Alberta PR Pathways Explained

Alberta has 3 main PR streams for workers. These streams are 

1.     The Alberta Opportunity Stream

2.     The Alberta Express Entry Stream

3.     Rural Renewal Stream

I did research,  read and re read the eligibility factors on all these 3 streams and I must say - they can be very complicated. Both the Opportunity stream and the express entry stream tend to have too many restrictions. The more restrictions there are the harder it is to be eligible.

For example , with the Alberta Opportunity Stream  under the work experience eligibility,   

Eligible work experience

At the time your application is submitted you must have either:

·       a minimum of 12 months full-time work experience in your current occupation in Alberta within the last 18 months, or

·       a minimum of 24 months of full-time work experience in your current occupation in Canada or abroad within the last 30 months or both – this work experience can be a combination of experience gained in Alberta, in Canada (outside Alberta) or abroad.

This means that if your experience is 100% in the province of Alberta, then Alberta will accept 1 year of experience. But if your experience is a combination of experience in Canada (meaning other provinces than Alberta) and abroad then you have to prove 2 years of experience. 

And there are other eligibility factors. And I will be honest - i was absolutely confused. 

Amongst these 3 PR pathways for workers  - the rural renewal stream seems to be the easiest. 

The RRS says that to be eligible under this pathway you must have a job offer from the company located in the designated rural area in Alberta.

Currently, there are 29 rural areas designated under the Rural Renewal Stream. 

The beautiful thing about this stream is that there are only a few jobs that are not eligible under the RRS. Most jobs under TEER 0 - 5 are qualified. 

For the ineligible jobs, pls visit this website - 

https://www.alberta.ca/aaip-rural-renewal-stream-eligibility#jumplinks-1

This stream also requires that you must have atleast 1 year of experience with the job offer you received. But if you were an International student and holds a PGWP, then this requirement is not necessary. 

There is a two step process in this stream. 

1.     You must have an endorsement candidate letter issued by the Economic Development Office of the designated area. Once you have this letter, then you can proceed to the next step whci is the 

2.      Application to the AAIP

This PR Pathway being the easiest in Alberta is still restrictive, atleast to my opinion, compared to the PR pathways in other provinces. And if you are thinking of studying in Canada for the purpose of PR, I have to be honest Alberta is not the friendliest and easiest province to get PR. You are better off to study in Manitoba, New Brunswick, PEI , Saskatchewan- these provinces want you. These provinces want to keep you. As such, they make your transition from being an IS to PR in a rather fast and easy manner. Choose that. And after your citizenship, if you truly want to move to Alberta, then do so. 

I have published videos about the various PR pathways in New Brunswick, Manitoba, and PEI. 

If you want more information about the Manitoba PR Pathways, click here.

I know many of you prefer a work permit, a job offer or even landed PR to move to Canada. That is truly ideal. But if you have been exploring those options for 6 months , 1 year or worst 2 years and nothing has happened yet, no light at the end of the tunnel - maybe you should consider a different path already.

Sometimes in our intention to save money we compromise time. And time is priceless. You can not buy time. All of us have 24 hours in a day. Thats it. And because of the intention to save money, you apply for hundreds of jobs to hopefully land a job offer, you wait for that landed PR opportunity, you wait for that express entry nomination, and before you know it , 2, 3 years of your life has passed. Years you can never earn back. You can always earn money. But you can never earn time back.