The Issue
The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) has just announced that it is no longer accepting applications in any of its streams, until January 27, 2016.
The Background
The AINP is an Alberta program through which applicants can seek permanent residence in Canada. (The nomination also acts as a Labour Market Impact Assessment [LMIA] when issued.) There are various streams, but one of the key streams allows foreign workers already in Canada to be nominated by their employers, and as such, qualify for the program. It has sometimes been an important alternative to the ‘ordinary’ permanent residence application categories such as Federal Skilled Worker or Canadian Experience Class.
It has been clear in recent months (if not years), that the AINP has become overburdened. Processing times for AINP applications can be 2 years or more.
The AINP has indicated that it currently has an inventory of some 10,000 applications awaiting assessment, with hundreds more being received each month. Note that pursuant to its agreement with the federal government, the AINP has been allotted only 5500 nomination certificates for 2015. (Numbers for 2016 are not yet known, but in view of economic conditions, we would expect that the allotment will not grow, and may indeed shrink.)
What You Should Do
Employers and employees should be aware of not only the temporary halt to application intake, but also the long waiting times that will likely continue into the future. Certainly, those who may qualify under other programs such as the Canadian Experience Class, or Federal Skilled Worker program, should seek to utilize those programs wherever possible. For those whose only option may be the AINP, the best thing that can be done at this point, is to ensure that any application to be submitted is complete and ready to go for filing on January 27, 2016. It is also imperative that foreign workers and their employers take any steps necessary in the interim, to ensure that temporary worker status be maintained during any intervening periods.
The information in this article is for general purposes only, and not intended as legal advice for any particular situation.