New IRCC Update Tightens Agri-Food Pilot Rules: Education, Job Offers, and Wage Proofs Under Stricter Scrutiny

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Summary
The immigration pathway known as the Agri‑Food Pilot (AFP) managed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated its internal document titled “Assessing the application against the selection criteria”.

1. What changed

• The “Employment requirement” section of the internal instructions has been revised to align with what applicants see on the website.
• IRCC emphasises that applicants must be assessed strictly against the selection criteria for education, employment, eligible work experience, industry (NAICS) and occupation (NOC) combinations, official language, temporary residence status, settlement funds, and intent to live outside Quebec.
• The internal instructions remain a resource for IRCC officers; the changes aim to ensure consistency between internal guidance and public-facing eligibility information.

2. Key selection criteria you must meet

Here are the core eligibility points for AFP applications. You must satisfy all of the relevant criteria to be approved.

Education

• If you live in Canada when applying, you must meet either the education requirement or the job offer requirement. If you live outside Canada, you must meet both education and job offer requirements.
• You must have at least one of the following:
  • A Canadian secondary (high school) credential or higher (certificate, diploma, degree)
  • A foreign credential with an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) from a designated organisation showing equivalence to Canadian secondary or higher credential
  • A foreign completed secondary school diploma, where the institution is recognised by the country’s authorities, representing upper-secondary school.
• The ECA must be issued within five years of your application date.
• If IRCC has doubts about authenticity of a foreign credential, the officer may consult the ECA organisation and may ask you via correspondence, documentation or interview.
• Volunteer work and unpaid internships do not count for the work experience requirement (see below).

Employment requirements (Job offer)

• If you reside in Canada when applying you may meet either the education OR job offer requirement; but must still meet the work experience requirement. If residing outside Canada you must meet both job offer and education requirements.
• You must provide a genuine job offer under form IMM 0115 (“Offer of Employment to a Foreign National — Agri-Food Pilot”) meeting all of the following:
  • From one employer in Canada whose primary business activity aligns with an eligible industry (by NAICS) for AFP.
  • Employer has a CRA business number.
  • Job is full-time (at least 30 hours/week), non-seasonal (year-round), indeterminate (no fixed end date).
  • Work will take place outside the province of Quebec.
  • Wage is at or above the prevailing wage (median) for the occupation in the province of employment as listed on Job Bank; if no provincial figure, national median applies.
• If the job is unionised you must provide wage rate per collective agreement and the employer must commit to adjusting the wage upward if the agreement increases before visa issuance.
• Job offers based on self-employment do not qualify.

Qualifying work experience

• You must have at least one year (equivalent to continuous or accumulated full-time of at least 30 h/week) of non-seasonal paid work in Canada within the last 3 years.
• The work must be in one or more eligible occupations (NOC) AND eligible industries (NAICS) under AFP.
• The work must have been authorized either under a work permit issued based on a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) of at least 12 months, or an open work permit for vulnerable workers (OWP-V). Volunteer work, unpaid internships, self-employment or unauthorized work do not count.
• Proof of work experience must include employer or union reference letters plus supporting documentation (pay stubs, notices of assessment).
• Even if you have a favourable ruling from CRA on employment status, IRCC still retains final decision on whether your work experience qualifies.

Industry and occupation (NAICS & NOC) combinations

• Eligible industries are defined by 4-digit NAICS codes (e.g., 1114 greenhouse production; 1121 cattle ranching; 1129 other animal production; 3116 meat product manufacturing).
• Eligible occupation codes depend on the submission date (e.g., for applications received on or after November 16, 2022, codes NOC 82030, 84120, 85100, 85101 apply under some NAICS).
• If your job offer or work experience uses a combination of NAICS + NOC not on the eligible list, your application may be refused (examples provided in the guidance).
• Officers must review whether the employer’s declared NAICS code truly aligns with its principal business activity and whether the occupation code reflects actual duties as described in the NOC lead statement (duties starting with “may” are not usually considered essential).

Official language proficiency

• You must provide an approved language test showing at least Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 (or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens, NCLC 4) in all four skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing).
• Test results must be less than 2 years old at time of application.

Temporary residence status

• If you are in Canada when applying, you must hold valid temporary resident status (e.g., valid work permit) throughout the processing of your permanent residence application.

Settlement funds

• If you are already working in Canada under a valid work permit, you do not need to provide evidence of settlement funds.
• If you are residing outside Canada (or not working under a valid Canadian permit), then you must show funds that are: transferable, unencumbered by obligations, sufficient to support initial settlement in Canada.
• The amount required is 50 % of the current urban low-income cut-off for your family size.
• If you cannot demonstrate sufficient funds, the officer must send a procedural fairness letter to give you the chance to respond.

Intent to reside outside Quebec

• You must demonstrate your intention – if your application is approved – to live in a province or territory outside the province of Quebec.

3. Why this update matters

• The AFP program is closed to new applications as of May 14 2025 or when the cap is reached.
• For applicants who already submitted before the cut-off, meeting the selection criteria remains essential to avoid refusal or procedural fairness letters.
• Employers and applicants in the agri-food and meat-processing sectors should review the updated employment requirement language carefully to ensure compliance.
• The alignment of internal guidance with the public instructions reduces risk of inconsistent decisions and improves clarity for stakeholders.

4. Key implications for applicants and employers

For applicants:

• Double-check that your job offer is full-time, year-round, indeterminate and in an eligible industry outside Quebec.
• Ensure your wage meets or exceeds the median wage for the occupation in the province in which you will work.
• Verify that your claimed work experience is in an eligible NOC and NAICS combination, was paid, was authorized, and was non-seasonal.
• Confirm your language test is valid and meets CLB 4 in all four skills.
• If you are outside Canada and not currently working under a valid permit you will need to show settlement funds.
• If your foreign education credential is used, ensure you have a valid ECA issued within five years.

For employers:

• Verify your business primarily engages in activities aligned with one of the eligible NAICS codes for the AFP.
• Ensure the job offer complies with the wage requirement, including union-adjustment provisions if applicable.
• Be prepared to provide documentation confirming that your business activity matches the declared NAICS code and that the job offer is genuine.
• Be aware that IRCC may contact the employer to verify the job offer details.
• Advise the foreign worker of the need to maintain valid temporary residence status (if applying from within Canada) and that work experience must have been authorized and full-time.

5. What this means for future pathways

Although the AFP reached its end date in May 2025, the agri-food sector remains an area of federal focus. IRCC is developing a new foreign-worker stream for agriculture and fish-processing sectors, with public consultations planned for 2025-26.
Stakeholders should anticipate new permanent or pilot streams and prepare accordingly.

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