Ontario Immigration
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) supports Ontario employers by facilitating the immigration of managerial, professional and skilled foreign workers and international students required to meet their human resources needs.
The province of Ontario operates the OINP in partnership with the federal immigration department, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Interested candidates must follow a two-stage process: apply for nomination to the provincial government, and then, if nominated, apply for permanent residence to the federal government.
OINP Streams
The OINP manages two intake systems to manage applications: Expression of Interest, Express Entry and Business Immigration. Each intake system is further divided into several streams.
Applicants must register in either the Expression of Interest system or the Express Entry system to let the OINP know that they wish to be invited to apply.
Expression of Interest
All streams in this category operate through the OINP’s Express of Interest System. To qualify, a candidate needs to register an expression of interest and receive an invitation to apply.
- Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream
- Employer Job Offer: International Student Stream
- Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream
- Masters Graduate Stream
- PhD Graduate Stream
Express Entry
These streams operate through the federal government’s Express Entry System and are catered to candidates who have the skills and experience that Ontario employers need. Candidates must first register in the Express Entry system and receive a notification of interest before applying.
- Human Capital Priorities Stream
- Skilled Trades Stream
- French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream
Ontario has suspended applications to the Entrepreneur Stream, and has stopped accepting new expressions of interest.
OINP Draws
The OINP issues periodic Invitations to Apply (ITAs) through its Expression of Interest system and Notifications of Interest (NOIs) to candidates in the Express Entry pool, allowing them to apply for nomination under one of the targeted streams. The details and methodology used are published after the draws are done.