The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP)

If you don’t have a high enough CRS score for your Express Entry application, you may be looking into different Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) to help get you more points. In this article, we discuss the Alberta Immigrant Nominee PNP (AINP program for short).

How Does The AINP Program Work?

This Alberta Express Entry Stream allows the province to nominate a limited number of qualified candidates from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Express Entry system.

You must already have a profile submitted to the Express Entry pool in order to be invited to apply, and candidates will be contacted directly from the AINP program if they’re invited.

Selection from the Express Entry pool and Notification of Interest process

You may receive a Notification of Interest for the AINP program if you:

• Have an active Express Entry profile in the federal Express Entry pool
• Have stated an interest in immigrating permanently to Alberta
• Are working in an occupation that supports Alberta’s economic development and diversification, and
• Have a minimum CRS score of 300.

Having one or more of the following may also give you a better chance:

• Alberta job offer and/or work experience
• A graduate of a Canadian post-secondary institution
• A relative that is living in Alberta: parent, child, brother and/or sister

You will want to avoid any of the following to give yourself the best chance of getting an invitation:

• Your Express Entry profile expires in 3 months or less
• You are working in an occupation:
  • on the list of High-wage and low-wage occupations in the province of Alberta set out on the online Government of Canada Refusal to Process a Labour Market Impact Assessment list
  • on the Alberta Opportunity Stream Ineligible Occupations list, located on this page under the Alberta Opportunity Stream section
  • that has a high volume of submissions across all AINP streams

If you’re invited to apply, you need to send the invitation letter to the AINP program at albertaexpressentry@gov.ab.ca within 14 days and provide your Express Entry profile number. They will respond with the requirements via email.

AINP Program Assessment Criteria

If your invited to apply to the AINP, you will first want to make sure you meet the following criteria before submitting your application:

• Have an active Express Entry profile in the federal Express Entry pool
• Meet the criteria of at least one of the federal immigration programs: Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades Program or Federal Skilled Worker Program
• Intend to and be able to live and work in Alberta
• Be working in an occupation that supports Alberta’s economic development and diversification
• Have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 300.

Similar to the invitation criteria, one of the following will help your chances at being approved:

• Valid Alberta job offer and/or work experience
• A graduate of an Alberta post-secondary institution with a valid Alberta job offer, or
• Parent, child, brother and/or sister who is a permanent resident living in Alberta, or a Canadian citizen living in Alberta.

If you think the AINP program may be a good fit for you, you can find more information at: https://www.alberta.ca/ainp-selection-criteria.aspx

And if you’re ready to start your Express Entry process, sign up for Visto here.