Alberta introduces new immigration stream to help meet its workforce needs

The provincial government of Alberta has recently added a new immigration stream to its Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP), which would allow immigrant families living in the province for the past two years to sponsor their overseas family members wishing to relocate and work in the province.

The new Family stream has been designed to meet the needs of Alberta employers who are unable to fill skilled and select semi-skilled positions either with Canadian citizens/permanent residents of Canada or with overseas individuals who already have an employer. By expanding its nominee program outside of its existing employer-driven model, Alberta would be able to focus on individuals most likely to be successful in the workforce and help build a larger pool of talent in the province employer can draw from. According to the Ministry of Employment and Immigration, Alberta is now short 30,000 to 40,000 workers, and will be short more than 110,000 workers in the next decade.

Under the new Family stream, eligible Albertans would now be able to sponsor their overseas family members including mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, son or daughter.

To be eligible, an overseas family member (the candidate) and his/her accompanying spouse or common-law partner (if applicable) both must have to fulfill few conditions in terms of age, language skills and education/training while at least one individual (either the candidate or his/her spouse or common-law partner, if applicable) must meet the criteria set out both for the education and work experience. Similarly, at least one individual must have to meet the settlement funds requirement. The candidate should only be required to provide guarantee of settlement assistance from their sponsor. However, the candidate would not require a job offer from an Alberta employer before they apply.

It is important to note that candidates who are currently in Canada either on study permit (and currently enrolled in a program of study in Canada) or live-in-caregivers or refugee claimants would not be considered eligible to apply under the Family stream.

For the sponsors, it would be necessary that they must be living in Alberta for at least two consecutive years, must be Canadian citizen or permanent resident for at least two years, and must be self-supporting by demonstrating a regular source of income for the past 12 months or a minimum of CAD $15,000 in unencumbered, transferable and available assets (over and above any income received from government transfer payments).

Sponsor would also be required to fulfill their sponsorship commitment prior to sponsoring another family member. The sponsorship commitment is defined as two years from the date that the Candidate became a permanent resident of Canada. So, there can only be one ongoing sponsorship commitment per household at a time.

With limited number of visas initially, the provincial government has started to accept applications for this stream immediately.