The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot helps address the labor needs of the Canadian agri-food sector. This program offers a permanent residence for non-seasonal workers and experienced in certain occupations and industries. It will run until May 2023.
The agri-food industry is one of the major contributors to Canada’s economic vitality and growth, supporting 1 in 8 jobs nationwide. In 2019, the agricultural export sector has reached a new high record, reached $ 67 billion.
The Agrifood Immigration Pilot will accept applications from 15th May 2020 to 14th May 2023.
Retail butchers
Farm supervisors and skilled livestock workers
Nursery, greenhouse, and floriculture production, including mushroom production
General agricultural workers
Animal production, excluding aquaculture
General agricultural workers
Manufacture of meat products
Industrial butchers
Food processing workers
Farm supervisors and skilled livestock workers
Day laborers
Farm supervisors and skilled livestock workers
Applicants who meet the eligibility and program requirements listed above can submit their permanent residency application to IRCC.
It is important to note that IRCC requires applicants to acquire both qualifying Canadian work experience and a qualifying job offer. If the application does not meet both requirements, the application for permanent residence will be rejected.
IRCC also requires applicants to complete an application packet by the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot’s instruction guides and application forms to be completed by the lead applicant and employers. Applicants must provide documentary evidence that they meet all the requirements for the program.
To be eligible for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, foreign workers and potential applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:
Qualifying Canadian work experience must be
At least 1 year (at least 12 months or 1,560 hours of full-time hours) in the last 3 years before application
Not seasonal – This means that you have constant and regularly scheduled paid employment over 1 year or 12 months.
In one or more eligible occupations within an eligible industry.
Through the Temporary Foreign Workers Program and with the support of an LMIA (Labor Market Impact Assessment) with a minimum duration of 12 months.
Qualifying job offer must be
In an eligible occupation and an eligible industry.
Full time and permanent – This means that you work at least 30 paid hours per week and there is no set end date for the job being offered
Not seasonal – This means that you have constant and regularly scheduled paid employment over 1 year or 12 months.
A salary equal to or higher than that prevailing for the occupation of the job offer according to the province/territory of employment (or at the national level if a provincial/territorial rate is not available)
Language requirements: a minimum of level 4 in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, in the Canadian language benchmark called (CLB).
You must present the results of an approved language test (for example, IELTS, CELPIP, TEF)
These results must be less than 2 years old on the date of your request
Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)
An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from a designated professional organization or body is required if you have completed a foreign credential at the secondary level or higher
This report must be less than 5 years old on the date of your request.
The original report must have been published on or after the date the organization or professional body was appointed
Settlement Funds
You must prove that you have enough money to support yourself (and your family) after arriving in Canada unless you are already working in Canada. Note: The amount of funds varies by family size and these amounts are updated each year.
The program just started accepting applications on May 15, 2020, and the processing time for this permanent residence application category has not yet been published on the Government of Canada website.
In conclusion, Canada has launched the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot Project in the hope of filling the labor shortage in agricultural industries and meeting the country’s objective of exporting goods. With this program, more workers will be able to plan a long-term settlement in Canada rather than a temporary stay that comes with little hope of permanent settlement.
If you are interested to know more about Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, do not hesitate to contact us today at Patel Canada Visa. We used our Authorized ICCRC-Portal so you will not miss any communication with IRCC at any stage of the process.
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