Pilot Programs • Agri-Food Pilot
Agri-Food Pilot Program is a Canadian immigration program designed to address labor shortages in the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector. It allows employers in the Canadian agricultural and food industries to hire foreign workers for certain positions that were difficult to fill with Canadian citizens or permanent residents. The pilot provides a pathway to permanent residence for experienced, non-seasonal workers in specific industries and occupations. This economic immigration pilot program is for temporary foreign workers (TFW) who are already in Canada and working in the meat processing, mushroom, greenhouse production and livestock-raising industries.
Eligible industries and occupations under the pilot
Industry | Occupation |
Meat Product Manufacturing (NAICS 3116) |
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Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production, including mushroom production (NAICS 1114) |
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Animal Production (excluding aquaculture) (NAICS 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124 and 1129) |
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Program Requirements
Work Experience
- The applicant must have at least one year (1,560 hours), full-time, non-seasonal work experience in Canada, under a valid work permit within the last three years in 1 or more of the eligible occupations listed under 1 of the eligible industries.
- The work experience must have been authorized on a work permit issued based on a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) with a duration of a least 12 months or an open work permit for vulnerable workers.
Open Work Permits
- If you currently have an open work permit, but you used to have a work permit through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, you may have eligible work experience.
- However, any work experience you gained while holding an open work permit does not count.
Job Offer
- The job offer must be from an employer whose primary business activity are in an eligible industry (NAICS) and for an eligible occupation (NOC TEER).
- The job offer must be full time, non-seasonal and for indeterminate period (no end date).
- The wage must be at or above the prevailing wage (median) for the occupation in the province where the job is located. For unionized positions, the wage must be determined by the applicable collective agreement.
- The job offer must be in Canada, outside of Quebec.
- The applicant must submit an “Offer of Employment to a Foreign National – Agri-Food Immigration pilot” with the application.
Education
- The applicant must have a high-school diploma, post-secondary certificate or degree that is valid and equal to a Canadian equivalent. For overseas education, the applicant is required to provide an Education Credential Assessment (ECA) for overseas education. The ECA report must be less than 5 years old on the date of your application.
Temporary resident status
The applicant is required to maintain his/her temporary resident status during the processing of the application for permanent residence.
***Important Note:
- If you reside in Canada when you apply, you may choose to meet either the job offer requirement or the educational requirement.
- If you reside outside of Canada when you apply, you must meet both the job offer and the educational requirement.
Language
The applicant must meet the minimum language requirements in the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) or the Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) for listening, speaking, reading and writing at level 4 (or above) across all language abilities. The test results must be less than 2 years old when you apply. We count the 2 years from the date you receive your test results.
Settlement funds
You must prove that you have enough money to support any family members, even if they are not coming to Canada with you. You are exempt from the settlement funds requirement if you are already working legally in Canada at the time of application. To know how much settlement funds you need according to your family size, please click on the following link:
Settlement Funds for Agri Food Pilot Program
The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot will test a new, industry-specific approach to help address the labour needs of the Canadian agri-food sector, particularly in meat processing and mushroom production. While immigration in the agricultural sector is largely based on seasonal workers, this pilot aims to enhance the benefits of economic immigration to the agri-food sector by testing a new pathway to permanent residence.
How can IMC Immigration help?
If you have at least one year of experience in an eligible occupation and a job offer from your employer, we may help you throughout the application process (e.g., applying for work permit, extension, and permanent residency).
If you want a professional help in your application or you want to check your eligibility for Agri Food Plot program, you can contact us!