The Alberta Immigration Rural Renewal Stream aims to attract skilled Canada immigration newcomers to rural areas of the Canadian province.
Qualified candidates with a job offer from an Alberta employer in a designated rural Alberta community can apply for Canada permanent residence through the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP).
Communities must have a population below 100,000 and be outside the Calgary and Edmonton census metropolitan areas to become designated.
Candidates must meet job offer, work experience, education, language and settlement fund requirements.
The Rural Renewal Stream has a 2-step process:
- Community designation: Community recruits newcomers to meet labour needs.
- Candidate submits the AAIP application.
Community Designation Requirements
Under the Rural Renewal Stream, communities must apply to be designated, showing they meet the following requirements:
- Population of less than 100,000 (more points for less than 10,000)
- Located outside of the Calgary and Edmonton census metropolitan area.
- One or more employers interested in participating with full-time, permanent jobs available.
- Endorsement letter of support from the community or town council.
- Endorsement letter of support from a settlement providing organization.
Candidate Requirements
- Endorsement of Candidate letter from designated community.
- Full-time, permanent job offer for minimum of 12 months and 30 hours per week (see below for ineligible occupations).
- Valid licensing, registration and certification as required by the position.
- Minimum of 12 months full-time work experience in an eligible occupation within the last 18 months (see below)
- Meet language requirements (see below).
- Minimum of Canadian high school education or equivalent.
- Have the required settlement funds (see below).
Ineligible Occupations
| NOC Code | NOC Skill Level | Occupation |
| 11 | 0 | Legislators |
| 651 | 0 | Escort Agency Managers, Massage Parlour Managers |
| 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 who do not have certification through College of Dental Technologists of Alberta |
| 4217 | B | Other Religious Occupations |
| 5232 | B | Other Performers, n.e.c. |
| 5244 | B | Artisans and Craftspersons |
| 5251 | B | Athletes |
| 4411 | C | Home Child Care Providers |
| 4412 | C | Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations |
| 6533 | C | Casino Occupations |
| 6564 | C | Other Personal Service Occupations |
| 8611 | D | Harvesting Labourers |
Work Experience Requirements
| Skill level of job offer or current occupation is: | Skill level of work experience must be: |
| NOC 0 | NOC 0 or A |
| NOC A | NOC 0, A or B |
| NOC B | NOC A, B or C |
| NOC C | NOC B, C or D |
| NOC D | NOC D and must be in the same occupation – NOC code |
Language Requirements
| National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Level | Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) test score required | Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) test score required |
| If your job offer is for NOC 0, A or B occupation | Minimum of 5 for each English language skill | Minimum of 5 for each French language skill |
| If your job offer is for NOC C or D occupation | Minimum of 4 for each English language skill | Minimum of 4 for each French language skill |
Settlement Fund Requirements
| Population size of the community and funds required | |||
| Number of family members | Less than 1,000 | 1,000 to 30,000 | 30,000 to 99,999 |
| 1 | $8,922 | $10,151 | $11,093 |
| 2 | $11,107 | $12,636 | $13,810 |
| 3 | $13,655 | $15,534 | $16,977 |
| 4 | $16,579 | $18,861 | $20,613 |
| 5 | $18,803 | $21,392 | $23,379 |
| 6 | $21,208 | $24,127 | $26,367 |
| 7 | $23,611 | $26,861 | $29,356 |
| Amount of funds required for each additional family member | $2,404 | $2,735 | $2,989 |
