Updated on January 2, 2022: The Atlantic Immigration Program is now in effect as of January 1, 2022. For an up-to-date page detailing this program and its requirements, please click here: Atlantic Immigration Program.
Introducing the Atlantic Immigration Program
On December 17, 2021, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, announced that they are released a new permanent residence program named the Atlantic Immigration Program. This program is poised to replace the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) program which closes on December 31, 2021.
What does this mean for you?
The AIP was a highly popular program due to its relatively low requirements. For more information on the AIP, check out our post here: Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program.
As of now, we do not have any information on the exact requirements for this new program. However, we can expect that they will be very similar to the requirements of the AIP program that it replaces.
Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland & Labrador and Nova Scotia) have an aging population and a significant labour shortage. The AIP focused on attending to job vacancies of designated employers in Atlantic Canada.
AIP Results
Minister Sean Fraser stated that the AIP brought in over 10,000 newcomers since the program started in 2017. Additionally, more than 90% of applicants were still living in Atlantic Canada after 1 year, which is a positive result compared to other immigration programs. The possible reason for this success is because the AIP emphasized settlement support and collaboration between the participating provinces. As a result, Atlantic provinces saw the greatest increase in population between 2018 to 2019 since the 1970s.
Even though the AIP is closing on December 31, 2021, applicants can still submit permanent residence applications until March 5, 2022 if they already have a provincial endorsement.
What Happens Next?
For the new Atlantic Immigration Program, it will come into force on January 1, 2022. Applicants can submit their application for permanent residence on March 6, 2022 if they have received a valid provincial endorsement. This new program has at least 6,000 admission spaces available each year.
Although we do not know the exact requirements for this new Atlantic Immigration Program, we will keep you updated once IRCC releases any new information about the program. Ensure you have subscribed to our newsletter to stay up-to-date!
If you have any questions about immigrating to Canada, feel free to book a consultation by clicking the image below or visit the IRCC website.
