Atlantic Immigration Program: How Employers Get Designated and Hire

The AIP suits Atlantic employers who want to keep workers long term. The worker becomes a permanent resident, which cuts turnover and the cost of repeated LMIAs. It fits well when:

• You have a full-time, non-seasonal job you can't fill locally
• The candidate has at least 1 year of relevant experience, or is a recent graduate of an Atlantic post-secondary school
• You can support the newcomer's settlement in the community

It does not fit seasonal jobs or TEER 5 roles. For those, look at the LMIA or the SAWP. For the worker's view, see the Atlantic Immigration Program page.

According to IRCC, to become a designated employer you must:

• Have operated continuously under the same management for at least 2 years in one of the Atlantic provinces (provinces can make exceptions, for example for a business established elsewhere that is expanding)
• Be in good standing and comply with employment standards and occupational health and safety laws
• Not be in violation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or its regulations
• Not recruit workers to create a pool that you later transfer or contract out to other businesses
• Work with a settlement service provider organization so your candidates get settlement services
• Complete onboarding training and intercultural competency training (a province can exempt the intercultural training, for example if senior managers completed similar training recently)

There is no cost to become designated. You apply to the province where the job is located:

Each province adds its own conditions and priorities and decides whether to designate you. Check the province's employer page before applying.

The job must be full-time and non-seasonal, and the pay and conditions must meet the province's rules for the occupation and the same terms you give Canadian staff. The candidate needs:

• At least 1 year (1,560 hours) of paid work in the last 5 years in a TEER 0-4 job, unless they qualify as an Atlantic international graduate
• A Canadian high school diploma or a foreign equivalent with an Educational Credential Assessment
• Settlement funds, unless already working in Canada on a valid work permit

Candidates can be abroad or already in Canada as temporary residents.

1. Find a candidate who meets the program rules. You may use your own recruitment, job fairs, or provincial resources. No LMIA and no minimum advertising period are required.
2. Make a job offer using IRCC's AIP offer form.
3. Refer the candidate to a settlement service provider, which meets them and prepares an individual settlement plan for the candidate and family.
4. Apply for provincial endorsement. You submit the job offer and settlement plan to the province. The province checks the job and your designation and issues an endorsement certificate.
5. The candidate applies to IRCC for permanent residence with the endorsement, before it expires.
6. Optional work permit. If you need the person to start sooner, you can ask the province for a referral letter so the candidate can apply for an employer-specific work permit while the PR application is processed.

After arrival, keep supporting settlement and retention. Provinces monitor designated employers and may follow up on how newcomers are doing.

PR fees are from the IRCC fee list and rose on April 30, 2026. Neither you nor any recruiter may charge a candidate for a job offer, designation, or endorsement. Full comparison: Canada employer costs.

Provinces decide how to use their share of spots and may slow endorsements late in the year or favor priority sectors such as health care and construction. Pending AIP applications from workers in smaller communities are among those IRCC is fast-tracking under the 2026 In-Canada Workers Initiative.

• Offering a seasonal or part-time job. AIP jobs must be full-time and non-seasonal.
• Skipping the settlement plan or treating it as paperwork. It is required for endorsement.
• Letting the endorsement expire before the candidate applies to IRCC.
• Hiring through a recruiter who charges the candidate. This can cost you your designation.
• Assuming all four provinces are the same. Rules, priorities, and intake differ, and New Brunswick paused new designations for the rest of 2026.