How to Immigrate to Ontario with Ontario’s PNP (OINP)

As we’ve discussed in other articles, each province of Canada has its own immigration procedure under something called a “Provincial Nominee Program” (PNP). Ontario’s PNP is called the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) and it includes several pathways

The OINP is a great visa option for applicant that are looking to become permanent residents. As with all PNP programs, the OINP is prioritized over many other immigration pathways which makes the processing speed fast and efficient.

The OINP is designed to attract workers that will benefit Ontario: skilled workers, workers in sectors with labour shortages, entrepreneurs, and investors.

Three Types of OINP Categories for Application:

There are three categories within the OINP for foreigners to consider when applying for a work visa under the OINP. However, it must be noted that each of the three categories within the OINP are further divided into specific types of application categories. See below for the structure of application categories within the OINP.

OINP operates three categories of immigration streams:

OINP Category 1	Ontario Human Capital
OINP Category 2	Ontario Employer Job Offer
OINP Category 3	Ontario Entrepreneur

Summary of Ontario Human Capital Category:

The Ontario Human Capital is a group of pathways focusing on skills, abilities and specific work experience. Particularly valuable factors in evaluating an application in this group is English and French bilingual fluency, education or work experience in Ontario, and generally having a competitive profile in the applicant’s federal Express Entry profile.

The specific pathways within the Ontario Human Capital group are listed as follows:

Ontario Human Capital (OINP Group Category )

Human Capital Priorities – Express Entry

French-Speaking Skilled Worker – Express Entry

Skilled Trades – Express Entry

Masters Graduate

PhD Graduate

Summary of Ontario Employer Job Offer Category

Ontario Employer Job Offer category provide immigration options for applicants who have a valid job offer from an Ontario employer. The employer, the job and the employee (applicant) must all meet certain conditions for any of these options to be valid.

Ontario Employer Job Offer Category (OINP Group Category )

Foreign Worker

International Student with a Job Offer

In-Demand Skills

Ontario Entrepreneur Category

Ontario Business immigration is a group of options designed to target wealthy entrepreneurs and corporations who are interested in making significant investments in business development in Ontario. Through this program, entrepreneurs and corporations with proven track records of success can launch new business projects in Ontario. If these projects are successful, the applicants involved will be nominated for Canadian permanent residence.

PROCEDURE: Each of the three categories has a different application procedure.

Ontario Human Capital: This category has the same process for the express entry options. For the express entry options of this category, applicants must create an Express Entry profile. They must then wait to be issued a Notification of Interest (NOI) from the province of Ontario. Once an applicant has the NOI, they may apply to the OINP for provincial nomination which will be competitively processed. If successful, the applicant will then get an invitation to apply for permanent residence in the next Express Entry draw.

The process is different for the two options that are not express entry within the Ontario Human Capital category: the Masters Graduates and PhD Graduates. For these two cases, the applicants must submit an Expression of Interest on Ontario’s online platform called the OINP e-Filing Portal. The most competitive applications will be invited to apply for a provincial nomination. If the nomination is approved, the applicant can then apply for a Canadian permanent residence.

The Ontario Employer Job Offer: This category requires applicants to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through Ontario’s online platform called the OINP e-Filing Portal. Once this is submitted, the applicant will get invited to apply for a nomination if their application is sufficiently competitive. Once nominated, the applicant must submit a federal application for permanent residence which can take up to 18 months to fully process.

Entrepreneur Stream: This category requires applicants to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through Ontario’s online platform called the OINP e-Filing Portal. Once this is submitted, the applicant will get invited to apply for the Entrepreneur Stream if their e-filing submission was sufficiently competitive. Once invited to apply, the applicant must apply and pay $3,500 CAD application fee. If this is all approved, an interview will be scheduled and if the interview is satisfactory, then the applicant will be issued a temporary work permit in order to establish their business practice. Only after the business is established can the applicant then apply for a nomination for permanent residency. The applicant will have 18-20 months to establish their business and apply for the nomination after they have been issued the temporary work permit.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. The information and facts referred to herein may be amended, removed or otherwise changed by the applicable government authority. As such, the information contained herein is provided with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness.