Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP): Other situations

IRCC started accepting permanent residence applications under the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) on March 6, 2022.

On this page

• Changes in family composition
• Changes in situation
• Processing instructions for officers
• Multiple permanent residence applications concurrently

Changes in family composition

An applicant who has applied to the AIP and who subsequently has a change in family composition must inform IRCC in writing using the web form. There is no need for a new or amended endorsement, because only the principal applicant is named on the endorsement certificate.

Changes in situation

An applicant who has applied to the AIP for permanent residence and who subsequently has a change in their situation, for example, loss of employment, change of employers, change of address, 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 AIP) while applicant is working in Canada

An applicant who has applied for permanent residence under the AIP, holds a work permit with a designated AIP employer, and subsequently changes employers must immediately

• inform the province in writing of the change in employers
• ask the endorsing province to modify the endorsement certificate to reflect the new designated AIP employer and the effective date of the change
• ask the province to provide a letter of support that indicates that the province continues to support the updated endorsement certificate
• 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
• apply for a new work permit with a designated AIP employer
• request that the province issue a new letter of support for the new work permit

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 and update the client’s information in GCMS.

The processing officer must update the modified endorsement certificate information under the “Provincial endorsement letter” section of GCMS. This field will now have the capacity for 250 characters for the change of employer information.

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

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

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 AIP permanent residence file in GCMS.

Multiple permanent residence applications concurrently

An applicant who has applied in another immigration category, and who is subsequently endorsed by an Atlantic province, must submit a new application under the AIP. In such a case, the following applies:

• If the initial application has not been placed into processing and the applicant wishes to withdraw the application, the processing fee can be refunded.
• If the initial application has been placed into processing, no refund is possible.
• If the applicant does not wish to withdraw the initial application, processing on both applications may continue, but only one permanent resident visa can be issued to an applicant.