Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)

This is the most popular Nominee program throughout Canada and many immigrants want to make this province their first choice of moving to Canada. There are different streams under which you can move to Ontario. In total there are five streams applicable to Ontario and they fall under 2 categories Employer job offer (3 Streams) and International Students (Master’s and PHD graduates) . Listed below are the various streams.

French speaking Skilled worker Stream This program is primarily for people who already have an Express Entry profile and meet all the requirements for the FSWP (Federal Skilled Worker Program)and happen to be bilingual at the same time. You need Both a French and English test result in this case. Your score however needs to be good for both the English and the French and having a good score in any one of them and not the other will not qualify you for the program. The Express Entry System clearly states that the eligibility conditions have been met. A CLB level 7 or higher is needed for the test. For the English language test you need a CLB level 6 or higher in order to qualify. The settlement funds also need to be shown based on the family size. A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree would be needed, a diploma will not suffice the requirements and won’t be considered as a requirement LC. The funds need to be shown are as follows:

1 person $12,960

2 people $16,135

3 people $19,836

4 people $24,083

Additional family member after 7 family

Members is $3,492

You will then get a notification of Interest (NOI) from the government stating your application has been selected and all the criteria have been met. Based on that you will then receive a nomination from the province.

Accepting the nomination will get you 600 CRS points (Comprehensive Ranking System). You will receive an ITA (Invitation To Apply) based on the points and after receiving it you have 60 days to submit your documents.

• Canadian Experience Class – You need to have Canadian Experience
• Skilled Trades Stream – In order to qualify for this program you need to have work experience in Ontario as a skilled trades personnel. If you have experience elsewhere and not in Ontario you will not qualify for this program.
• Human Capital Priority Stream – This is a very popular program and one does not need a job offer to qualify for it. Under this you have the international graduates stream (Those who have graduated from an eligible Ontario University with either a Masters of a PHD within the last two years) . These degrees need to be from an institution in Ontario.
• Employer job offer (In Demand Skills Stream) – The job offer needs to be from an employer based in Ontario, it needs to be full time and it should be from the in demand NOC’s. There are two lists, one for the entire Ontario and one that is just specific to outside of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) .

• The different NOC codes for the entire Ontario region are listed below – (NOC 3414) Nurses Aid, Order lease and Patient Service Associates, (NOC 4412) Home Support Workers and Except for housekeepers (NOC 7441), residential and commercial installers and servicers are related vocations (NOC 7511) Commercial Vehicle Operators (NOC 7521) The only heavy-equipment operators are crane operators (NOC 7611) General agricultural workers (NOC 8431), nursery and greenhouse employees (NOC 8432), meat and poultry cutters and other workers in the meat and poultry processing business (NOC 8611), and other workers in the meat and poultry processing sector (NOC 8611). (NOC 9462).
• The other list of for the people outside of the GTA-(Greater Toronto Area) (NOC 9411) Machine operators, mineral and metal processing, (NOC 9416) Metal Forging and Machine Operators, Machine tool operators (NOC 9417), other metal machine operators (NOC 9418), chemical plant machine operators (NOC 9421), plastic processing machine operators (NOC 9422), woodworking machine operators (NOC 9437), industrial sowing machine operators (NOC 9446), process control machine operators (NOC 9461), food and beverage processing machine operators (NOC 9523), and mechanical assemblers and inspectors (NOC 9526)

The wages that you will get will be the median wage for that position in Ontario. The employer will be able to go into the job bank, punch in the occupation code and will see the low medial and high wages in the areas that they operate in. They should be forced to earn the median wage.The employer must show that there is a need for the workers and must not be based on the fact that you are related to them or friends with them.

Requirements

• Nine months of Full time equivalent or part time equivalent work experience In the field that you are applying to.
• A minimum of three years of work experience is necessary.
• You would also need to have provincial licensing in order to apply for that particular job offer in the province.
• English or French test with CLB 4 or higher required
• At least a high school diploma or equivalent
• Intention to live in Ontario
• Minimum number of settlement funds required

Requirements from the Employers side 

• Need to have been in active business in Ontario in the last 3 years 
• There needs to be a business premise in Ontario. They need to have an actual office in the province. 
• The employee must be working in Ontario in order to qualify for the offer.
• The only exception is truck drivers because you will be taking shipments to and from the province. 
• The gross revenue in the GTA should be 1 million dollars a year.
• Gross revenue outside of the GTA should be $500,000 
• These income levels need to be for the most recent tax year, so documents to support it must be shown 
• If located in the GTA they need to have 5 full time employees. 
• Outside of the GTA they need to show that they have at easy 3 full time employees

Job Offer Foreign Worker Stream – This stream does not require an NOI or an Express Entry Profile to be eligible. This stream opens just a few times a year . When the application process starts it can get quite busy and there will be an online queue for the applicants. Once selected all the documents need to be submitted within the given timeframe. Because of the high demand for this programme, not everyone will be able to apply.  

Job Offer Requirements

• Full time paid and indeterminate. No part time or one year contracts per say will work
• Job needs to be in skill type O A or B. Anything in C or D will not qualify
• The wage being offered for the job needs to be at the median level at least.
• The position needs to be for a business and make sure that it is a requirement and not just a favour as a family member or friend.
• The primary place of work must be in Ontario. The exemption will be for truckers if you will be driving out of the province.
• Make sure that you don’t hold 10% equity in the business that is offering you the position.
• You need to have 2 years of related work experience in the last 5 years in order to be accepted for the job offer to work in that profession in Ontario.
• Intention to live and work in Ontario

Employer Requirements

• An active business operational in Ontario since the last 3 years
• An actual operating office in Ontario where the employees will be working
• If present in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) the annual revenue should be at least $1 million.
• If outside of the GTA the amount must be $500k
• They need 5 full time staff members if they operate in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area)
• Outside of the GTA then only 3 working members will be required in the company.
• They also need to prove that they could not find a Canadian to fill the position that’s why they have decided to bring you for the job

The advertisements are usually posted for about 2 weeks mentioning the job title, salary, location, education, knowledge/skills of the job and if the required candidate is not found then they look for international candidates.

Employer Job Stream – International Student Program

This stream will not be open all year round and you would have to monitor as to when the stream will be open. When it does however open it could be for only a few hours so make sure you have all the documents before you submit.

Job offer requirement 

• Has to be a full time paid position and indeterminate and cannot be a part time, volunteer work .
• Has to be in either skilled level O, A or B
• The wage offerings for this position court be at the low end spectrum of your province
• Wage outlook report needs to be made by the employer before sending an offer 
• The position they are offering must be essential for the business operations. 
• The primary location of operation must be in Ontario. 

Applicant Requirements

• Degree or a diploma needs to be from a Canadian institution 
• This degree needs to be completed within the last two years of the date of the application submission. 
• Part time degree would have taken 2 years to complete and the full time should take only one year to complete. 
• Need to have the intention to live in Ontario 
• Have to submit your application to Ontario within two years of your degree or diploma program 

Employer Requirement 

• They need to show that they are not a family member and have no such relation ties with you. 
• No family member or yourself can earn 10% or more equity in the company. Under 10% is acceptable but not over. 
• You must have been in business for at least three years in order to launch a business in Ontario.
• If they operate in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) their gross annual revenue must have been $1 million Canadian in the last tax period.
• If they are based outside of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) then show income of at least $500k in the last tax year. 
• If they are based in the GTA they need to show at least 5 full time paid staff members. 
• You must have been in business for at least 3 years in order to launch a business in Ontario.

Skilled Trades Stream

Applicant Requirements

• Need to have a valid Express Entry profile for this stream
• You need to meet the criteria under the CEC (Canadian Experience Class).
• Need 1 year full time cumulative paid work experience. Does not need to be 12 months together work experience as it can be spread out over time.
• The NOC should contain 633 as the first three digits in order to qualify for the stream.
• The one year work experience must be within the last 2 years and the two years will be counted since the day you submitted the application.
• There needs to be the intention to reside in Ontario
• A trade that requires compulsory licensing must be shown along with the certification
• The Applicant must be currently in Ontario and must possess a valid work permit.
• A valid language test result in either English or French that must be valid in the last two years
• A minimum score of CLB level 5 is needed on that test.
• Required amount of family funds for the settlement size of the family

An NOI is mandatory before you can go ahead and submit the application
You have 45 days before you can submit all your documents after receiving your NOI (Notification Of Interest)

Once accepted you will receive the nomination along with 600 points to the CRS score.

Master Graduate Stream

This stream is not always open to applications. When these applicants do open it’s only for a short duration and you must get the timing for application right.

Applicant Requirement

• A one-year master’s degree from an Ontario university is necessary.
• No Bursaries or Scholarships must be given by the home country to study upon completion of which the student is expected to return
• You will not be able to apply if you receive a bursary or scholarship from your home country
• You must also show the intention to reside in Ontario if your application is successful.
• At least a CLB level 7 in the English or French test must be achieved. The test are valid for only 2 years since the date of the test.
• Must be living in Ontario on a valid legal status.
• You must have spent at least a year in Ontario in the last two years.This is counted from the day you submit the application.
• The amount of settlement funds depending on the family size is required.
• The application to this category needs to be within two years of the masters degree been issued.

PHD Graduate Stream

Applicant Requirements

• Need to have obtained the PHD from an eligible university based in Ontario
• 2 of the years of your PHD studies needs to be completed from Ontario while being on a valid study permit.
• Must be legally residing in Ontario for the past one year of the last two years
• Need to show required amount of settlement funds based on the family size
• Need to provide the intention to live in Ontario
• Need to apply for the stream within two years of the PHD having been issued
• If you are in Canada then you need to prove your legal status while making the application.

Human Capital Stream

• This track does not require a job offer in order to be admitted into the programme.
• To be considered, you must have an active Express Entry profile.
• A NOI will be issued for that Express Entry Profile.
• A valid ECA is required to demonstrate that you hold a bachelor’s degree or above.
• A diploma degree will not suffice the requirements
• You have to apply under the CEC (Canadian Experience Class) of the FSWP(Federal Skilled Worker Program)
• Should have the intention to live in Ontario.
• An English or French test in the last two years with at least CLB level 7 in all sections
• Settlement funds for the family needs to be shown
• Need to have valid immigration status in Canada

There are tech draws as well that the province looks at from time to time.

The popular professions that the province looks at are Software Engineers, Web Designers, MediaDevelopers, Database Analysts and Data Administrators, Computer and Information Systems Managers,CRS scores of 421-450 is what the program is looking to target . This score will fluctuate throughout the year depending on how many people are in the Express Entry draw at any given time.

There are also other professions other than the tech Occupations that are in demand and these keep changing from time to time.

These professions are :

• Financial Managers
• Other Administrative and Service managers
• Advertising, Relations and PR mangers, -Financial Auditors and Accountants,
• Other Financial Officers
• Business Management Consulting
• Nurses and registered Psychiatric Nurses
• Health practitioners
• Dieticians and Nutritionists

Having Canadian experience will make it relatively easier to get a nomination but not having Canadian experience will make the cut off scores higher. You will have 45 days after receiving your NOI to submit all of your papers.

Entrepreneur Stream

As a potential buyer or a new owner of a business in Ontario, this handbook is for you.

Applicant Requirement

• A Business plan in mind
• A Business that you would like to purchase or have purchased in Canada
• Intention to live in Ontario
• To open a business in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) you need a net worth of $800 k
• And be willing to invest at least $600k into the business
• Outside of the GTA ( Greater Toronto Area ) net worth needs to be $400k
• You need to invest $200 k
• Business ownership or managerial experience is also something that they would want to see
• You need to have 24 months of related work experience in the last 60 months in the business that you are looking to operate
• You need to complete 2 full time jobs for Permanent Residents or Canadian citizens . It cannot include family residents
• This needs to be done within 20 months of starting the business.
• The hired individuals must be with the company for at least 10 months and must earn the median wage of the area
• Only 1 position needs to be created for businesses outside the GTA
• If looking to purchase a business then you must take an exploratory tour to Ontario
• These tours will add points to the application so it’s not a bad idea

If you want to invest in ITBased on this one will be assigned a score and based on that score the province will select the candidateBe very careful to submit a bachelor’s degree and not a diploma as your application will be rejected and money would be wasted

If you are applying from outside of Ontario or Canada, please make sure you meet the conditions indicated above.Make sure to check all the requirements when you receive the NOI so that you qualify for all of them. There is limited likelihood of securing a refund if the application is refused.

OINP is a highly sought after program currently and will be so for quite some time in the future. Take advantage of this window of opportunity while it exists.