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Immigrate›Skilled worker›Provincial›Alberta›Tourism and Hospitality

Alberta · Worker stream · Tourism and Hospitality

The lowest bar in Alberta, and almost none of the year left.

Six consecutive months with your current employer, language at CLB 4 and a high school education. These are the gentlest requirements in the Alberta programme. The problem is supply. Twenty two nominations remained of 156 for the year when the province last published, against 3,490 candidates in the pool.

Check the requirements The numbers The other streams

Overview

Alberta created this stream on 1 March 2024 for workers already employed in the tourism and hospitality sector, and it asks less of an applicant than any other stream in the programme.

  • Six months, not twelve. Six consecutive months of full time work, being at least 780 hours, with your current approved employer. Every other Alberta stream asks for twelve or more.
  • Language at CLB 4. In each of the four abilities, which is the lowest threshold in the programme.
  • Same employer, and that is strict. The job offer must be to continue with the employer you already work for. This is not a route to change jobs.
  • A permit based on a labour market impact assessment. Or the federal special measures for people affected by wildfires. Maintained status is not accepted.
  • The employer has to qualify too. They must hold valid workers' compensation coverage or be exempt, fall within an eligible industry code, and belong to an eligible sector association. An employer who genuinely cannot join one may qualify if listed as an experience provider with the provincial tourism agency.
  • High school, assessed if foreign. With an educational credential assessment where the credential was obtained abroad.

The numbers, which are the real answer

Allocation data published 12 August 2026

Twenty two nominations left, and 3,490 people waiting

Alberta allocated 156 nominations to this stream for 2026 and had issued 134 of them by 12 August, leaving twenty two. The pool held 3,490 candidates.

That is roughly one remaining place for every 159 people in the pool. The requirements are the easiest in the programme and the odds are the worst.

This is worth saying before anyone pays a fee. The expression of interest costs $135 and is non refundable, and it expires after twelve months. Filing now means competing for twenty two places, or waiting for a 2027 allocation that has not been announced. For some clients that is still the right call, because they are already in the sector and have no alternative. For others the honest advice is a different stream, and they deserve to hear it before spending the money rather than after.

The eighteen eligible occupations

Alberta publishes this list in full, and it reaches further down the skill scale than anything else the province runs. Five of the eighteen sit at TEER 5.

Eligible occupations, from Table 3 of the stream's eligibility page, verified 18 August 2026
NOC codeTEEROccupation
60030TEER 0Restaurant and food services managers
60031TEER 0Accommodation service managers
62020TEER 2Food service supervisors
62200TEER 2Chefs
63200TEER 3Cooks
54100TEER 4Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness
64300TEER 4Maîtres d'hôtel and hosts
64301TEER 4Bartenders
64314TEER 4Hotel front desk clerks
64320TEER 4Tour and travel guides
64322TEER 4Outdoor sport and recreational guides
65200TEER 5Food and beverage servers
65201TEER 5Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations
65210TEER 5Support occupations in accommodation, travel and facilities set-up services
65310TEER 5Light duty cleaners
65311TEER 5Specialized cleaners
65312TEER 5Janitors, caretakers and heavy-duty cleaners
65320TEER 5Dry cleaning, laundry and related occupations

The occupation being on this list is one of three tests rather than the whole of it. Alberta also requires the employer to hold an eligible industry code and to belong to an eligible sector association, and it publishes both of those lists on the same page.

Requirements checker

A structured way to see where you stand against the published criteria. It returns an indication only, not an eligibility decision, not legal advice, and not a prediction that you will be invited.

Your situation

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Indication

    Book a strategy consultation
    Based on the Tourism and Hospitality Stream eligibility criteria published by the Government of Alberta, reviewed 18 August 2026, including the eligible occupation list reproduced above. Twenty two nominations remained when Alberta last published. Meeting the criteria does not mean you will be invited. General information, not legal advice.

    What to expect when the requirements are easy and the odds are not

    The useful conversation here is not about eligibility. It is whether filing into a stream with twenty two places left is the right use of your money and your twelve month window, or whether another stream fits you better.

    01 / Start here

    Strategy consultation

    A paid session that tests your record against this route and the alternatives, checks how your work is classified, and tells you plainly where you actually stand.

    02 / Review

    Lawyer review, you file

    You prepare and submit; we review the classification, the evidence and the documentation before it goes in, and flag what would be questioned.

    03 / Representation

    Full representation

    We build, document and file the matter as your lawyer of record, and carry it through to the federal permanent residence stage.

    Every matter begins with the strategy consultation. If you instruct us within six months of that consultation for a lawyer review or for full representation, the consultation fee is credited against that work. One credit per person.

    Book a strategy consultation Email us

    Frequently asked questions

    Can I change employers and still qualify?

    No. The job offer must be to continue with the employer you already work for and with whom you have your six months of experience. This stream keeps people in place rather than moving them.

    Is six months really enough?

    Yes, six consecutive months of full time work, meaning at least 780 hours, with your current approved employer. It is the shortest experience requirement in the Alberta programme.

    How many places are left?

    Twenty two, of 156 allocated for 2026, when Alberta last published on 12 August 2026. The pool held 3,490 candidates. That ratio matters more than the eligibility criteria.

    What makes an employer approved?

    Valid workers' compensation coverage or an exemption, an eligible industry code, and membership of an eligible sector association. An employer who genuinely cannot join an association may still qualify if they are listed as an experience provider with the provincial tourism agency.

    Which occupations are eligible?

    Eighteen, published in full as Table 3 of the stream's eligibility page and reproduced on this page. They run from restaurant and accommodation managers at TEER 0 down to cleaners and laundry workers at TEER 5, which makes this the widest reach into low-skilled work Alberta offers. Note that eligibility also turns on the employer's industry code and sector association membership, not on the occupation alone, so all three tests have to be met.

    The other Alberta streams

    Open at TEER 4 and 5

    Rural Renewal Stream

    Thirty one designated communities, a community endorsement, and the only Alberta route open from outside Canada.

    See requirements →     The largest

    Alberta Opportunity Stream

    For temporary workers already employed in Alberta. 23,291 in the pool against 3,562 nominations.

    See requirements →