What is the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot of Canada

The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is a new Pilot program by the Canadian government.

Though currently not accepting applications, the details about the Pilot are scheduled to be made available in March 2020.

The detailed instruction guide, forms, and document checklist is to be made available soon by the government of Canada.

As per the Ministerial Instructions 35 [MI35], “Effective March 30, 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [IRCC] will introduce the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot.”

The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot is designed for providing a pathway for permanent residence to those non-seasonal agri-food workers that have the requisite qualifying experience in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

To be eligible for Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, the non-seasonal agri-food worker must also have a valid job offer in “eligible agri-food occupations and industries”.

The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot was created in keeping with Section 14.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that lays down that – “14.1 (1) For the purpose of supporting the attainment of economic goals established by the Government of Canada, the Minister may give instructions establishing a class of permanent residents as part of the economic class …"

Up to 2,750 principal applicants along with their families will be accepted each year. As the Pilot is to run till March 2023, a total of 16,500 potential permanent residents will be welcomed into Canada over the 3-years' duration of the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot.

Those agricultural employers that are participating in the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot will be eligible for a 2-years Labour Market Impact Assessment [LMIA].

Issued by the Employment and Social Development Canada [ESDC], an LMIA is a document that assesses the impact of hiring an overseas-born national in Canada. An LMIA can either be positive or negative.

A positive LMIA justifies the hiring of a foreign national as it indicates that no Canadian permanent resident or citizen can be found to fill up the position under consideration.

A negative LMIA, on the other hand, implies that the position cannot be filled up by a foreign worker as it has to be filled up by a Canadian permanent resident or citizen.

Adopting a new industry-specific approach, the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot aims at addressing the labour requirements of the Canadian agri-food sector.

The Pilot program seeks to attract experienced, non-seasonal workers that can settle down in Canada with their families.

How to apply to Agri-Food Immigration Pilot?

The Pilot is expected to be launched on March 30, 2020.

For applying for Canadian permanent residence through the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, you will require:

• Eligible work experience in Canada, and
• A valid job offer from a Canadian employer in one of the industries/occupations that are eligible for the Pilot.

These are the basic eligibility criteria. Further details are expected to be made available from March 2020.

Which occupations are eligible for the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot?

For the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, you must first find a job and show that you have the required experience in an eligible industry/occupation.

Classification of the industries is as per the North American Industry Classification System [NAICS].

As per the NAICS, the classification structure is as follows:

Code	Sector	Eligible for Agri-Food Pilot
11	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	NAICS 1114: Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production [including Mushroom Production] Animal Production: NAICS 1121 NAICS 1122 NAICS 1123 NAICS 1124 NAICS 1129 Excluding horticulture
21	Mining, Quarrying, Oil and Gas Extraction	-
22	Utilities	-
23	Construction	-
31-33	Manufacturing	NAICS 3116: Meat Product Manufacturing
41	Wholesale Trade	-
44-45	Retail Trade	-
48-49	Transportation and Warehousing	-
51	Information and Cultural Industries	-
52	Finance and Insurance	-
53	Real Estate. Rental and Leasing	-
54	Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	-
55	Management of Companies and Enterprises	-
56	Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services	-
61	Educational Services	-
62	Health care and Social Assistance	-
71	Arts, Entertainment and Recreation	-
72	Accommodation and Food Services	-
81	Other Services [except Public Administration]	-
91	Public Administration	-

What are the eligible jobs under Agri-Food Immigration Pilot?

Eligible jobs for Agri-Food Immigration Pilot as per the National Classification Code [NOC] are:

Industry	NOC Code	Skill Level – Technical [B], Intermediate [C], Labour [D]	Job
NAICS 3116: Meat Product Manufacturing	6331	B	Retail butchers
	9462	C	Industrial butchers
	8252	B	Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
	9617	D	Food processing labourers
NAICS 1114: Greenhouse, Nursery and Floriculture Production, Including mushroom production	8252	B	Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
	8431	C	General farm workers
	8611	D	Harvesting labourers
NAICS 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124 and 1129 Animal production Excluding aquaculture	8252	B	Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
	8431	C	General farm workers

Is there an application limit under the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot?

Annual limits are placed on the total number of applications that will be processed in a year for each of the occupations.

Applications to be processed on a first come, first served basis.

Job offer to work as	Applications to be accepted per year
NOC 8252: Farm supervisor or specialized livestock worker	50
NOC 9462: Industrial butcher NOC 6331: Retail butcher	1470
NOC 9617: Food processing labourer	730
NOC 8431: General farm worker	200
NOC 8611: Harvesting labourer	300

Who is eligible for the Agri-Pilot Immigration Pilot?

For eligibility, you must meet 5 criteria as follows:

Eligibility Criterion
Work experience	Canadian work experience, 1 year of full-time non-seasonal work in an eligible occupation through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program [TFWP].
Job offer	A genuine job offer, full-time non-seasonal permanent, in a eligible occupation. Do keep in mind that the job offer must be in Canada, but outside Quebec.
Language	English – Canadian Language Benchmarks [CLB] 4 [in reading, writing, speaking, listening] Tests you can take: 1. Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program [CELPIP] - General Test. 2. International English Language Testing System [IELTS] - General Training. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- French - Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens [NCLC] 4 [in reading, writing, speaking, listening] Tests you can take: 1. TEF Canada: Test d’évaluation de français, 2. TCF Canada : Test de connaissance du français,
Education	Canadian high school diploma OR an Educational Credential Assessment [ECA] report that shows that you have completed a foreign credential at the level of secondary school or above.
Funds	To prove that you have the money for settling in Canada with family. Proof of funds will have to be provided even if the family members are not immigrating with you. Funds required will depend upon the size of the family. Proof of funds not required if you are already working in Canada doing authorized work.

With this new industry-specific approach, Canada aims at addressing the labour requirements of the agri-food sector in Canada.

More details on the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot are expected to be made available by the Canadian government on March 30, 2020.

Though the Ministerial Instructions 35 [MI35] regarding the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot lays down that “Effective March 30, 2020 [IRCC] will introduce the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot”, only time will tell if the ongoing COVID-19 situation will have an effect on the launch of the Pilot.