Agri Food Pilot Program

Agri Food Pilot Program

The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is designed to help address the labour needs of the Canadian Agri-food sector. For example, the occupations include a year-round mushroom and greenhouse crop production, meat processing and livestock raising industries because the the AFIP aims to attract experienced, non-seasonal Agri-Food workers who can settle in Canada.

Eligibility Requirements

Please read carefully the following eligibility requirements so that you can prepare yourself ahead of time.

To be eligible, you must:

  1. have qualifying Canadian work experience
  2. have a qualifying job offer
  3. meet or exceed the minimum language requirements
  4. meet or exceed the educational requirements
  5. prove you have enough money to settle in the community

Work experience

Firstly, you must have Canadian work experience. Your Canadian work experience must be:

  1. 1 year of full-time work in an eligible occupation within an eligible industry, and through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
  2. A Labour Market Impact Assessment with a minimum 12-month duration must have been submitted by your employer when hiring you

Job offer

Secondly, you must have a genuine job offer which must meet all of these requirements:

  1. The job must be in an eligible occupation within an eligible industry.
  2. The job must be full-time. This means you work at least 30 paid hours per week.
  3. The job must be non-seasonal.
  4. Your employment is permanent. This means that there is no set end date.
  5. The wage must meet or exceed the Job Bank’s prevailing wage for your job offer’s occupation in the province of employment (or at the national level if no provincial rate is available).
  6. Your job offer must be for a job in Canada but outside of Quebec.

Language requirements

Thirdly, you must prove your ability in English or French. The minimum language requirements for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot are CLB/NCLC Level 4 in reading, writing, speaking and listening.

You must submit your results from an approved language test. These results must be less than 2 years old when you apply.

Educational requirements

Fourthly, you must have at least a Canadian high school diploma, or an equivalent diploma. About this requirement, the applicants have to provide Educational credential assessment (ECA) report, from a designated organization in Canada.

Settlement Funds

Finally, you must prove you have enough money to get settled in Canada because you’ll need to support yourself and any family members.

However, those already working in Canada with a valid work permit are not required to provide proof of funds.

Permanent Residence application through the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot

To apply for permanent residence through the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, you need:

  1. eligible Canadian work experience, and
  2. a job offer from a Canadian employer in one of the industries and occupations listed as eligible for the pilot. For this reason, as a candidate you need to find a job and show that you have experience in an eligible industry and eligible occupation.

Eligible industries

Industries are classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Therefore, you have to search for specific industry definitions by searching the industry codes on the NAICS website.

Importantly, your employer needs to include the industry code in your job offer.

Eligible industries for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot

  • meat product manufacturing (NAICS 3116)
  • greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, including mushroom production (NAICS 1114)
  • animal production, excluding aquaculture (NAICS 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124 or 1129)

Eligible jobs for each eligible industry

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

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

Application limits by occupation

There are annual limits on the number of applications that are processed for each occupation. Therefore, you can apply with peace of mind.

Starting on January 1 of each year, applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, apply as soon as possible. This pilot will last for 3 years.

Job offer to work as a Number of applications accepted per year:

  • Farm supervisor or specialized livestock worker (NOC B 8252)       50
  • Industrial butcher (NOC C 9462) or retail butcher (NOC B 6331)   1470
  • Food processing labourer (NOC D 9617)  730
  • General farm worker (NOC C 8431)           200
  • Harvesting labourer (NOC D 8611)             300

IRCC would refund the fees for any applicant whose application is rejected because the limits have been reached. In conclusion, we recommend to apply as soon as the Pilot Project starts. Stay tuned for more information.