The Agri-Food Pilot ended on May 14, 2025. It is closed and is no longer accepting new applications. For current permanent residence options, book a consultation or run the Free Immigration Scanner.
Agri Food Pilot Program
Table of Contents
The Agri-Food Pilot was a federal economic immigration pilot for experienced non-seasonal workers in specific agriculture and food-processing industries. The pilot ended on May 14, 2025 and is closed to new applications. IRCC continues to process applications it accepted before the closure date. The eligibility information below is historical and does not mean the pilot is open for new applications.
What is the Agri-Food Pilot?
- Program Status: The Agri-Food Pilot closed to new applications on May 14, 2025 and is no longer accepting new applications.
- Historical application caps varied during the pilot. No new applications are accepted because the pilot is closed.
Successful applicants under the Agri-Food Pilot, along with their families, gain the opportunity to live and work in Canada as permanent residents. This initiative helps fill critical labor gaps in Canada’s agri-food sector while providing stability and long-term opportunities for workers and their families
Historical Eligibility While the Agri-Food Pilot Was Open
A. Industries Targeted:
The pilot concentrates on particular agri-food industries, such as:
- Meat processing (butchers, workers in food processing, etc.)
- Raising livestock (such as farm managers and specialized livestock workers)
- Nursery, greenhouse, and floriculture production (e.g., farm supervisors, harvesters)
- Animal production excluding aquaculture (including cattle, hog, poultry, sheep/goat and other animal production)
B. Qualified Professions:
The curriculum focuses on particular jobs in the aforementioned sectors, including:
- Butchers – retail and wholesale; meat cutters and fishmongers – retail and wholesale; industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers; and food and beverage processing labourers in eligible meat-product manufacturing
- Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
- Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
- Livestock labourers and harvesting labourers, where tied to an eligible industry
C. The requirement for a job offer:
- Under the final pilot rules, applicants outside Canada had to meet both the eligible job-offer and education requirements. Applicants residing in Canada could choose to meet either the job-offer requirement or the education requirement.
D. Experience at Work:
- Applicants needed at least 1 year (1,560 hours) of cumulative, full-time, non-seasonal Canadian work experience in the previous 3 years in an eligible occupation and industry. IRCC counted work gained under a Temporary Foreign Worker Program work permit based on an LMIA with a minimum 12-month duration, or under an open work permit for vulnerable workers; other open-work-permit experience did not count.
E. Proficiency in Language:
- Candidates must be able to speak English or French and meet the CLB/NCLC 4 minimal language standards.
F. Education:
- Where the education requirement applied, applicants needed at least a Canadian high school diploma or an equivalent foreign credential supported by an eligible ECA.
- An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) is required to validate foreign credentials.
- You must achieve at least CLB 4 in English or French.
- Accepted tests: IELTS, CELPIP (English), TEF, TCF (French).
G. Funds for Settlement:
- Unless they are currently employed in Canada, applicants must show that they have enough money to sustain themselves and their families when they arrive.
H. Qualifying Canadian Work Authorization:
- Qualifying Canadian work experience had to be gained under the work-authorization conditions IRCC accepted for the pilot, including an LMIA-based Temporary Foreign Worker Program work permit meeting the pilot’s LMIA-duration rule or an open work permit for vulnerable workers.
Historical Application Process Before Closure
Step 1: Confirm the Historical Eligibility Route
- Under the final pilot rules, applicants outside Canada needed both the eligible permanent, full-time, non-seasonal job offer and the education requirement. Applicants residing in Canada could meet either the job-offer or education requirement, along with the pilot’s other criteria.
Step 2: Compile the paperwork
- Educational Qualifications (ECA report, transcripts, diploma).
- Results of Language Tests (CELPIP, TEF, TCF, or IELTS).
- Evidence of Funds (if needed).
- Proof of Work Experience (contracts, pay stubs, and employment letters).
Step 3: File an Application for Permanent Residency
- Apply via Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
- IRCC continues processing only applications accepted before May 14, 2025. Processing time depends on the individual file and current IRCC workload.
What the Agri-Food Pilot Was Designed to Do
The Agri-Food Pilot was designed to address labour needs in specific agriculture and food-processing industries while offering eligible non-seasonal workers a pathway to permanent residence. It is now closed to new applications. Workers looking for a current pathway should use current Express Entry, provincial, regional or other programs for which they qualify.
What to do instead
IRCC still shows this pilot as Closed (canada.ca, Agri-Food Pilot page, page modified 27 April 2026, checked 19 September 2026), so there is nothing to apply for here. Canadian Experience Class is not an automatic replacement for former Agri-Food Pilot workers. CEC only counts qualifying Canadian work in NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3, so check your current NOC before relying on it. Where your Canadian experience is in TEER 0-3 and you meet the other CEC requirements, one federal route to assess is Canadian Experience Class, which is selected through Express Entry. There is no single replacement route for former Agri-Food Pilot workers. IRCC identifies federal high-skilled programs and regional economic routes such as the Provincial Nominee Program, Atlantic Immigration Program, and Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots as alternatives to assess. Eligibility depends on the specific occupation, TEER, province or community, employer, language results and other program rules. Book a paid consultation and we will tell you which of these you qualify for today.
Last reviewed: September 19, 2026.
