Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)

Ontario is a popular choice for those looking to immigrate to Canada. With millions of residents, it’s the most populous Canadian province. Do you want to live in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, or the big city of Toronto, or any other Ontario location? This guide will tell you all about the Ontario Provincial Nominee Program.


Quick facts about the OINP

There are three streams an applicant can take advantage of to apply for permanent residence under the OINP. These are the employer job offer, human capital, and business categories.

Getting into these streams is not automatic, as you must be invited by Ontario to put in an application. And in order to get that invitation, you must first register your interest using the OINP’s e-filing portal.

The province will then rank your profile based on the answers you supply. The heart of the system is a points ranking. You get more points for higher skilled jobs and if you already have Canadian work experience.

For students, the area of study you undertook also has relevance to awarding of points. Some fields of study are ranked higher than others. For example, engineering is 10 points and arts and humanities are worth 5 points.

  • ⬤ First, create a profile in the OINP portal
  • ⬤ Receive an invitation to apply or a notification of interest
  • ⬤ Apply to be nominated by the OINP
  • ⬤ Apply to the Government of Canada for permanent residence

    • Employer Job Offer Category

    The expression of interest system applies to the Employer Job Offer category. There are three options for this category.

    First is the Foreign Worker Stream, which is for skilled workers. The foreign worker must meet specified qualifications in terms of past skilled work experience.

    For recent graduates in Ontario, there is an International Student stream. The graduate must have attended one of the eligible Canadian schools or institutions and possess an employment offer from an employer in Ontario. To be considered valid, the employment offer and the Ontario employer must meet specific criteria.

    Intermediate skilled individuals in specific work areas, such as agriculture, construction, trucking, and personal support workers, are eligible for the In-Demand Skills stream. This is aimed at low-skilled workers who have been offered a job.

    When assessing applications in this category, points are given for a number of reasons. These include any Canadian education experience, an applicant’s field of study and their highest level of education, their earnings history and how skilled the job is and the salary on offer.


    Human Capital Category

    These are the types of applications you can make, the first three of which are made via Express Entry (see below).

  • ⬤ Human Capital Priorities
  • ⬤ French-Speaking Skilled Worker
  • ⬤ Skilled Trades
  • ⬤ Masters Graduate
  • ⬤ Ph.D. Graduate

    • The International Graduate Stream and the Ontario Express Entry stream are two subcategories of the human capital category.

    International Graduates

    An expression of interest system governs these streams.

    To be eligible for the Master’s Graduate or Ph.D. Graduate streams, you must first create an account on the OINP e-Filing Portal, then register an expression of interest for your graduate stream, and receive an invitation to apply.

    You must submit your application within two years of receiving your graduate degree from an eligible Ontario university.

    Ontario’s Express Entry

    To be eligible for one of Ontario's Express Entry streams, you must have received a notification of interest from the province and have an up-to-date profile in the federal government's Express Entry system with your most recent work experience, language tests, and education. As stated above, Ontario’s Express Entry covers the Human Capital, French-speaking skilled worker, and skilled trades categories.

    Human Capital Priorities uses a merit-based system to identify highly qualified skilled workers from the federal Express Entry pool who can contribute to Ontario's workforce long-term.

    Candidates who exhibit competence in both English and French and the potential to contribute to the province's workforce as skilled workers are the desired demographic for the French-Speaking Skilled Worker category.

    Ontario SkilledTrades, on the other hand, enables skilled tradespeople who have active Express Entry profiles, are already residents of Ontario and have work experience in a skilled trade in the province to get a provincial nomination.


    Business Category

    The entrepreneur stream is the only pathway for the Business category now, as the Corporate and Investor categories of this stream are no longer open. You must be an entrepreneur from outside of Canada who wants to start a new business in Ontario or buy and expand an existing one.

    Other Nominee Programs