The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) is an economic immigration program that nominates people for permanent residence in the Canadian province of Alberta if they have required skills, qualifications, farming experience, employment situation, or business credentials.
Currently, the AAIP consists of seven different streams, that is, the Alberta Opportunity Stream, the Alberta Express Entry Stream, the Graduate Entrepreneur Stream, the Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream, the Farm Stream, the Rural Renewal Stream, and the Rural Entrepreneur Stream.
If you are nominated by Alberta through the AAIP, you may apply for permanent residence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The Rural Entrepreneur Stream of the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program is for entrepreneurs who would like to start a business or buy an existing business in a rural community in Alberta.
Requirements for the AAIP Rural Entrepreneur Stream include a minimum net worth of $300,000 CAD, and having either at least 3 years of experience as an active business owner, or at least 4 years of experience as a senior manager in the past 10 years.
Further requirements of the Rural Entrepreneur Stream include making a minimum investment of $100,000 CAD, completion of high school equivalent to the Canadian standard, and showing evidence of at least Canadian Language Benchmark level 4 for each English language skill.
Amongst other requirements, applicants for the AAIP Rural Entrepreneur Stream need a minimum ownership of 51% for a new business, or 100% ownership for business succession. For a new business, you must create at least one full-time job for Canadian citizens or permanent residents for a period of no less than 6 months. For business succession, job creation is not required.
The application process for the Rural Entrepreneur Stream of the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program consists of a number of steps. These include making an exploratory visit and obtaining a community support letter from a participating rural Alberta community.
Other components of the application process include providing a business proposal and lodging an Expression of Interest (EOI), as well as submitting a business application upon being requested to do so. If your business application is approved, you will be sent a business performance agreement.
The AAIP may subsequently issue a business application approval letter along with further documentation to allow you to apply for a 2-year work permit to IRCC. If a work permit is granted, you will need to reside in a rural Alberta community and actively own and operate an eligible business for at least 12 months.
Candidates who satisfy all the conditions of the business performance agreement may apply to be nominated by the AAIP for permanent residency, and submit a final report for nomination together with supporting business documents to the AAIP.
If the AAIP issues a nomination letter, and you are invited to submit an application for a permanent resident visa, you may apply to IRCC for permanent residence.
Please note that there are further requirements for eligibility under the Rural Entrepreneur Stream of the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program, and there are additional steps in the application process. Also, to note, the criteria for the AAIP are subject to change at any time without prior notice.
Tamas Immigration can provide more information about the AAIP Rural Entrepreneur Stream and advice on your eligibility for the program.
