Want to work in construction in Alberta? Read carefully: even with an open work permit, you can still be denied a permanent residence!
If you're planning a career in Alberta, it's crucial to understand: the province strictly regulates compulsory trades—occupations where safety is directly dependent on a skill. These include electricians, plumbers, gas fitters, welders, operators of complex equipment, and others.
Even if you have an LMIA or an open work permit, this doesn't guarantee that your work experience will be counted when applying for a permanent residence or a nomination. Why?
Because Alberta has specific instructions for IRCC and CBSA officers: it is required to verify that your experience and documents meet the requirements of Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT). If you worked in compulsory trades without the required documentation, the officer may deny your experience, even if you have an LMIA and even if your work permit is technically valid.
What documents qualify you for work and accumulate "countable" experience?
For work to be considered official and count toward immigration, compulsory trade specialists must have:
- Alberta Qualification Certificate – a full professional certification.
- A Trade Certificate from another Canadian province recognized in Alberta (including the Red Seal).
- Equivalency Document -official recognition of foreign experience as equivalent to local standards.
- Authorization letter from Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AAIT) – a special permit for an employer to hire a foreign specialist without a license, but only for specialized and short-term work. This document does not grant the freedom to change employers. This is the most popular option for those who do not yet have a license but are needed by a specific employer. The employer submits the request to AAIT and acts as a guarantor.
- QCP (Qualification Certificate Program) approval letter – an intermediate option: you can work under the supervision of a certified professional while you prepare for the Alberta Qualification Certificate exams. This isn't "learning from scratch," but a way to recognize existing experience.
But what if you don't have any of these documents? There's another option: you can officially register as an apprentice—a student under the supervision of a certified professional. This doesn't earn you points for your license, but it does allow you to confirm your experience in Alberta and subsequently apply for a nomination or a permanent residence.
I see this very often in my practice: I often have clients from Alberta whose (despite having an open work permit) experience is not counted, even by the federal government. This is critical when applying for a nomination or a permanent residence under a federal program: it would seem like a person "worked honestly for a year," but their experience doesn't count because they were working in compulsory trade without the required status/letter/certificate.
But I've also seen the other extreme—people are scared that if they don't have a full Alberta Qualification Certificate, their experience won't be counted at all. This is not true. But as always, there many details to pay attention to: there are workarounds—Authorization Letter, QCP, apprentice registration, Equivalency Document. The details are complicated, and only those who actually work with this province and have seen dozens of real cases know which paths are permitted and what IRCC actually recognizes.
Conclusion: Alberta is a province with its own unique rules, and immigration experience here can't be automatically transferred from other regions. Even with an LMIA or open work permit, it's important to check which status and document you qualify for, so you don't lose years of work when transitioning to a permanent residence.
Oleksandra Melnykova, Canadian Immigration and Refugee Consultant.
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