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Ontario provincial nominee program

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is a unique immigration initiative facilitated by the province of Ontario in partnership with the Government of Canada through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The program aims to recognize and nominate individuals for permanent residence who possess the right skills, experience, and education that cater to the economic needs of Ontario.

The OINP operates through nine distinct streams, each tailored to suit different professional backgrounds and qualifications:

Overview of Ontario Immigration Nominee Program (OINP)

Get ready for an exciting journey with the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), an economic immigration program that attracts foreign workers, international students, and skilled individuals seeking permanent residence. The OINP partners with the Government of Canada through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to provide recognition and nomination to talented individuals who can contribute to the Ontario economy. Please note that the Government of Canada has the final say in approving applications for permanent residence. For more information on immigrating to Ontario, check out the Government of Canada's website.

What Is Otario's Expression of Interest?

This introductory section aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program's (OINP) Expression of Interest system, a fundamental part of the immigration process.
The OINP's Expression of Interest system is designed to streamline and manage applications across various streams such as Employer Job Offer, Masters Graduate, PhD Graduate, and the Entrepreneur streams. These streams cater to different categories of applicants, from foreign workers to international students and entrepreneurs. Each stream has unique requirements and processes, which we will delve into in more detail in subsequent sections of this page.

Before applying to any of these streams, you must register an expression of interest. Registering for an expression of interest is not an application for permanent residency but an initial step to inform OINP of your intention to apply. The OINP uses your information to select candidates likely to meet Ontario's economic and labour market needs.

Your expression of interest is valid for up to 12 months, during which you may be invited to apply based on your ranking in the pool of applicants. However, it's important to note that registering an expression of interest does not guarantee an invitation, nor does an invitation guarantee a nomination.

The registration for the expression of interest is free and can be updated at any time during its validity. Once you receive an invitation to apply, you must submit your application within 14 calendar days. Be prepared to provide supporting documents to verify your information and to prove you meet the eligibility criteria.

Each stream has an application fee that varies based on the specific stream and, in some cases, the location of the job offer. The following sections will provide further guidance on each stream's other particular aspects.

Ontario Provincial Nominee Programs That Use Expression of Interest System to Manage Its Applications

The Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is an incredible opportunity for skilled foreign workers with a valid job offer in Ontario. Designed to support Ontario's economy, this stream allows employers to fill labour market gaps by recruiting skilled workers from abroad who wish to live in Ontario permanently.

To be eligible for this program, a few crucial requirements must be met:

Job Offer: The applicant must have a valid job offer for a full-time and permanent position from an Ontario employer.
Work Experience: The applicant must have two years of work experience in the same occupation as the job offer within the last five years.
License or Certification: If the job offer is in an occupation that requires a license or certification in Ontario, the applicant must hold the necessary credentials.
Intent: The applicant must intend to live in Ontario.
Legal Status in Canada: If the applicant is applying from within Canada, they must have legal status.

Once you meet the eligibility criteria, you must register an Expression of Interest (EOI) in the OINP e-Filing Portal. This EOI gathers important information about you, including your level and field of education, language skills, intention to settle outside of the Greater Toronto Area, skill and work experience level, earnings history, and other factors relevant to employment prospects such as a job offer in Ontario or Canadian work experience.

The OINP Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream is designed for foreign workers who have job offers in in-demand occupations in specific sectors such as agriculture, construction, trucking, or personal support work in Ontario. It is part of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) and is open to foreign workers both in and outside of Canada. The goal of the stream is to give these workers the opportunity to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario. The application process involves first registering in the OINP’s Expression of Interest System and receiving an invitation to apply. If nominated, applicants then apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), who make the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.

The job offer requirements for this stream are as follows:

Full-time and permanent: The job offer must be for a full-time and permanent position. Full-time means the job must be a minimum of 1,560 hours a year and a minimum of 30 hours of paid work per week. Permanent means the job must have no end date, and seasonal or contract-based job offers are ineligible.
Eligible occupation: The position offered can be in any location in Ontario and must be in one of the specific occupations listed on the OINP page, classified under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER category 4 or 5.
Median wage level: The pay of the job offered must meet or be higher than the median wage level for that occupation in the specific region of Ontario where the applicant will be working. If the applicant is already working in the position, the wage of the job offer must be equal to or greater than the wage level that the employer currently pays the applicant in that position, in addition to meeting or exceeding the median wage level.
Position is urgently necessary to employer’s business: The job offer must align with the employer’s existing business activities and the position must be urgently needed to maintain or grow ongoing business activity.
Work based in Ontario: The work must occur primarily in Ontario. The applicant or any member of the applicant's family may only hold or have held equity in the employer’s business if the equity is/was less than 10% and only if it was obtained as part of the remuneration package as an employee.

The Masters Graduate stream offers international graduates who have obtained a masters degree in Ontario the chance to apply for permanent residency and employment in the province. To begin the process, you must first register in the OINP’s Expression of Interest System and receive an invitation to apply. Once nominated by the Ontario government, you may then proceed to apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Ultimately, IRCC is responsible for making the final determination on who is granted permanent residency.

To qualify, you must have completed the requirements necessary to get a masters degree.

This means:

at least one academic year of full-time study (that is at least 15 hours of instruction per week over the academic year including any period of training in the workplace as part of your studies. Part-time studies may qualify, if the program is equivalent to at least one full-time academic year)
the degree is from an eligible university in Ontario (see the the list of eligible Ontario universities below)

You don’t qualify if you are enrolled as a student when you are applying, unless:

it is for the purpose of meeting the requirements to be licensed in a regulated occupation in Ontario
you are also working full-time in Ontario

You don’t qualify if you have received a bursary, grant or scholarship that requires you return to your home country after you earn your masters degree. You may only apply after you have fulfilled those commitments and can demonstrate an intention to live in Ontario.

You must be able to understand, read, write and speak in English or French at a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 or higher.

Before submitting your application to this stream, it is mandatory to demonstrate your language proficiency by taking an approved English or French language test. The test should have been taken within two years from the date of application submission, not from the date of receiving the invitation to apply. In case of English tests, the following are accepted:

International English Language Testing (IELTS) (General Training test only)
Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) (General test only)

For French tests, Otario accept:

Test d’évaluation de français pour le Canada (TEF)
Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada (TCF)

Learn more about the English and French language tests.

To be eligible to apply, you must have resided in Ontario for a minimum of one year within the past two years, as per legal requirements. It's worth noting that the one year of residency can be cumulative, meaning that there can be gaps in between, provided that the total duration of residency in Ontario adds up to 12 months within the past two years before you apply.

You must have enough money to support yourself and your dependent family members when you settle in Canada.

Note that a family member includes your spouse, common law partner and children under the age of 22, including their children.

You can meet this requirement through one or a combination of any of the following:

funds as demonstrated by the balance listed in bank statements, or statements of accounts showing other investments such as non-locked in, fixed term deposits, mutual funds, etc.
annual earnings from ongoing employment in Ontario
a job offer in Ontario

Example: you have checked how much money you must have available and, based on your family size, you must have $29,000 (CAD). You have a job offer in Ontario with an annual wage of $25,000 and you have a balance of $5,000 in your savings account for a total of $30,000. By using a combination of your job offer and bank statement, you would meet the settlements fund requirement.

You must intend to live in Ontario after you’ve been granted permanent residence. We determine this by examining your ties to Ontario, which can include doing things like:

working or having worked in Ontario
getting job offers or applying/interviewing for jobs
studying
volunteering
leasing or owning property
visiting
having professional networks and affiliations, family ties and personal relationships

At the time you apply, you must be either:

living in Ontario with legal status (study permit, work permit, visitor record)
living outside Canada

You don’t qualify if you’re living in a province or territory in Canada other than Ontario at the time you apply.

The PhD Graduate stream gives international graduates with an Ontario PhD degree the opportunity to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario.

You must first register in the OINP’s Expression of Interest System and receive an invitation to apply before you can apply online to be nominated by the Ontario government for permanent residence.

If you are nominated, your next step is to apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). They make the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.

You must have completed the requirements necessary to obtain a PhD degree. The degree must be from an eligible university in Ontario (see the list of eligible Ontario universities offering PhD degrees below).

To be eligible for the PhD studies program in Ontario, you must have legally lived and studied in the province for a minimum of two years. However, if you have received a scholarship, grant, or bursary that necessitates your return to your home country upon completion of your PhD degree, you are not eligible. You can only apply once you have fulfilled those commitments and can prove your intention to reside in Ontario.

You must have legally lived in Ontario for at least one year in the past two years before you apply.

Please be aware that your residency requirement of one year can be cumulative. This implies that there may be intervals between periods of residency, as long as the total duration of your residency in Ontario adds up to 12 months within the two years prior to your application.

You must have enough money to support yourself and your dependent family members when you settle in Canada.

Note that a family member includes your spouse, common law partner and children under the age of 22, including their children.

You can meet this requirement through one or a combination of any of the following:

funds as demonstrated by the balance listed in bank statements, or statements of accounts showing other investments such as non-locked in, fixed term deposits, mutual funds, etc.
annual earnings from ongoing employment in Ontario, and/or
a job offer in Ontario

Learn more about the amount of money you must have available in order to apply (see “How much money you'll need”).

Example: You have checked how much money you must have available and, based on your family size, you must have $29,000 (CAD). You have a job offer in Ontario with an annual wage of $25,000 and you have a balance of $5,000 in your savings account for a total of $30,000. By using a combination of your job offer and bank statement, you would meet the settlements fund requirement.

If you provide bank statements that include a one-time large deposit, we may ask you to provide additional documentation to support that your funds are free of debt or liability.

You must intend to live and work in Ontario after you’ve been granted permanent residence. We determine this by examining your ties to Ontario, which can include doing things like:

working or having worked in Ontario
getting job offers, to or applying/interviewing for jobs
studying
volunteering
leasing or owning property
visiting
having professional networks and affiliations, family ties and social or personal relationships

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Employer Job Offer: International Student stream is a pathway for international students with a job offer in a skilled occupation to apply for permanent residence in Ontario. The job offer must be in a skilled occupation at TEER (Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities) category 0, 1, 2, or 3 of the National Occupational Classification (NOC). Applicants must first register in the OINP's Expression of Interest System and receive an invitation to apply before they can apply online to be nominated by the Ontario government for permanent residence.

For the job offer to qualify, it must meet certain requirements:

It must be full-time and permanent, with a minimum of 1,560 hours a year and a minimum of 30 hours of paid work per week. Permanent means the job must have no end date. Seasonal and/or contract-based job offers are ineligible.
The job must be in a skilled occupation at TEER Category 0, 1, 2, or 3 of the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
The pay of the job offered must meet or be higher than the low wage level for that occupation in the specific region of Ontario where you will be working.
The position offered must be urgently necessary to your employer’s business, meaning the job offer must align with your employer’s existing business activities and the position must be urgently needed to maintain or grow ongoing business activity.
The work you do while in the position of the job offer must occur primarily in Ontario.

In addition to the job offer requirements, the applicant must meet certain requirements:

The applicant must have received an invitation to apply and applied within the deadline identified. They must demonstrate that they had the qualifications that they claimed they had in the expression of interest that they registered with the OINP.
The applicant must have received from an eligible Canadian institution a degree or diploma that takes at least two years to complete if studying on a full-time basis, or a degree, diploma or certificate that takes at least one year to complete if studying on a full-time basis and that requires a completed degree as an admission requirement.
The applicant must intend to live in Ontario after they’ve been granted permanent residence, which is determined by examining ties to Ontario such as working or having worked in Ontario, studying, volunteering, leasing or owning property, visiting, having professional networks and affiliations, family ties and personal relationships.
If the applicant is applying from within Canada, they must have legal status (a visitor record, study permit, or work permit) at the time they apply and should maintain that status until the time of nomination.
The applicant must submit their application within two years of completing the requirements necessary to obtain their degree, diploma or certificate (also known as their education credential).

The Entrepreneur Stream is an immigration stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). It is established under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015 and its regulations. For your application to be approved you must follow the process and meet the criteria established under the regulations. This is only a summary; if there are any discrepancies between this webpage and the legislation, the legislation governs.

This stream is for entrepreneurs from outside Canada interested in starting a new business or buying an existing business in Ontario.

It gives an entrepreneur (and up to one foreign national business partner) the opportunity to be nominated for permanent residence once their business has been established in Ontario.

If you are nominated, the next step will be to apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). They make the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.

Stage 1

Register an expression of interest.
If invited, submit an online application.
You and your business partner (if applicable) attend a mandatory interview.
If your stage 1 application is successful, you must sign a performance agreement.

Stage 2

We issue a temporary work permit support letter so that you can apply to IRCC for a temporary work permit.
Establish your business - you have 20 months from the date you arrive in Ontario to implement your business plan and submit a final report.
If your business meets all requirements, we ask you for documentation to make sure you are eligible for nomination for permanent residence.

Mandatory minimum requirements at Stage 1

To qualify for nomination as a permanent resident under the Entrepreneur Stream, you must demonstrate that you will have a viable business that is likely to provide material economic benefit to the economy of Ontario as a whole or to the local Ontario economy where the business will be located. You and one foreign national business partner (if applicable) must both meet the eligibility requirements.

If you are invited to submit an application, you must provide supporting documentation to demonstrate you meet eligibility requirements. This includes demonstrating that you had the qualifications that you claimed when you registered your expression of interest.

You must also submit your application within 90 days of receiving an invitation.

Business experience

You must have at least 24 months of full-time business experience in the last 60 months.

Your experience must be as a business owner or as a senior manager (business management). As a business owner you must have had an active role in the business and owned at least one-third of the business. As a senior manager you must have had senior decision-making responsibilities in the business and managed the day-to-day operations of the business in whole or in part.

Net worth

You (the applicant) must have a minimum personal net worth. All of your personal net worth must be lawfully obtained and verifiable, not just the minimum. If your proposed business is to be located:

within the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto and Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions) you must have a minimum personal net worth of $800,000 Canadian
outside of the Greater Toronto Area, you must have a minimum personal net worth of $400,000 Canadian

Your personal net worth does not include your spouse’s personal net worth.

Personal investment funds and minimum equity

You must make minimum investments in your business from your personal net worth. If your proposed business is to be located:

within the Greater Toronto Area, you must make a minimum personal investment of $600,000 Canadian
outside of the Greater Toronto Area, you must make a minimum personal investment of $200,000 Canadian

You must control at least one-third of the equity in the business.

If your proposed business is in the information and communications technology/digital communications sector then regardless of location, you must make a minimum personal investment of $200,000 Canadian and control at least of one-third of the equity in the business.

Please note that passive investments, including mutual and/or pooled fund securities, while permissible for the purpose of satisfying the minimum personal net worth criterion, are ineligible for inclusion in an applicant’s minimum business investment amount.

Job creation

If the business is to be located inside the Greater Toronto Area you must create at least two permanent full-time jobs for Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

If the business is to be located outside the Greater Toronto Area or in the information and communications technology or digital communications sector, regardless of location you must create at least one permanent full-time job for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

These jobs must:

be paid at the median wage level for the position
be filled continuously for at least 10 months prior to submitting the final report
continue to exist at the time of final report and nomination