a high CRS score and/ or qualify for a category-based draw through having high French proficiency or working in an in-demand profession.
The CRS ranks applicants based on factors like age, education, language proficiency, and work experience.
Express Entry is highly competitive, but if you obtain an ITA through Express Entry, you will benefit from faster processing times for your PR application than other pathways.
PEI Provincial Nominee Program
You can also pursue permanent residency through obtaining a provincial nomination from PEI’s PNP. Well, this might be your best shot if you don’t qualify for the AIP or, have a low CRS score, or don’t qualify for Express Entry.
A provincial nomination will either award you an additional 600 CRS points (enhanced PNP program) or a certificate of nomination (base PNP).
After obtaining your provincial nomination, you can expect to be able to apply to the federal government for permanent residence.
If you are aged 18 – 59, you can seek a provincial nomination from PEI under the following PNP streams:
- Critical Worker – for workers in NOC TEER 4 or 5 occupations.
- Intermediate Experience – for workers in NOC TEER 4 occupations.
- International Graduate – for graduates from PEI postsecondary institutions.
- Skilled Worker – for workers in NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupations.
- Occupations in Demand – for workers in the following occupations:
- Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates (NOC 33102).
- Transport truck drivers (NOC 73300).
- Construction trades helpers and laborers (NOC 75110).
- Light duty cleaners (NOC 65310).
- Other laborers in processing, manufacturing, and utilities (NOC 95109).
- Material handlers (NOC 75101).
- Process control and machine operators food and beverage processing (NOC 94140).
- Industrial butchers, meat cutters, poultry preparers, and related workers (NOC 94141).
All PEI PNP streams have requirements for:
- Qualifying job offer
- Work experience
- Education
- Language proficiency
- Settlement funds
Work experience, education, as well as language requirements vary depending on the stream.
If you obtain a provincial nomination, the province will issue you a work permit support letter to assist you in obtaining a work permit. At the same time, your PR application is being processed by the federal government.
Reasons For The Change
PEI limits the Atlantic Immigration Program for workers in three sectors. The PEI Office of Immigration has limited employment sectors for the AIP on account of an increase in demand combined with a reduction in immigration spaces allocated by the federal government.
The federal government’s reduction in permanent residency allocations for economic immigration programs implies that the Atlantic provinces are seeing a drop in admissions, with only 5,000 AIP spots in 2025 – a decrease from 6,500 in 2024 – as highlighted in Canada’s 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan.
Because of the large demand for immigration and the oversupply of applicants with job offers, PEI has decided to devote all its AIP spaces to the most in-demand sectors in the local labor market.
Other Atlantic provinces have also established similar limitations. For instance, New Brunswick is only endorsing job offers for the AIP in the healthcare, education, and construction sectors.
MakeHomeCanada, a Canadian immigration leader, promises excellence and tailored pathways for your Canadian journey. Get in touch with us at [email protected].
