Agri-Food Pilot Program – Canada Launches a new pathway for permanent residence

Immigration and Refugee Law / By /
Permanent residence under the Agri-food Pilot Program Auxilium Law PC Toronto, Ontario

Canada begins accepting applications for Permanent residence under the Agri-Food Pilot Program

The federal government of Canada launched a three-year pilot program which allows workers in selected agri-food industries to apply for permanent residence. These workers have proven to be essential to the country’s food-supply chain during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In order to qualify for Permanent Residence under the Agri-Food Pilot Program workers must prove that they have eligible work experience in an eligible industry and eligible occupation. They must also have a job offer on a full-time basis that is non-seasonal work in an eligible industry and occupation in Canada.

It is important to note that there is a quote on the number of candidates that can apply per year and per Industry.

Eligible industries under the Agri-Food Pilot Program

Industries are classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Specific industry definitions can be found by searching the industry on the NAICS website.

Employers must include the industry code in the job offer.

Eligible industries under the pilot program as of May 16. 2020, are:

  1. meat product manufacturing (NAICS 3116)
  2. greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture production, including mushroom production (NAICS 1114)
  3. animal production, excluding aquaculture such as:
    -cattle ranching and farming (NAICS 1121)
    -hog and pig farming (NAICS 1122)
    -poultry and egg production (NAICS 1123)
    -sheep and goat farming (NAICS 1124)
    -other animal production (NAICS 1129)

Eligible occupations under the Agri-Food Pilot Program

Occupations are classified by the National Occupational Classification (NOC) code. The duties and responsibilities for each occupation can be found by searching the National Occupational Classification website.

Eligible jobs for each eligible industry are:.

  1. For meat product manufacturing (NAICS 3116), eligible jobs are
    -NOC B 6331 – Retail butchers
    -NOC C 9462 – Industrial butchers
    -NOC B 8252 – Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
    -NOC D 9617 – Food processing labourers
  2. For greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, including mushroom production (NAICS 1114), eligible jobs are
    -NOC B 8252 – Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
    -NOC C 8431 – General farm workers
    -NOC D 8611 – Harvesting labourers
  3. For animal production, excluding aquaculture (NAICS 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124 and 1129), eligible jobs are
    -NOC B 8252 – Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
    -NOC C 8431 – General farm workers

General Eligibility under the Agri-Food Pilot Program

Work Experience

Eligible candidates must have eligible Canadian work experience which has to be:

  • a minimum of 1 year of non-seasonal, full-time work in the past 3 years (at least 1,560 hours)
  • in 1 or more of the eligible occupations listed under 1 of the eligible industries
  • through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
    • A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) with a minimum 12-month duration must have been submitted by your employer when hiring you.

Job Offer

Candidates must have a genuine job offer that meets all of the following requirements:

  • The job must be in an eligible occupation listed under 1 of the eligible industries (see above).
  • The job must be full time, at least 30 hours per week, non-seasonal and permanent.
  • For unionized positions, the wage must be determined by the applicable collective agreement.
  • For non-unionized positions, the wage must meet or exceed the Job Bank’s prevailing (median) wage for the occupation listed in the job offer in the province of employment (or at the national level if no provincial rate is available).
  • The job offer must be for a job in Canada outside of Quebec.

Language requirements

The Eligible candidate must prove his or her ability in English or French. The minimum language requirements are Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) Level 4 in all categories.

Candidates must submit their results from an approved language test. These results must be less than 2 years old when they apply. For more information on where and how to undergo a test click here.

Educational requirements

Candidates must have at least

  • a Canadian high school diploma, or
  • an educational credential assessment (ECA) report from a designated organization or professional body showing that they completed a foreign credential at the secondary school level or above
    • The ECA report must be less than 5 years old on the date of the application.
    • The original ECA report must have been issued on or after the date the organization was designated.

For more information on Education Credential Assessments click here.

Settlement funds

Candidates must have enough money to settle in Canada unless they are already in Canada with a valid work permit. For more information click here.

For more information regarding the program you may want to visit the governments website or book a paid consultation with a lawyer.

Please note that this is general Information and should not be construed as legal advice.

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