The Alberta Express Entry Stream allows Alberta to nominate a limited number of qualified candidates from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Express Entry system.
Candidates who have demonstrated strong ties to Alberta or who can help support the government’s economic development and diversification priorities may be asked to submit an application.
International graduates from Canadian post-secondary institutions may also be asked to submit an application under this stream.
Only candidates who are asked to submit an application to the Alberta Express Entry Stream will be considered.
Candidates will be contacted directly by the AINP and must receive a notification of interest before they are able to submit an application under the Alberta Express Entry Stream.
You cannot use a nomination under a different AINP stream to apply under the Alberta Express Entry Stream or the federal Express Entry system.
Selection from Express Entry pool and Notification of Interest process
Based on available profile information in the Express Entry portal, Alberta may select candidates and send them a Notification of Interest letter in their federal Express Entry profile. This information is self-declared by candidates in the Express Entry pool.
You may receive a Notification of Interest letter if you:
- Have an active Express Entry profile in the federal Express Entry pool
- Have stated an interest in immigrating permanently to Alberta
- Are working in an occupation that supports Alberta’s economic development and diversification, and
- Have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 300.
If you have one or more of the following adaptability factors, this may increase your likelihood of receiving a Notification of Interest letter:
- Alberta job offer and/or work experience
- A graduate of a Canadian post-secondary institution
- A relative that is living in Alberta: parent, child, brother and/or sister
If you meet one or more of the following factors, this may decrease your likelihood of receiving a Notification of Interest letter:
- Your Express Entry profile expires in 3 months or less
- You are working in an occupation:
- on the list of High-wage and low-wage occupations in the province of Alberta set out on the online Government of Canada Refusal to Process a Labour Market Impact Assessment list
- on the Alberta Opportunity Stream Ineligible Occupations list, located on this page under the Alberta Opportunity Stream section
- that has a high volume of submissions across all AINP streams
If you receive a Notification of Interest letter from Alberta, you must email a copy of the letter to the AINP at albertaexpressentry@gov.ab.ca within two weeks of receiving it in your federal Express Entry profile. You must also provide your Express Entry profile number and status information about current and past AINP applications/nominations (if applicable).
The AINP will confirm your information and may send you an email requesting you to submit an application, including a form to fill out and a document checklist listing all required documents. There is no fee to submit an application.
There is no guarantee that if you meet the selection requirements you will receive a Notification of Interest letter or be asked to submit an application. Notification of Interest letters and requests to submit an application are affected by the volume of potential candidates meeting these requirements, the type (occupation/sector) of submissions in AINP processing queues and the number of available nominations.
Selection draws
Information on Alberta Express Entry Stream selection draws from the federal Express Entry pool is available on the AINP - Processing and inventory page.
Alberta Express Entry Stream assessment criteria
If you have received a request from AINP to submit an application to the Alberta Express Entry Stream, you must determine if you meet the assessment criteria before you submit an application. You may only submit an application if you can demonstrate you meet the following criteria.
You will be assessed against this criteria at the time your package is postmarked and at the time your application is assessed.
To be considered for nomination you must:
- Have an active Express Entry profile in the federal Express Entry pool
- Meet the criteria of at least one of the federal immigration programs: Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades Program or Federal Skilled Worker Program
- Intend to and be able to live and work in Alberta
- Be working in an occupation that supports Alberta’s economic development and diversification
- Have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 300.
If you have one or more of the following adaptability factors, this may increase your likelihood of being nominated:
- Valid Alberta job offer and/or work experience
- A graduate of an Alberta post-secondary institution with a valid Alberta job offer, or
- Parent, child, brother and/or sister who is a permanent resident living in Alberta, or a Canadian citizen living in Alberta.
When the AINP selects candidates, it expects that information contained in the Express Entry portal is accurate. The information and documents you identified in the Express Entry portal must be provided to the AINP at the time your Express Entry application package is submitted. Documents and information provided in the application must confirm the information identified in the Express Entry portal at the time that the Notification of Interest was issued. If there are discrepancies between the information in the portal and the information the AINP receives, your submission may be declined.
The AINP does not guarantee that all complete applications received by the AINP will be assessed or that all candidates who meet the assessment criteria will be issued a nomination. Review the declaration in the Alberta Express Entry Stream form and the online AINP Terms and Conditions for complete information. Submission of an application or nomination by the AINP does not guarantee you will be issued a permanent resident visa.
The Alberta Express Entry Stream application form is not available online. The AINP provides these documents by email to candidates.
Your Alberta Express Entry Stream application will not be accepted for processing if:
- You have an active nomination which has not expired and/or is eligible for extension under another AINP stream. Candidates are only eligible for one AINP Nomination Certificate.
- You have been issued a letter on a previous AINP application that stated you are not eligible to re-apply to the AINP for a specified period of time. If you submit an application during the specified period, it will be declined. It is recommended you keep your Express Entry profile up to date so that you remain eligible for consideration under the Alberta Express Entry Stream in the future.