Date: 16 April, 2024
How to estimate processing times for applications and determine which streams are accepting applications.
Nomination certificate limits
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sets the limits for nomination certificates. The AAIP issued 10,029 nomination certificates in 2023, which includes 279 nomination certificates issued under a federally authorized administrative buffer for Express Entry nomination certificates. AAIP's 2024 allocation has not yet been confirmed. Notional increases to more than 10,000 nomination allocations per year are expected in 2024 and 2025. Additional information about the 2024 allocation and the projected split between Express Entry and non-Express Entry pathways will be provided when available.
Summary of 2023 nomination certificates by AAIP stream or pathway
Stream / Pathway | Nomination certificates issued |
Non-Express Entry Streams – Allocations 5,850 | |
Alberta Opportunity Stream | 4,971 |
Rural Renewal Stream | 875 |
All (4) Entrepreneur streams | 4 |
Express Entry Stream and Pathways – Allocations 4,179 | |
Family Connection and Occupation in Demand | 1,220 |
Accelerated Tech Pathway | 1,996 |
Dedicated Healthcare Pathway | 122 |
Sector Priorities (that is, construction, agriculture, hospitality and tourism) | 805 |
General (applications received prior to 2023) | 36 |
Total nomination certificates: | 10,029 |
Application volumes and processing
Information on average processing times and dates and application volumes is available to help you determine how long it takes for AAIP to process a complete application for each AAIP stream or pathway.
Approximate volumes, processing times and assessment dates for each AAIP stream or pathway are provided below.
'Assessing' means an AAIP officer was assigned an application to assess and decide if an application is eligible.
The most common factors considered in AAIP application processing include:
Streams for workers
Streams for workers: number of applications, allocations, processing time.
AAIP Stream | Number of applications in the queue (approximate) | Processing time (estimated average) – from when a complete application is submitted until a final decision is issued | The AAIP is assessing applications received before… (approximate) |
Alberta Opportunity Stream | Approximately 4,358 | Approximately 7 months | October 12, 2023 |
Alberta Express Entry Stream – All pathways | Approximately 969 | Dedicated Healthcare Pathway - Approximately 2 weeks | April 10, 2024 |
Priority Sectors – approximately 5 months | December 2, 2023 | ||
Accelerated Tech Pathway – approximately 6 months | January 1, 2024 | ||
Family Connection and In-Demand Occupation – approximately 4 months | December 17, 2023 | ||
Rural Renewal Stream | Approximately 1,728 | Approximately 6 months | November 14, 2023 |
Tourism and Hospitality Stream | Approximately 300 | Approximately 1 month or less | March 1, 2024 |
Streams for entrepreneurs
Table 3. Streams for entrepreneurs: processing times for EOI scoring, business application, and final report or decision.
AAIP Stream | Expression of Interest (EOI) scoring (estimated) – from when EOI is submitted to scoring completed | Business Application decision (estimated) – from when a complete business application is received until a support letter is issued | Final report and nomination (estimated) – from when final report is submitted until a final nomination decision is issued |
Graduate Entrepreneur Stream | 1 month | 3 months | 4 months |
Foreign Graduate Entrepreneur Stream | 1 month | 3 months | 4 months |
Rural Entrepreneur Stream | 1 month | 3 months | 4 months |
AAIP Stream | Processing time (estimated average) – from when a complete application is submitted until a final decision is issued |
Farm Stream | 4 months |
Applications by occupation
The AAIP has a high volume of applications in worker streams in the following occupations. When the volume of these applications exceeds the ability to issue nominations, these submissions may take longer to process or may be occupations excluded from Express Entry draws regardless of occupational demand.
Express Entry draws
The AAIP regularly reviews available candidates in the federal Express Entry pool. Based on available profile information in the portal, the AAIP draws to select candidates from the pool, inviting them to submit a completed application to the AAIP. Information on Alberta Express Entry Stream Notification of Interest factors is included on the Eligibility page. Accelerated Tech Pathway candidates are invited to apply, depending on the outcome of the review of their Accelerated Tech Pathway form.
The following parameters will apply to Alberta Express Entry Stream selection for 2023:
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