The Atlantic immigration pilot is for the skilled workers seeking permanent residence in any of Canada’s four Atlantic provinces, namely Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

The option to immigrate to the Atlantic provinces is more accessible to qualified and skilled individuals since countries are more open to individuals who will add value to their economy. Thus, experience and qualification give qualified and skilled individuals an automatic advantage over other applicants. There is a large gap in the Canadian job market due to the high retirement rates, especially in rural and regional areas with a slow population growth rate.

For eligibility to the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program, applicants must have an official job offer. To get a Canadian job offer for immigration purposes, the applicant must get a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). This is not required for the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program. Instead, the job offer must be from a designated employer. 

The following are the three programs within the Atlantic Immigration Pilot.

Atlantic International Graduate Program

• The Atlantic International Graduate Program is for individuals with qualifications from a publicly funded institution in any of the Canadian Atlantic provinces.
• The individual must have lived in the province for a minimum of 16 months in the two years before completing the qualification.
• The individual will have to take a language test regardless of the language they completed their studies in.
• The individual must prove that they will be able to finance themselves as well as the dependents staying along.

Atlantic High-Skilled Program

• The individual must have at least a year of experience in the management, professional or skilled job.
• Their foreign degree or diploma must be equal to a Canadian certificate for which an Educational Credential Assessment  (ECA)  report is required.
• They will need to pass a language test to prove their proficiency in English or French to live and work in Canada.
• They must prove that they have enough funds to support themselves as well as any dependents regardless of whether they are joining them in Canada or not.

Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program

• For this program, the individual must have at least a year's experience in a position requiring either a high school education or job-specific training.
• They must have a high school diploma equal to a Canadian certificate for which an Educational Credential Assessment  (ECA report is required.
• They will need to pass a language test to prove their proficiency in English or French to live and work in Canada.
• They must prove that they have enough funds to support themselves as well as any dependents regardless of whether they are joining them in Canada or not.

Employer Designation

First, an employer must apply for an official designation to employ foreign nationals through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program. For this, the employer can directly apply to the province where the business for which they want to hire foreign workers is located. They will have to prove that they are in good standing with any regional regulatory body besides submitting a report on their labour needs including the reason for employing international workers.

Finally, the designated employers must prove that they can give financial support to the foreign workers hired through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot. To get applications for becoming a designated employer, businesses can consult the immigration webpages of the Atlantic provinces.