Immigrate to alberta without a job offer
In this article I'd like to focus on how to immigrate to Alberta without a job offer. It's possible. But let's start with why. Why Alberta? Alberta is the fourth largest province in Canada known for its large oil industry. It has the third-largest reserves of crude oil in Canada, with most of it coming from the Athabasca Oil Sands. Alberta’s second largest industry is its agriculture. Other than oil and agriculture, Alberta is considered a major transportation and distribution hub in the western part of the country. It also has a significant tourism industry. Alberta has one of the highest GDP per capita in Canada. The GDP per capita of the province is C$78,154. So historically, Alberta has been one of the most popular destination province among immigrants.
Interested in immigrating to Alberta? Read on to find out how you can immigrate to Alberta without studying in Canada or without a job offer from a Canadian employer.
Immigrate to Alberta without a job offer - Alberta Express Entry stream
Alberta’s Express Entry stream is one of the provincial nominee streams that don’t require a job offer. This means, that even if you don’t have a job offer, or Canadian education, or Canadian work experience, you may be able to immigrate through this particular program. So how do you apply for your Canadian permanent residence via this program?
Every year, each province in Canada including Alberta gets assigned a certain number of Nomination. In 2022 Alberta received 6,500 nomination certificates. Alberta doesn’t release information on how many nominations it assigns to each of the available streams, but if we look at the inventory as of December 2022, we’ll see that approximately 960 nominations are currently in process under Alberta Opportunity stream – the stream that requires an eligible job offer. At the same time, around 270 nominations are in process under the Alberta Express Entry stream. It’s clear that Alberta Express Entry stream gets less seats, but at the same time, there is still a very good chance of getting a nomination from Alberta as long as you fit the profile.
Eligibility and process
So how does this program work? Based on available candidate profile information in the Express Entry portal, Alberta selects candidates and sends them Notifications of Interest via their federal Express Entry profile.
You may receive a Notification of Interest letter if:
you have an active Express Entry profile in the federal Express Entry pool
your primary occupation in your federal Express Entry profile is an occupation that supports Alberta’s economic development and diversification
you have stated an interest in immigrating permanently to Alberta
you have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 300
There is no guarantee that even if you meet the selection requirements you will receive a Notification of Interest letter or be asked to apply. Notification of Interest letters and requests to apply are influenced by the volume of potential candidates meeting these requirements, the type (occupation or sector) of submissions in AAIP processing queues, and the number of available nominations.
So how do you apply for this program? Unlike some other provinces, like Saskatchewan or Manitoba, there is no expression of interest system that you can use to apply for this stream. All you need to do is – create an Express Entry profile and tick off “Alberta” in the list of provinces you’re interested in immigrating to.
Factors that increase your chances
Meeting one or more of the following adaptability factors may also increase your likelihood of receiving a Notification of Interest letter:
you have an Alberta job offer
you are a graduate of a Canadian post-secondary institution
you have a parent, child, brother or sister who is a permanent resident living in Alberta, or a Canadian citizen living in Alberta
French is your first language
Factors that decrease your chances
If you meet one or more of the following factors, this may decrease your likelihood of receiving a Notification of Interest letter:
your Express Entry profile expires in 5 months or less
your primary occupation in your federal Express Entry profile:
is on the Alberta Opportunity Stream Ineligible Occupations list
(Important: NOC codes for ineligible occupations have been updated with NOC 2021 versions)has a high volume of submissions across all AAIP streams
Occupations in demand
And finally, here is the list of occupations in high demand in Alberta:
Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
Transport truck drivers
Retail and wholesale trade managers
Retail sales supervisors
Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
Accounting and related clerks
Shippers and receivers
Store shelf stockers, clerks and order fillers
Restaurant and food service managers
Administrative officers
Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
Other customer and information services representatives
User support technicians
Food service supervisors
Hairstylists and barbers
Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers
Construction managers
Public works maintenance equipment operators and related workers
Supervisors, supply chain, tracking and scheduling co-ordination occupations
Paramedical occupations
Human resources managers
Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers
Chefs
Accommodation service managers
Software engineers and designers
Dispatchers
Machinists and machining and tooling inspectors
Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
Web designers and developers
Is your occupation on the list? Book a consultation here, so we can assess your background and determine the best possible ways for you to immigrate to Canada. If you meet most of the requirements above, you may be able to Immigrate to Alberta without a job offer.
About author
Sao Khadjieva is the Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant with over 10 years of experience in Canadian immigration. Sao focuses her practice on study permits, Provincial Nominee programs and Express Entry as well as business immigration to Canada. Click here to find out more about Sao.