Alberta PNP Job Offer and Employment Requirements

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program is currently undergoing some changes to most of the worker streams.  While the Alberta Opportunity Stream and the Tourism & Hospitality stream remain closed at the time this article is being written, the program released new guidelines in March 2024 to clarity what kind of employment situation is going to be required when these programs re-open.

Previously, it was fairly straightforward for Alberta employers to be eligible to support their workers, and most Alberta based businesses were eligible.  The recent revisions have implemented restrictions that seek to limit the ability of new, smaller businesses to nominate multiple workers.  The AAIP programs have been overwhelmed with applicants in recent months, and changes were needed to ensure reasonable processing times, equitable distribution of nominations to established Alberta businesses, and to eliminate situations whereby shell businesses were being ‘operated’ almost solely for the purposes of nominating workers.

Alberta Employer Requirements for AAIP

In order for your application for Alberta provincial nomination to be successfully, the Alberta employer you are working for must:

• Be a legitimate business that provides a good or service in Alberta, from a location in Alberta
• Offer you a job that is consistent with their business activities
• Be incorporated or registered with either Alberta or Canada
• Have been operating in Alberta for at least 2 fiscal years
• Have a minimum gross annual operating revenue of $400,000 for the most recent fiscal year
• Have at least 3 full time employees (or full-time equivalent, contractors do not count)

If the company does not have a gross revenue of at least $400,000 or cannot show 3 full-time employees, their employees can still apply for nomination but on a limited basis as follows:

• 2 years of operation in Alberta = max of 1 employee nomination
• 3 years of operation in Alberta = max of 2 employee nominations
• For each additional year of operation in Alberta, the employer can support 1 additional worker for nomination

Documents required from Alberta Employer for AAIP applications

In addition to the standard job offer and employment reference letter that has always been required for Alberta PNP, the new requirements include the Alberta PNP officer contacting the employer to provide the following documents to the worker making their application for Alberta nomination:

• Evidence of recruitment to try to fill the position for which the nomination is being sought (only required if the applicant is not already working in the position)
• Complete corporate income tax return filing for the past 2 fiscal years, including schedules 100, 125 and 141
• T4 Summary of Remuneration Paid, for the past 2 fiscal years – this document shows all of the payroll information for the company and is submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency annually when T4 slips are issued to workers 
• Copy of business license
• Lease, rental, ownership or mortgage documents related to the location where the candidate reports for work

The evidence of recruitment necessary for any positions where the foreign worker is not already filling the role needs to be comparable to the recruitment required for an LMIA application.  This should generally be construed to mean that the employer needs to advertise the position on job bank as well as two other recruitment sites targeting underrepresented groups, for at least a month, at the prevailing wage for that region of Alberta.  In these situations, the Alberta nomination will only be issued if the employer can show that no qualified Canadian workers applied for the role.

Of greater concern, is the program expectation that the Alberta employer will provide confidential tax 

Job offer requirements for AAIP nomination

The job offer requirements for Alberta PNP nomination have not changed, but are worth revisiting within the context of the other changes.  A job offer that is acceptable for AAIP nomination must include:

• Non-seasonal work with an employer-employee relationship (only health care providers can be contractors)
• Full time work, at least 30 hour per week
• Employment for 12 months or longer
• Wages that either match your LMIA approval, or meet/exceed the lowest starting wage for that occupation in Alberta

The Alberta job offer cannot include:

• Part time, casual or seasonal work
• Independent contractors, owner/operators, or temp agency work
• Work at a home-based business (some exceptions under Alberta EE stream)
• Work based outside of Alberta

Do I need a job offer for Alberta PNP?

The most common pathways to Permanent Residence through the Alberta PNP program all require that applicants have a job offer to work in Alberta, for an Alberta based employer.   It’s important to note that not everyone who is working in Alberta will qualify for Provincial Nomination, particularly with the stringent requirements that determine which kind of employer is eligible to have their workers nominated.