Agri-Food Immigration Pilot

Agri-Food Immigration Pilot

The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot helps address the labor needs of the Canadian agri-food sector. This program offers a permanent residence for non-seasonal workers and experienced in certain occupations and industries. It will run until May 2023.

The agri-food industry is one of the major contributors to Canada’s economic vitality and growth, supporting 1 in 8 jobs nationwide. In 2019, the agricultural export sector has reached a new high record, reached $ 67 billion.

The Agrifood Immigration Pilot will accept applications from 15th May 2020 to 14th May 2023.

Here are the eligible industries and occupations under the pilot include:

  • Retail butchers

  • Farm supervisors and skilled livestock workers

  • Nursery, greenhouse, and floriculture production, including mushroom production

  • General agricultural workers

  • Animal production, excluding aquaculture

  • General agricultural workers

  • Manufacture of meat products

  • Industrial butchers

  • Food processing workers

  • Farm supervisors and skilled livestock workers

  • Day laborers

  • Farm supervisors and skilled livestock workers

How to send an application to participate in the Agri-food Immigration Pilot?

Applicants who meet the eligibility and program requirements listed above can submit their permanent residency application to IRCC.

It is important to note that IRCC requires applicants to acquire both qualifying Canadian work experience and a qualifying job offer. If the application does not meet both requirements, the application for permanent residence will be rejected.

IRCC also requires applicants to complete an application packet by the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot's instruction guides and application forms to be completed by the lead applicant and employers. Applicants must provide documentary evidence that they meet all the requirements for the program.

Who is eligible for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot?

To be eligible for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, foreign workers and potential applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

Qualifying Canadian work experience must be
  • At least 1 year (at least 12 months or 1,560 hours of full-time hours) in the last 3 years before application

  • Not seasonal - This means that you have constant and regularly scheduled paid employment over 1 year or 12 months.

  • In one or more eligible occupations within an eligible industry.

  • Through the Temporary Foreign Workers Program and with the support of an LMIA (Labor Market Impact Assessment) with a minimum duration of 12 months.

Qualifying job offer must be

In an eligible occupation and an eligible industry.

  • Full time and permanent - This means that you work at least 30 paid hours per week and there is no set end date for the job being offered

  • Not seasonal - This means that you have constant and regularly scheduled paid employment over 1 year or 12 months.

  • A salary equal to or higher than that prevailing for the occupation of the job offer according to the province/territory of employment (or at the national level if a provincial/territorial rate is not available)

Language requirements: a minimum of level 4 in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, in the Canadian language benchmark called (CLB).
  • You must present the results of an approved language test (for example, IELTS, CELPIP, TEF)

  • These results must be less than 2 years old on the date of your request

An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from a designated professional organization or body is required if you have completed a foreign credential at the secondary level or higher

  • This report must be less than 5 years old on the date of your request.

  • The original report must have been published on or after the date the organization or professional body was appointed

Settlement Funds

You must prove that you have enough money to support yourself (and your family) after arriving in Canada unless you are already working in Canada. Note: The amount of funds varies by family size and these amounts are updated each year.

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