What is the OINP?
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is an economic immigration program. It allows the province of Ontario to nominate eligible candidates for permanent residency if they meet the region’s economic and labour market needs.
How many streams are under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program?
This OINP has nine streams catering to candidates with varying experience, education and qualifications. It includes streams for candidates with a job offer in Canada like the:
- Employer job offer: Foreign worker stream
- Employer job offer: International Student Stream
- Employer Job offer: In-demand skills stream
Streams for candidates with a Masters’s or Ph.D. degree from an Ontario University:
- Masters Graduate stream
- Ph.D. Graduate stream
Streams for candidates with the skills and experience needed by Ontario employers:
- Human Capital Priorities stream
- Skilled Trades stream
- French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream
Streams for foreign entrepreneurs with a business idea:
- Entrepreneur stream
What is an Expression of Interest?
The OINP uses the Expression of Interest system to manage the streams for candidates with job offers and international students. Under this system, candidates cannot apply directly to the program. Instead, interested candidates must register an Expression of Interest (EOI) with the province. The province then picks and sends Invitations to apply (ITA) to eligible candidates who meet the province’s needs.
This system is used to select candidates for the following streams:
- Employer job offer: Foreign worker stream
- Employer job offer: International Student Stream
- Employer Job offer: In-demand skills stream
- Masters Graduate stream
- Ph.D. Graduate stream
How to register an Expression of Interest with the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program?
Candidates can register an Expression of Interest (EOI) at the OINP portal.
The candidate can only apply to the program once the province approves their profile and sends an Invitation to apply. This application must be made within 14 days of receiving an invitation to apply.
How are candidates chosen?
Candidates are chosen on the basis of their profile score.
The scoring is based on different factors, including the applicant’s labour market factors, education, language, and regionalization.
What were the new changes made to the OINP scoring factors?
Starting November 16, 2022, Canada adopted the 2021 version of the National Occupational Classification (NOC 2021). This new NOC replaces the ‘skill levels’ of the previous model with a new ‘Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities’ (TEER) category.
The new NOC TEER has six categories for a clearer distinction between the employment requirements of each level.
Updated Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program scoring factors for 2022
The OINP scoring factors were updated to comply with the new TEER categories. The updated scoring factors and the points available for each factor are given below:
Employment/ labour market factors
| Job offer: NOC TEER | Points |
| NOC TEER category 0 or 1 | 10 |
| NOC TEER category 2 or 3 | 8 |
| NOC TEER category 4 | 0 |
| NOC TEER category 5 | 0 |
| Job offer: broad occupational category | Points |
| Occupational category 0,2,3 | 10 |
| Occupational category 7 | 7 |
| Occupational category 1,9 | 5 |
| Occupational category 4,8 | 4 |
| Occupational category 5,6 | 3 |
| Job offer: wage | Points |
| $40 per hour or higher | 10 |
| $35 to $39.99 per hour | 8 |
| $30 to $34.99 per hour | 7 |
| $25 to $29.99 per hour | 6 |
| $20 to $24.99 per hour | 5 |
| Less than $20 per hour | 0 |
| Work permit status | Points |
| With a valid work permit | 10 |
| Without a valid work permit | 0 |
| Job tenure with job offer employer | Points |
| Six months or more working in the offered position | 3 |
| Less than six months working in the offered position | 0 |
| Canadian work experience and earnings history | Points |
| $40k or more in a year | 3 |
| Less than $40k in a year | 0 |
Education factors
| Highest level of education | Points |
| PhD | 10 |
| Masters | 8 |
| Bachelors | 6 |
| College diploma or trade certificate | 5 |
| Less than a college certificate | 0 |
| Field of study | Points |
| STEM/health and trades | 12 |
| All other fields (except art and trades) | 6 |
| Arts and humanities | 0 |
| Canadian education experience | Points |
| More than one Canadian credential | 10 |
| One Canadian credential | 5 |
Language factors
| Official language ability | Points |
| CLB 9 or higher | 10 |
| CLB 8 | 6 |
| CLB 7 | 4 |
| CLB 6 | 0 |
| Knowledge of official languages | Points |
| Two official languages (minimum CLB score of 7 in one official language and 6 in the second official language) | 10 |
| One official language | 5 |
Regionalization factors
| Location of job offer | Points |
| Northern Ontario | 10 |
| Areas outside the Greater Toronto area | 8 |
| Inside GTA | 3 |
| Toronto | 0 |
| Location of study | Points |
| Northern Ontario | 10 |
| Areas outside GTA | 8 |
| Inside GTA | 3 |
| Toronto | 0 |
Below is a chart showing the scoring factors applicable to each program.
| Scoring factor | Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker | Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills | Employer Job Offer: International Student |
Masters Graduate | Ph.D. Graduate |
| Job offer: NOC TEER category | Scored | Not applied | Scored | Not applied | Not applied |
| Job offer: NOC broad occupational category | Scored | Scored | Scored | Not applied | Not applied |
| Job offer: wage | Scored | Scored | Scored | Not applied | Not applied |
| Work permit status | Scored | Scored | Scored | Scored | Scored |
| Job tenure with job offer employer | Scored | Scored | Scored | Not applied | Not applied |
| Earnings history | Scored | Scored | Scored | Scored | Scored |
| Highest level of education | Not applied | Not applied | Scored | Not applied | Not applied |
| Field of study | Not applied | Not applied | Scored | Scored | Scored |
| Canadian education experience | Not applied | Not applied | Scored | Scored | Scored |
| Official language ability | Scored | Not applied | Scored | Scored | Scored |
| Knowledge of official languages | Scored | Not applied | Scored | Scored | Scored |
| Regional immigration: location of job offer | Scored | Scored | Scored | Not applied | Not applied |
| Regional immigration: location of study | Not applied | Not applied | Scored | Scored | Scored |
What is the cost of applying for OINP?
The cost of application is a uniform $1,500 for the Master’s Graduate, Ph.D. Graduate and Employer Job Offer: International Student streams.
The Employer job offer: Foreign worker and In-demand skills streams have different fees depending on if the job offer is outside or within the Greater Toronto area. The fee is $1,500 for job offers outside the Greater Toronto area and $2,000 for offers within the Greater Toronto Area.
How many Invitations to apply have been issued in 2022?
As of November 2022, the OINP has issued the following number of Invitations for each stream:
| OINP Streams | Invitations |
| Employer job offer: Foreign Worker stream | 1,534 |
| Employer job offer: International Student Stream | 1,812 |
| Employer job offer: In-demand skills stream | 523 |
| Masters Graduate stream | 3,165 |
| Ph.D. Graduate stream | 445 |
Conclusion
The OINP’s revamped scoring system will bring it in line with the new TEER categories. In their own words, the updated scoring matrix is designed to enhance regionalization, improve operational efficiency, and reduce the program’s exposure to program integrity risks.
