Canada has introduced new instructions for applicants under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) whose employment situation changes while their permanent residence application is being processed, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) guidance first reported by CIC News. Applicants affected by a change to their employer, their role, or their employer’s ownership now have 90 days to submit updated documents — a specific deadline that replaces the previous approach, under which officers simply placed the affected application on hold with no set timeframe. Missing the deadline can result in the permanent residence application being refused.
The AIP is a permanent-residence pathway for skilled foreign workers and international graduates who want to live and work in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador; it requires a qualifying job offer from an employer designated by the relevant province, which must also endorse the offer before a permanent residence application can be submitted. The updated guidance covers three scenarios: a change in the employer’s ownership, a change in the applicant’s role or employment terms with the same employer, and a move to a different designated employer.
Where an employer changes ownership, the relevant province must reassess both the employer’s designation and the applicant’s endorsement. If provincial support continues, the application can proceed provided the applicant submits the required updated documents within 90 days; if support is withdrawn, the officer is instructed to refuse the application. Where a role or employment terms change — resulting in a different National Occupational Classification (NOC) or Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) code — the applicant must submit an updated provincial endorsement certificate along with an updated Offer of Employment to a Foreign National (IMM 0157) through IRCC’s web form within the same 90-day window.
