Complete Guide: Alberta Opportunity Stream

The Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS) is a way for foreigners who work in Alberta and international graduates who have finished their studies at an approved Alberta post-secondary school to become permanent residents of Canada.

International Students Who Graduated from Postsecondary Institutions in Alberta

If you are an international student, you can use the Alberta Opportunity Stream if you have finished your studies at an approved Alberta post-secondary school and are working in Alberta with a Post-Graduation Work Permit. 

The Alberta Advantage Immigrant Program (formerly known as the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program, or AINP) encourages student applicants whose schooling and skills match the needs of Alberta’s job market to use the Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS).

To apply, you’ll need to:

• Demonstrate that you have worked in Alberta for at least six months in a job related to your area of study. This is less than what other applicants have to do.
• Meet the same minimum requirements for language and income mentioned on this page.

Note that if you went to school in another Canadian state, you won’t be eligible for the AAIP if you have a Post-Graduation Work Permit. But if you possess a different kind of work pass, you can still be considered for the program.

Status as a resident and requirements for a work permit

• You have to meet the following residency rules both when you postmark your application and when we review it:
• Have a valid position as a temporary resident in Canada that allows them to work there (i.e. temporary foreign worker);
• Under the AOS, the following types of residency are not eligible:
• People who are trying to become refugees or who are in the middle of a government appeal or removal process;
• Temporary Canadian residents who live or work in other countries;
• People from outside Canada who live or work there without a legal temporary resident status.
• Have a current work permit (not in “maintained status” or “restoration status”) for a job that qualifies.
• A positive LMIA (Labour Market Impact Analysis);
• An LMIA exemption applies to workers covered by foreign trade agreements, Intra-Company Transferees, or people taking part in foreign Experience Canada, as decided by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
• As a holder of a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), you are free from LMIA. To apply, a person must:
• Have met the requirements to graduate from an Alberta Advanced Education-approved postsecondary school.
• Be working in Alberta in a job related to his or her field of study.

If you were accepted and enrolled in an Alberta-approved post-secondary credential program on or after April 1, 2019, your present job must also relate to what you studied as an undergraduate or graduate outside of Canada.

Proficiency in a Language

• You must achieve a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) score of at least 4 in English or French for listening, reading, writing, and speaking in either language.
• But if you want to work as a nurse aide, orderly, or patient service worker (NOC code 3413), you must have at least a CLB 7 in English or French.
• If you want to work in a NOC 0, A, or B job, you must have at least a CLB 5 in each language skill.

Needs for Education

When you apply for the AOS, you must have a Canadian high school diploma or the equivalent from your home country. You must use an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) from an organization approved by the IRCC to verify the highest level of foreign education. This demonstrates that you have met the education requirements.

If you have a degree, diploma, or certificate from a recognized Canadian post-secondary, trade college, or secondary school, you don’t need an ECA. You also do not need ECAs if you have work experience that qualifies you for the AAIP in a mandatory or optional trade and possess a valid Alberta Qualification Certificate or trade certificate accepted by Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training.

If you have a Post-Graduation Work Permit and are applying for the AOS, you must meet the graduation requirements for an Alberta Advanced Education-approved credential given by an Alberta Advanced Education-approved post-secondary school in the state.

As of July 10, 2018, the AAIP states that an applicant may be able to apply to this stream if they were accepted into an Alberta Advanced Education-approved post-secondary school before April 1, 2019.

You may be able to apply to this stream if an Alberta Advanced Education-approved post-secondary school accepted you before April 1, 2019.

Unless you possess a Post-Graduation Work Permit, you will need to have at least a high school education to be considered for this stream.

Requirements for Work Experience 

“Current occupation” means the job a person has at the time they fill out the application. If you want to send an application to the Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS), you must have the following kinds of work experience:

• When you fill out the AAIP, you must be working in the job you list as your “current occupation.”
• At the time you apply and when the AAIP looks at your application, you must be working in a job that fits your work experience.

To meet the Alberta Opportunity Stream standards for work experience, you must:

• Have worked full-time in the “current occupation” in Alberta for at least 12 months in the last 18 months; or
• Have worked full-time in the “current occupation” for at least 24 months in Canada or somewhere else in the world in the last 30 months.
• You can make up this work experience with jobs you’ve done in Alberta, Canada (outside of Alberta), and/or outside of Canada.

Those who have a Post-Graduation Work Permit:

• Must have worked full-time in your current job in Alberta for at least six months within the last 18 months, and
• Must be working in a job related to your field of study in Alberta and have an approved Alberta educational credential from an approved Alberta post-secondary school for advanced education.
• Also, if Advanced Education has approved a one-year post-graduate certificate, your job must be linked to what you studied as an undergraduate or graduate in Canada.

Along with meeting the above time requirements, the work experience:

• You must have worked full-time for at least 30 hours a week (part-time work won’t be taken into account).
• Must have worked in the same job as the one mentioned under “current occupation” on the application;
• If you have work experience done in Alberta or Canada, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada must have approved it, and you must have legal temporary resident status.
• You cannot do it while studying in Canada and participating in co-op work placements or internships as part of a study program.

If you have a post-graduate work Permit and have work experience from paid co-op placements as part of a program at an Alberta post-secondary school, you can use that experience to meet the work experience requirement. These things must be true about the work experience:

• The paid co-op work term had to be full-time, or at least 30 hours a week.
• The work experience must be directly linked to the “current occupation” of the person who has a Post-Graduation Work Permit.
• The job experience must have been in Alberta.

Requirements for a Job Offer:

To apply for the AOS, you must have a valid job offer in your present occupation from an employer in Alberta. You must work full-time in Alberta for the company. Also, to work in your present job in Alberta, you must have the right license, registration, or certification. 

The offer of a job must:

• Be for continuous, paid, full-time work, which we describe as working at least 30 hours a week for at least 12 months in an AAIP-eligible job.
• Both the person applying and the boss in Alberta must sign it.
• Offer work for at least 12 months;
• Offer work in the same field as the applicant’s present job; and
• Offer work in an eligible AAIP job for which an applicant has a work permit that meets the AAIP work permit standards.

Job offers with the following conditions are considered ineligible:

• Employees working part-time, irrespective of their working hours;
• Independent contractors, business owners, and temporary agency workers, as well as people registered on the Corporate Registry System (CORES) as Directors, Shareholders, or Agents of the Alberta employer;
• Workers who work in Alberta in a place that is not zoned for commercial or industrial operations, such as a home-based business; or
• Employees who don’t work on the employer’s property in Alberta, like those who work in a “virtual” place or do their jobs by telecommuting from outside Alberta.

Requirements for an occupation

When you fill out the application, you must be working in a qualified job in Alberta that fits with your past work experience. 

If you have a Post-Graduation Work Permit and an approved Alberta Advanced Education post-secondary credential from an Advanced Education approved Alberta public or private post-secondary institution, you must work in Alberta in a job related to your field of study. 

If you have a one-year post-graduate certificate that Alberta has approved, you must be working in an area related to what you studied in college or graduate school outside of Canada.

Most jobs with a skill level of 0, A, B, C, or D in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) are qualified for the AAIP. 

The Ineligible Occupations List

The AAIP gives applicants to the AOS two lists of jobs that are not qualified. The first list is for all applicants to the stream, and the second list is for all applicants to the AOS who have a Post-Graduation Work Permit. 

You might not be able to apply for the AOS if you work in any of the following apps.

NOC	NOC Skill Level	Occupation Title
0011	0	Legislators
0422	0	Elementary and secondary school principals and administrators
0423	0	Managers in Social, Community and Correctional Services
0432	0	Fire Chiefs and Senior Firefighting Officers
0651	0	Escort Agency Managers, Massage Parlour Managers
4031	A	Secondary School Teachers
4032	A	Elementary School and Kindergarten Teachers
4154	A	Professional Occupations in Religion
5121	A	Authors and Writers
5133	A	Musicians and Singers
5135	A	Actors and Comedians
5136	A	Painters, Sculptors and Other Visual Artists
1227	B	Court Officers and Justices of the Peace
3223	B	Dental Laboratory Bench Workers
4214	B	Early Childhood Educators and Assistants (only those who are not certified as a Child Development Worker (Level 2) or Child Development Supervisor (Level 3) by Alberta Children’s Services – Child Care Staff Certification Office)*
4216	B	Other Instructors
4217	B	Other Religious Occupations
5232	B	Other Performers, n.e.c.
5244	B	Artisans and Craftspersons
5251	B	Athletes
6232	B	Real Estate Agents and Salespersons
4411	C	Home Child Care Providers
4412	C	Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations
4413	C	Elementary and Secondary School Teacher Assistants
6533	C	Casino Occupations
6564	C	Other Personal Service Occupations
7513	C	Taxi and Limousine Drivers and Chauffeurs
8442	C	Trappers and Hunters
6623	C	Other Sales Related Occupations
6722	C	Operators and Attendants in Amusement, Recreation and Sport
6742	D	Other Service Support Occupations, n.e.c.
8611	D	Harvesting Labourers
8612	D	Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance Labourers
8613	D	Aquaculture and Marine Harvest Labourers
8614	D	Mine Labourers

People with a Post-Graduation Work Permit are not allowed to do a few more jobs. These jobs are not in demand in Alberta, but Albertans and Canadians can do them. If your job is on the list of high-wage and low-wage jobs in Alberta made by the Canadian government, you are not qualified to apply. 

FAQS

1. What is the Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS)?

The Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS) is a pathway for foreign workers in Alberta and international graduates of approved Alberta post-secondary institutions to apply for permanent residency in Canada.

2. Who is eligible for the AOS?

International students who have completed their studies at an approved Alberta post-secondary school and hold a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) can apply for the AOS. Foreign workers in Alberta may also be eligible if they meet certain criteria.

3. What are the residency requirements for AOS applicants?

Applicants must have a valid temporary resident status in Canada that allows them to work in Alberta. They must also have a current work permit for a job that qualifies under AOS.

4. Do I need to meet language proficiency requirements for AOS?

Yes, applicants must demonstrate language proficiency in English or French, with a minimum Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) score of 4 in listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Specific language requirements may apply to certain occupations.

5. What are the educational requirements for AOS applicants?

Applicants must have a Canadian high school diploma or an equivalent from their home country. In some cases, you may need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). However, graduates of recognized Canadian post-secondary institutions may not need an ECA.

6. What work experience is required for AOS applicants?

AOS applicants must have relevant work experience in Alberta or Canada. The requirements vary based on whether you have a PGWP or not. Generally, you should have worked full-time in your current occupation for a specific duration.

7. Do I need a job offer to apply for AOS?

Yes, applicants need a valid job offer in their present occupation from an employer in Alberta. The job offer must meet specific criteria, including being for full-time, continuous work.

8. Are there any ineligible occupations for Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS) applicants?

The determination of these occupations is based on the National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes and skill levels.

Yes, PGWP holders can apply for AOS, but they must meet specific requirements, including having a job related to their field of study and an approved Alberta educational credential.

10. How do I apply for the AOS program?

To apply for Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS), you need to gather the necessary documents and submit your application to the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP). Make sure to meet all the eligibility criteria and provide accurate information in your application.