Applications for the Alberta Opportunity Stream are no longer being processed by the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) as of February 15 and will remain so until further notice.
A chance to “address its current inventory and focus its limited immigration nominations on priorities, such as filling labor shortages in healthcare, technology, construction, agriculture, tourism and hospitality and other in-demand sectors,” the province will have, according to the AAIP, during the delay.
Applications for the Alberta Opportunity Stream that were filed before February 15th will still be evaluated by the province, which also said that it will be taking steps to “manage future application volumes against program priorities and to maintain reasonable service standards across its streams.”
Temporary foreign workers with a valid Canadian work visa who are employed full-time in the province and who have received a full-time employment offer from an Albertan company are the focus of the AAIP’s Alberta Opportunity Stream. Those with post-graduation work permits could also qualify.
Province opens a new PNP stream dedicated to hospitality and tourism
Targeting “individuals who have already been working for a tourism and hospitality business for at least six months and who have met criteria to establish themselves in Alberta permanently,” the AAIP is launching a new stream on March 1.
A “valid full-time, non-seasonal job offer from an approved employer operating within the appropriate industry” is another need for applicants.
According to a recent statement from the Alberta government, the stream will assist in addressing shortages in the industry and assisting businesses—including those in rural areas—in the province to maintain employees and the local economy.
The province claims that it would speed the processing of applications under existing priority processing efforts and accept a restricted number of applications for the stream. On March 1, further information is anticipated to be made public.
One of the most well-liked tourist spots in Canada is Alberta. The province government reports that 32 million tourists came to the province in 2022, bringing in $10.7 billion in revenue.
Provinces are allotted a certain amount of nominations through the PNP, which they can submit all year long. 9,750 AAIP candidates received nominations from Alberta in 2023. Although the province claims it has not yet verified how many nominations it has been given for 2024, the federal Immigration Levels Plan 2024–2026 states that by the end of this year, Canada will have welcomed 110,000 newcomers through the PNP.