Home / Agri-Food Pilot Program (AFP)

Agri-Food Pilot Program (AFP)

Class

Section

SUMMARY

Federal Program

The Agri-Food immigration pilot program is for non-seasonal farm and livestock workers who have the intention of living and working permanently in Canada. The program aims at attracting workers in specific industries including meat processing, animal raising, green housing, and mushroom production sectors.

Ready to take the next step towards your Canadian immigration journey? Fill out the form below and embark on your path to new opportunities.

ّFSA

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

The following requirements must be met to be eligible to apply under the Agri-food pilot program:

1- Job Offer Requirement

You must have a genuine and valid job offer in an eligible occupation. The job you’re offered must be for a full-time, non-seasonal and permanent position (no end date) outside Quebec. Your job offer must be for one of the following occupations in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) (➨Appendix 1) from an employer eligible industry (NAICS):

For meat product manufacturing (NAICS 3116), eligible jobs are

NOC 63201 – Butchers – retail and wholesale
NOC 65202 – Meat cutters and fishmongers – retail and wholesale
NOC 94141 – Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
NOC 82030 – Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
NOC 84120 – Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
NOC 85100 – Livestock labourers
NOC 95106 – Labourers in food and beverage processing

For greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, including mushroom production (NAICS 1114), eligible jobs are

NOC 82030 – Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
NOC 84120 – Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
NOC 85100 – Livestock labourers
NOC 85101 – Harvesting labourers

For animal production, excluding aquaculture (NAICS 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124 and 1129), eligible jobs are

NOC 82030 – Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
NOC 84120 – Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
NOC 85100 – Livestock labourers
NOC 85101 – Harvesting labourers

Note: If you are in Canada when applying and meet the education requirements, you are not required to meet the employment requirements. If you reside outside of Canada at the time of application, you must still meet both the education and employment requirements

2- Eligible Canadian Work Experience

You must have eligible Canadian work experience in one or more of the above eligible industries and occupations. Your experience must be for a minimum of one (1) year of non-seasonal, full-time work in the past three (3) years in one or more of the above occupations.

You must demonstrate that they have obtained work experience that was authorized on:

a work permit issued based on a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) (➨immilib.com/LMIA) with a duration of at least 12 months (even if the work permit was not issued for a period of that duration) and/or
an open work permit for vulnerable workers (OWP-V)

Volunteering work, unpaid internships or self-employed work is NOT eligible.

3- Language Ability

You must have taken an approved language test within the past two (2) years of the date of your application and have obtained a minimum score of Canadian Language Benchmark CLB 4 in all abilities (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) in English or French (➨Appendix 5).

4- Education

You must have a high school diploma. If you don’t have a Canadian education credential, you need to get your foreign education credential assessed (ECA) (➨Appendix 3) to show that it’s equal to a completed Canadian high school.

The ECA Report must not be more than five (5) years old prior to the date the application is submitted.

Note: If you are in Canada during the application process and meet the education criteria, you do not need to fulfill the employment requirements. However, if you are residing outside of Canada during the application process, you must still satisfy both the education and employment criteria.

5- Settlement Funds

You must show that you have enough money for you and your family to settle in Canada based on 50% of Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) (➨Appendix 2). Please note that real property or investments cannot be used as proof of settlement funds.

If you’re already working in Canada with a valid work permit when you apply, you don’t need to provide proof of settlement funds.

6- Ineligibility

You are not eligible to apply under the Agri-food Pilot if you if you are a refugee claimant in Canada, a failed refugee claimant, had a removal order, are prohibited from entering or being in Canada, do not have status in Canada or are living illegally in your country of residence.

Ready to take the next step towards your Canadian immigration journey? Fill out the form below and embark on your path to new opportunities.

FMRA

WHAT STEPS SHOULD YOU TAKE?

Step 1: Get a Job Offer

If you have minimum one (1) year Canadian experience as described in “Minimum Requirements”, then you need to have a genuine and valid job offer in an eligible occupation (NOC) from a Canadian employer whose primary business activities are in an eligibility industry (NAICS).

Step 2: Apply for Permanent Residence

Your next step is to submit a complete application for a permanent resident visa. You must submit your application using the IRCC Permanent Residence Portal (PR Portal) (➨ immilib.com/PR-Portal).

Submission of applications for permanent residence under Agri-food Pilot is by paper processing. That means you need to submit a complete package including all application forms, documents and fees by mail.

If your application is complete, you will receive a letter or an email confirming that your file has been received and accepted for processing. This letter is called the Acknowledge of Receipt (AOR) and will include your IRCC file number.

Once you have received your acknowledgement of receipt, you can create an online account and link your application to it. By creating an account, you will be able to receive email updates and a more detailed case status.

Apply for a Temporary Work Permit

If you are in Canada on a valid work permit and your PR application is not finalized, you may be able to apply for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) (➨Page). This will let you to stay and continue working on a valid work permit until your PR application is finalized.

You may apply for BOWP only if your PR application is approved in principle meaning you have passed the eligibility stage and still have to pass the medical, security and background checks.

Your family members may be eligible to apply for an open work permit regardless of the skill level of your job.

Permanent Residence Application
Apply Online (PR Portal)
immilib.com/AFP-Apply

Official Program Guide:
immilib.com/AFP-Guide

IRCC Application Fees:
Main applicant:	$950
Spouse:	$950
Each child:	$260
RPRF main applicant:	$575
RPRF spouse:	$575
Biometrics:	$85
(per person if applicable)

Processing Time:
Not Available

Document Checklist:
immilib.com/AFP-Doc


Contact:
1-888-242-2100 (in Canada)
1-613-944-4000 (outside Canada)
Web Form:
immilib.com/web-form
Visa Office:
immilib.com/Visa-Offices

Step 3: Biometrics

During processing, you will be asked to submit your biometrics.

You and any member of your family between 14 and 79 years old need to give your fingerprints and photo (biometrics) for permanent residence application you submit, even if you gave your biometrics in the past, and they’re still valid. You will be contacted to give your biometrics and you will have 30 days from the date on the letter to do it.

If you apply for permanent residence and are in Canada, you may qualify for an exemption from having to give your biometrics.

In order to give biometrics you need to go to an official biometrics collection service point. You must give your biometrics in person.

Before you go, check the location’s website for its services and fees at (➨immilib.com/Biometrics). Depending on the location, you may need to make an appointment.

Step 4: Medical and Background Checks

After the assessment of your application based on the eligibility criteria of the program is completed, a decision is being made on your application based on the results of your medical exam, police certificates and background checks.

You and your family (and all your dependents, accompanying or not) must pass medical, criminal and security checks to receive permanent residence. If you or any of your dependents are found medically or criminally inadmissible, your application will be refused.

Medical Check:

Instructions on how to get the medical exam done will be sent to you upon completion of selection based on the program’s eligibility criteria. You and your dependents must go for the medical exam within 30 days of receiving these instructions. Only an approved panel physician (➨immilib.com/PP) can do a complete medical exam for immigration reasons.

Once the exam is done, the physician will send the results to IRCC and will give you a document confirming that a medical exam is done.

Background Check:

Background check is a required procedure to verify your criminal and/or security background to ensure you are admissible to Canada. Criminality and Security together are background checks. Criminality check is performed by RCMP (Police Service of Canada), and Security by CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) and CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency).

Step 5: Landing in Canada

If your application is approved, you will be asked to pay your right of permanent residence fee if you haven't already done so. You will receive a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (CoPR) and if you are from a country that requires a visa you will also be issued a permanent resident visa.

You will only become a Permanent Resident of Canada when you cross a Canadian port of entry. This is referred to as ‘landing in Canada' (➨Page).

You must land in Canada before the expiry date, which appears on your Canada Immigration Visa. Usually, the expiry date is one (1) year from the time medical examinations were completed. As this is not always the case, be sure to verify the expiry date as soon as the Canada Immigration Visa is received.

Ready to take the next step towards your Canadian immigration journey? Fill out the form below and embark on your path to new opportunities.

FWSYTA

WELCOME TO CANADA!

GWA

FWA

FTOCB

FTOCA

Immigration Library™

Agri-Food Pilot Program (AFP)

Table of Contents

SUMMARY

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

1- Job Offer Requirement

2- Eligible Canadian Work Experience

3- Language Ability

4- Education

5- Settlement Funds

6- Ineligibility

WHAT STEPS SHOULD YOU TAKE?

Step 1: Get a Job Offer

Step 2: Apply for Permanent Residence

Apply for a Temporary Work Permit

Step 3: Biometrics

Step 4: Medical and Background Checks

Medical Check:

Background Check:

Step 5: Landing in Canada

WELCOME TO CANADA!

Table of Contents

Immilib™ is Comprehensive & Simple,

Now & Forever.

Class

Section

Category

Destination

Applicant

Kelly Crowl Masterclass

Don’t Miss Out!