Streams in Ontario Provincial Nominee Program
There are six streams under Ontario Provincial Nominee Program(OINP) and they are as follows:
General Category:
General Category is the broadest category of all the streams. Ontario employers can recruit foreign immigrants for approved skills categorised under by Government of Canada as NOC Level O,A or B. Both employer and applicant have to meet certain requirements which are as follows:
Requirements for applicants:
• Must have two years of work experience(in past 5 years). If applying for a regulated occupation, must have appropriate registration in the province.
• Work experience only counts if it was paid and verifiable and can be obtained in Canada or abroad.
• Job offer from the Ontario employer must be a regular job in Category NOC level O,A or B.
• Must have legal status is living in Canada during application. Refugees and asylum seekers are not eligible.
• “Joint Verification” form signed by employer is required. A “Pre-screened Position” form is also required.
Requirement for employer:
• Business at least active from past 3 years.
• Gross revenue at least $1,000,000 with at least five permanent full-time employee(In Greater Toronto Area). Except GTA, the gross revenue must be at least $500,000 with at least three full-time employee.
• Job location must be in only Ontario province.
International Student Category :
Designed for international student category to study in Ontario province. There are also three sub-categories:
1. Pilot International Masters Graduate Stream: Maximum of 1,000 applications are accepted in this pilot program. Applying through this program doesn’t need any job offers but there are some requirements for this program:
• Must be interested in living in Ontario.
• Graduated from an existing Master’s program at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario.
• Must have resided in Ontario for at least one full year during the past two years.
• One academic year must be completed on a full-time basis.
2. International PHD Students Stream: Condition to be met in this program are as:
• Must have graduated from an existing PhD program at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario. Or successfully completed all of the degree requirements for such a program. Or, finally, have at least two years of completed PhD studies at an eligible publicly funded university in Canada.
• Application must be submitted no later than two years from the date PhD was receives.
3. International Student with a Job Offer Stream: Conditions to be met are as:
• At least half of studies must have been in Canada.
• Must have acquired a permanent, full-time job offer in a skilled occupation.
• Application must have legal status if living in Canada. A “Joint Verification” form and a “Pre-Screen Position” form are also required from the computer.
Ontario Corporate Stream:
Introduce in fall 2015, it helps to establish and support international corporations interested in expanding into Ontario either by opening or buying a business in the province. Through this program, important employees of foreign corporation can be nominated for Canadian permanent residence visa once the business has been successfully set-up in the province. Conditions for this program are as follows:
• Corporation must invest $5 million or more in the new or existing Ontario business.
• Five permanent, full-time jobs must be created for Canadian citizens or Canadian permanent residents for each OINP nomination made under this category.
• Nominated staff members have 24 months to demonstrate a minimum English language requirement in accordance with nomination criteria.
• The international business must be well established with a proven track record over the past 36 months or longer.
A maximum of 5 people can be nominated under this OINP stream for each Ontario business purchased or created by a foreign corporation.
Ontario Entrepreneur Stream:
Ontario PNP Entrepreneur stream is designed to help foreigners buy a business in the province or create a brand new Ontario company. After the business is set-up, they can be invited by Ontario immigration for applying for permanent residence visa under provincial nomination program. Eligibility criteria for applying in this program are as follows:
• Each applicant must have made an investment of minimum $500,000 CAD in Ontario province.
• Nominee must have minimum a net worth of $800,000 net worth.
• Buying or creating a business in Ontario must create at least two permanent, full time employment positions for Canadian permanent residence.
• The entrepreneur must have minimum of 3 years of senior management or business ownership experience.
While opening or buying a business in Ontario province, applicant must have minimum of 33.3% equity share in order to apply for permanent residence under this program.
Human Capital Priorities Stream:
This stream allows the province to select the applicants from the express pool who have shown interest in Ontario provincial nomination program based on necessary skilled work experience, language ability, characteristics, and education value to bring in the province. Applicant must have minimum of 400 points in CRS before getting the provincial nomination. Candidates who have received notification from Ontario province through their MyCIC account have 45 days to apply for Ontario PNP stream. To be able to apply under this stream, following conditions must be met:
• All candidates must have Bachelors, Master’s or Ph.d degree from Canada. In case of foreign degree, must have a ECA certificate to verify the equivality.
• All candidates must have CLB level of 7 in either in English or French.
• Candidates must have got a minimum of 12 months of continuous full time employment in a NOC level O,A or B occupation 5 year prior the interest shown in Ontario province nomination.
• Minimum score of 400 points is required in CRS.
• Must have intention to settle in Ontario province.
• Must have sufficient amount of unencumbered funds that can be used to cover moving to province and settle.
French Speaking Skilled Worker Stream:
There are some conditions to be met for applying through this stream and they are follows:
• All candidates must have Bachelors, Master’s or Ph.d degree from Canada. In case of foreign degree, must have a ECA certificate to verify the equivality.
• Applicant must have a Canadian Language Benchmark(CLB) level of 7 in French, and of 6 or higher in English.
• Candidate applying through Federal Skilled Worker Program(FSWP) must have at least 1 year of paid experience in NOC approved level O,A or B occupation in past 60 months. Candidates applying through Canadian Experience Class(CEC) must have at least one year of full-time experience under NOC level O,A or B approved occupations.
• Applying through this program, applicant must have intent to reside in Ontario province.
If nominated by Ontario PNP, candidate will have 30 days to accept the nomination and on acceptance 600 points will be awarded to the applicant in express profile.
International Student Category:
Designed for international student category to study in Ontario province. There are also three sub-categories:
• Pilot International Masters Graduate Stream: Maximum of 1,000 applications are accepted in this pilot program. Applying through this program doesn’t need any job offers but there are some requirements for this program:
a. Must be interested in living in Ontario.
b. Graduated from an existing Masters program at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario.
c. Must have resided in Ontario for at least one full year during the past two years.
d. One academic year must be completed on a full-time bases.
• International PHD Students Stream: Condition to be met in this program are as:
a. Must have graduated from an existing PhD program at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario. Or successfully completed all of the degree requirements for such a program. Or, finally, have at least two years of completed PhD studies at an eligible publicly funded university in Canada.
b. Application must be submitted no later than two years from the date PhD was receives.
• International Student with a Job Offer Stream: Conditions to be met are as:
a. At least half of studies must have been in Canada.
b. Must have acquired a permanent, full-time job offer in a skilled occupation.
c. Application must have legal status if living in Canada. A “Joint Verification” form and a “Pre-Screen Position” form are also required from the computer.
Ontario Corporate Stream:
Introduce in fall 2015, it helps to establish and support international corporations interested in expanding into Ontario either by opening or buying a business in the province. Through this program, important employees of foreign corporation can be nominated for Canadian permanent residence visa once the business has been successfully set-up in the province. Conditions for this program are as follows:
• Corporation must invest $5 million or more in the new or existing Ontario business.
• Five permanent, full-time jobs must be created for Canadian citizens or Canadian permanent residents for each OINP nomination made under this category.
• Nominated staff members have 24 months to demonstrate a minimum English language requirement in accordance with nomination criteria.
• The international business must be well established with a proven track record over the past 36 months or longer.
A maximum of 5 people can be nominated under this OINP stream for each Ontario business purchased or created by a foreign corporation.
Ontario Entrepreneur Stream:
Ontario PNP Entrepreneur stream is designed to help foreigners buy a business in the province or create a brand new Ontario company. After the business is set-up, they can be invited by Ontario immigration for applying for permanent residence visa under provincial nomination program. Eligibility criteria for applying in this program are as follows:
• Each applicant must have made an investment of minimum $500,000 CAD in Ontario province.
• Nominee must have minimum a net worth of $800,000 net worth.
• Buying or creating a business in Ontario must create at least two permanent, full time employment positions for Canadian permanent residence.
• The entrepreneur must have minimum of 3 years of senior management or business ownership experience.
While opening or buying a business in Ontario province, applicant must have minimum of 33.3% equity share in order to apply for permanent residence under this program.
Human Capital Priorities Stream:
This stream allows the province to select the applicants from the express pool who have shown interest in Ontario provincial nomination program based on necessary skilled work experience, language ability, characteristics, and education value to bring in the province. Applicant must have minimum of 400 points in CRS before getting the provincial nomination. Candidates who have received notification from Ontario province through their MyCIC account have 45 days to apply for Ontario PNP stream. To be able to apply under this stream, following conditions must be met:
• All candidates must have Bachelors, Master’s or Ph.d degree from Canada. In case of foreign degree, must have a ECA certificate to verify the equivality.
• All candidates must have CLB level of 7 in either in English or French.
• Candidates must have got a minimum of 12 months of continuous full time employment in a NOC level O,A or B occupation 5 year prior the interest shown in Ontario province nomination.
• Minimum score of 400 points is required in CRS.
• Must have intention to settle in Ontario province.
• Must have sufficient amount of unencumbered funds that can be used to cover moving to province and settle.
French Speaking Skilled Worker Stream:
There are some conditions to be met for applying through this stream and they are follows:
• All candidates must have Bachelors, Master’s or Ph.d degree from Canada. In case of foreign degree, must have a ECA certificate to verify the equivality.
• Applicant must have a Canadian Language Benchmark(CLB) level of 7 in French, and of 6 or higher in English.
• Candidate applying through Federal Skilled Worker Program(FSWP) must have at least 1 year of paid experience in NOC approved level O,A or B occupation in past 60 months. Candidates applying through Canadian Experience Class(CEC) must have at least one year of full-time experience under NOC level O,A or B approved occupations.
• Applying through this program, applicant must have intent to reside in Ontario province.
If nominated by Ontario PNP, candidate will have 30 days to accept the nomination and on acceptance 600 points will be awarded to the applicant in express profile.
Benefits of Ontario Provincial Nomination Program:
Benefits of this program are various. Some of them are as follows:
• Ontario PNP ensure skilled immigrants migrate to the province. It makes the situation such that skilled workers desperately needed in certain industries and employment sectors get fast tracked approval.
• OINP make decision within 60 days. The next step usually takes between 7 and 8 months. In comparison to other it is much faster where other takes 17 to 32 months. In some cases applicants received work permits in 6 months.
• Applicants are not required to take the Federal language test. Instead, they are allowed to show proficiency in other ways.
• Program gives applicants the ability to leave the province during the application process.
