What this branch is
These are the routes where somebody else has to say yes before you may apply. Not IRCC, and not you. A province endorses, or a community recommends, and that document is the thing you must be holding when you file.
- The gatekeeper is the point. On the federal pool you are ranked and invited. On a provincial nominee stream a province selects you. Here a province endorses a job offer, or a community organisation recommends you, and everything about the timing and the risk follows from that.
- All three run through a designated employer. The employer has to be designated before it can make you a qualifying offer. That is the single most common reason these routes stall, and it is entirely outside your control. In New Brunswick it is currently not possible for a new employer at all under the Atlantic Immigration Program, because the province paused the acceptance of new designation applications effective 3 February 2026.
- None of them needs a labour market impact assessment. Not for permanent residence and not for the bridging work permit, which is a significant advantage over ordinary employer supported work permits.
- All three offer a two year work permit while you wait. Employer specific, and in every case the sequencing has to be right. Getting the order wrong is a common and avoidable delay.
- The clocks are short and they are not the same length. A community recommendation lasts six months from issue and IRCC does not publish that anywhere. Language results must be under two years old when you apply. A credential assessment must be under five years old.
- Meeting every requirement does not get you chosen. Communities rank candidates against their own priority occupation lists, intake windows and allocations. Provinces endorse at their own discretion. These are not pass or fail tests.
The three routes compared
| Atlantic Immigration Program | Rural Community Pilot | Francophone Community Pilot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Open at IRCC. New Brunswick paused the acceptance of new employer designation applications effective 3 February 2026, so in that province an employer that is not already designated cannot become designated | Open | Open |
| Who says yes first | One of the four Atlantic provincial governments | The community economic development organisation | The community economic development organisation |
| The document | Certificate of Endorsement | Certificate of recommendation, valid six months | Certificate of recommendation, valid six months |
| Where it operates | Anywhere in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador, subject to each province's own sector and occupation restrictions | 14 communities only, and at least 75 per cent of the work must be performed inside the boundary | 6 communities only, on the same 75 per cent rule |
| Language | English or French | English or French, falling to a lower level at TEER 4 and 5 | French only, at a flat level throughout. English tests are not accepted |
| Job offer duration | At least one year from permanent residence at TEER 0 to 3, or permanent with no end date at TEER 4 | Indeterminate, with no end date, at every level | Indeterminate, with no end date, at every level |
| Occupation restriction | No community priority list, and that is not the same as no restriction. Prince Edward Island accepts healthcare, construction and manufacturing only and refuses NOC 73300. New Brunswick excludes the accommodation and food services sector, thirteen named codes in it and a further fourteen codes regardless of sector. Nova Scotia has paused NOC 62020 | Must be on that community's current priority list | Must be on that community's current priority list |
| Rationing | No published allocation cap, and not open ended either. New Brunswick selects endorsement applications from a pool by draw on labour market needs and available allocation, expressly not first come first served, Nova Scotia selects from an expression of interest pool periodically, and Newfoundland and Labrador issues invitations to apply | Communities run closed intake windows, publish points cut offs and work inside allocations, and IRCC publishes none of it | Communities run closed intake windows, publish points cut offs and work inside allocations, and IRCC publishes none of it |
| Wage floor | None stated on IRCC's job offer page, though three provinces require the wage to fall within the federal range for the occupation and region, and Nova Scotia adds provincial labour standards and the prevailing wage range | At or above the federal job bank range, and the community may set higher | At or above the federal job bank range, and the community may set higher |
| Graduate exemption | Province wide, and much easier | Studied in that specific community, at a public institution | Studied in that specific community, at a public institution |
| Work experience window | The past five years | The past three years | The past three years |
| Bridging work permit | Two years | Two years | Two years |
| Labour market impact assessment | Not required | Not required | Not required |
Fees are the same across all three, being the economic immigration band. On the face of the federal rules the Atlantic Immigration Program is the more forgiving route, and the provincial layer decides whether it is available to you at all, so the comparison has to be made province by province. In Pictou County in Nova Scotia the choice is live, and Nova Scotia has paused only one occupation code. On the Acadian Peninsula it may not be a choice at all, because New Brunswick's important notices page records that the acceptance of new employer designation applications was temporarily paused effective 3 February 2026, so an employer there that is not already designated cannot become designated and cannot make you an offer that counts. Check the province before you treat the Atlantic route as the easier one.
The one place the intuition runs backwards. People assume the Francophone pilot must ask less at lower occupation levels because it serves minority communities. It asks more. The rural pilot's language requirement falls as the occupation level falls, while the Francophone pilot holds one flat level throughout, so a TEER 4 or TEER 5 offer is harder there. And an English test result cannot be used for the Francophone pilot at all, which is the most expensive mistake available on this branch.
The three routes
Atlantic Immigration Program
A province endorses your job offer, anywhere in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador. No community priority occupation list, though New Brunswick has paused employer designation and two other provinces restrict occupations. Where the four provinces diverge is the part that decides your route.
See requirements → 14 communitiesRural Community Immigration Pilot
A community organisation recommends you, English or French, with the bar falling at the lower occupation levels. The certificate lasts six months and IRCC does not publish that anywhere.
See requirements →Francophone Community Immigration Pilot
French only, at a flat level whatever the job, and English tests are not accepted. Kelowna is on this list and not the rural one, and Sudbury and Timmins are on both.
See requirements → Not a fitProvincial nominee programs
If no community and no Atlantic province works for you, a province may still select you against its own streams. Nine provinces compared, with a page for each pathway.
See requirements →