The Agri-Food Immigration Pilot Program has been launched by the Government of Canada to attract experienced, non-seasonal temporary foreign workers to come to Canada to support and contribute to the country’s economy in agri-food sector.

Application received between May 15, 2020 and May 14, 2023 will be accepted for processing. Each year an overall of 2,750 applications will be accepted.

To apply under Agri-Food Immigration Pilot Program the applicant needs to meet the program criteria in specific industries and occupations.

Due to current travel restrictions, the pilot program is targeting towards the people who are already in Canada.

Agri-Food Immigration Program eligibility and requirements

The applicant needs to meet the following requirements to apply to the Agri-Food Pilot program:

• Have eligible work experience in an eligible occupation and eligible industry, and
• Have a full-time job offer for non-seasonal work in an eligible occupation and industry in Canada (outside of Quebec)

Agri-Food Immigration Pilot Program eligible occupations (under classified National Occupational Classification (NOC) code – see National Occupational Classification website):

• Meat processing
  • Retail butcher
  • Industrial butcher
  • Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
  • Food processing laborer
• Greenhouse crop production, nursery and floriculture production and mushroom production
  • Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
  • General farm workers
  • Harvesting laborer
• For animal production, excluding aquaculture
  • Farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers
  • General farm workers

Agri-Food Immigration Pilot Program eligible industry (classified by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) – see NAICS website):

• Meat product manufacturing
• Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture production, including mushroom production
• Animal production, excluding aquaculture
  • Cattle ranching and farming
  • Hog and pig farming
  • Poultry and egg production
  • Sheep and goat farming
  • Other animal production

The employer must include the industry code in the applicant’s job offer.

Applicants with work experience in the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot occupations must also meet eligibility requirements in order to be considered for Canadian permanent residence under the Agri-Food Pilot Program:

• Work experience: 12 months of full-time, non-seasonal Canadian work experience in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in one of the eligible occupations
• Language: a Canadian Language Benchmark level 4 in English or French
• Education: the foreign equivalent of a high school level education or higher
• Employment: an indeterminate job offer for full-time, non-seasonal work in Canada, (outside of Quebec)

The wage considered should be same or above the prevailing wage.

Agri-Food Immigration Program Process

For applicant:

To apply for permanent residence under the Agri-Food Pilot and for processing the application, the applicant will need to meet the eligibility and requirements.

For Employers:

Eligible employers in the meat processing sector who decide to hire foreign workers under this pilot program will be issued a 2-year Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). For more information visit the IRCC website

Plans to support temporary foreign workers gain their permanent residency, will be required from the employer.

To ensure a smooth processing of the Agri-Food pilot application the applicants are also required to show the following:

• settlement funds (if applicable)
• maintain temporary resident status (if already in Canada)

Proof of settlement funds are not applicable to the applicants who are already working in Canada.

Process

The applicant needs to follow the instruction guide and  the documents checklist to fill the required immigration forms for permanent residence, and attach documents, photos with biometrics. The employer also needs to fill out and sign a form to support the applicant’s permanent residence and the form must be submitted with the application

The applicant must meet the requirements for both, job offer and work experience

The Agri-Food pilot application can be submitted online. To avoid processing delays, the applicants are encouraged to send a complete application. The IRCC will contact the applicant when and if any additional documents are required (i.e., medical).

The applicant needs to ensure the government fee receipt is attached with the application