Work Permits Needed for AINP Nomination

By Russ WeningerCalgary Immigration Lawyer

Within the last couple of years, many temporary foreign workers (TFWs) have applied for nomination under the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP), which is Alberta’s provincial nominee program.

Provincial nominee programs (PNPs) are special immigration programs established pursuant to federal-provincial agreements. Under the PNP system, a province can nominate a certain number of applicants for permanent residence each year.

There is a backlog of applications for AINP nomination. Under the agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Alberta government can nominate 5500 applicants a year.  The existing number of applications sitting in the queue likely exceeds the Alberta quota for two full years.

This does not mean that it is a bad idea to apply for nomination under AINP. For one thing, there is no government application fee to apply for provincial nomination. In many cases, AINP may be the only viable option for would-be immigrants. 

AINP may in fact be a good option for recent foreign graduates who have post-graduate work permits that are valid for 2 to 3 more years. These former international students may be able to ride out the long waiting period that may be expected for a typical AINP application.

AINP requires you to have a valid work permit at the time of nomination. If you no longer have a valid work permit when AINP wishes to nominate you, your application for nomination will be denied.  You should consider exploring other immigration streams and forget about applying under AINP.

Visit:www.calgaryimmigrationlawyer.com

Contact:403-265-4496

Email:russ@russweninger.com