Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs (AIPP): Other situations

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs (AIPP) closed on December 31, 2021, with the expiration of the pilot bilateral agreements. The Ministerial Instructions expired on March 5, 2022. These instructions granted IRCC the authority to accept pilot applications until March 5, 2022 (processing may continue beyond this date, as long as the complete applications were received by March 5, 2022). Any AIPP permanent residence (PR) applications received as of March 6, 2022, should be rejected by the Centralized Intake Office.

IRCC started accepting PR applications under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) as of March 6, 2022.

Changes in situation

An applicant who has applied to the AIPP for permanent residence and who subsequently has a change in their situation, for example, loss of employment, change of employers, change of address, change of family composition, or any changes that could affect their eligibility for the program they’re applying for, must immediately inform IRCC in writing using the web form.

Change of employers (from one designated employer to another designated employer under the AIPP)

An applicant who has applied for permanent residence under the AIPP, holds a work permit and subsequently changes employers must immediately:

  • inform the province in writing of the change in employers
  • ask the province to modify the endorsement certificate to reflect the new employer and the effective date of the change, along with all other pertinent information
  • ask the province to provide a letter of support, which indicates that the province continues to support the endorsement (newly amended) for PR under the AIPP
  • inform IRCC of the change in employment using the web form, and upload the modified endorsement certificate and the new letter of support from the province through the web form

For the work permit:

  • request that the province issue a new letter of support for a new work permit
  • apply for a new work permit with a designated AIPP employer (if applicable), by following these steps.

Note: A principal applicant (PA) can change designated employer when both employers (the old employer and the new employer) are designated under the AIPP. An applicant who has submitted an AIPP PR application cannot use the change of employers procedure if they are changing from a designated AIPP employer to a designated AIP employer, as the PR requirements for the programs (AIPP and AIP) are different.

Changes in family composition

After applying for PR under the AIPP, if a PA has had a change in family composition, meaning the PA got married, became a common-law partner with a common-law spouse, or had or adopted a child, they need to update their AIPP PR application accordingly. The PA must send their add-on request through IRCC’s web form, and they can attach the following forms and supporting documents in the field reserved to that effect:

Please note, as of March 6, 2022, the IMM 0008 will no longer have the three AIPP streams to choose from in the drop-down menu selection. As a workaround, we suggest that the AIPP applicant choose the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) and complete the IMM 0008 accordingly. We strongly suggest the PA sends an explanation letter advising that they had applied under an AIPP stream. They must provide the stream name (Atlantic High-Skilled Program, Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program or Atlantic International Graduate Program) and any additional pertinent information.

Please note, as of March 6, 2022, the pay your application fees online payment option will be updated to have the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) as the only available payment option. The AIPP option will have been removed. If the PA has to pay fees for their newly added family member under the AIPP PR application, they will have to choose the AIP when paying their fees online.

Note: There is no need for a new or amended endorsement, because only the PA is named on the endorsement certificate.

Processing instructions for officers

Upon receipt of a notification of change of employment, the processing office must enter a note in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) explaining the change and documenting the letter of support from the province, upload the modified endorsement certificate, and update the client’s information in GCMS.

If IRCC receives the notification of the change of employer without the supporting documents (modified endorsement certificate and new letter of support from the province), the AIPP permanent residence application should be put on hold until IRCC receives the modified endorsement certificate and the new letter of support from the province. Once the documents are received, the processing can continue.

If necessary, IRCC can validate with the province information that they may require.

A new AIPP permanent residence application is not necessary, as the officer simply updates the information in GCMS.

Note: If the candidate’s new employment is at a different National Occupational Classification (NOC) level, it may change certain program requirements (language, education, duration of job offer). The candidate will be required to meet the requirements associated with their new offer of employment.

If, in the normal progression of the client’s work experience, the client is offered a promotion with the same employer, the client will need to follow the same steps to request a new job offer, a modified endorsement certificate and a new letter of support from the province. The officer will simply update the current AIPP permanent residence file in GCMS.

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