What is the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)?

Ontario's immigration programs include the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and Ontario Express Entry.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program

OINP is an immigration program for people who have a job offer in Ontario. It can also help employers find the skilled workers they need.

In this program, employers or investors apply to recruit or retain people who are foreign nationals or temporary residents. If the province of Ontario approves an application, they will nominate that person for permanent residence.

Once you have been nominated by a province or territory, you must apply for permanent residence with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

There are several categories of nominees:

Employers can recruit through the Employer Job Offer International Student Stream
Individuals can apply through the International Masters Graduate Category and the PhD Graduates Category
Business owners and entrepreneurs can apply through the Corporate stream and the Entrepreneur stream

General Category

To be eligible under the General Category, you must:

Live outside Canada or in Canada with legal status (for example, you have a valid work permit); and
Have a job offer in Ontario that is Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or Skill Level A (professional occupations) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades) on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC); and
Have an employer that is pre-screened and approved by Opportunities Ontario.

Your employer must nominate you and begin the application process. You cannot apply on your own.

You can find out more about this program on the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream page of the Ontario.ca website.

Employer Job Offer: International Student Stream

To be eligible under the International Student Category, you must:

Have a diploma or a degree from an eligible Canadian college or university; and
Have a job offer from an Ontario employer that is Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or Skill Level A (professional occupations) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades) on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC); and
Have an employer that is pre-screened and approved by Opportunities Ontario.

Your job offer does not have to be related to your field of study. You can find out more about the Employer Job Offer: International Student Stream from the Ontario.ca website.

International Masters and PhD Graduates

The International Masters Graduates and International PhD Graduates categories do not require a job offer. If you apply through these categories, you do not need an employer.

To be eligible under the International Masters Graduates category, you must:

Apply within two years of earning your Masters Degree; and
Reside in Ontario with legal status in Canada; and
Have lived in Ontario for one cumulative year during the past two years and plan to live and work in Ontario in the future; and
Demonstrate a high level of English and French proficiency; and
Have no intention of pursuing further studies in Ontario.

To be eligible under the International PhD Graduates category, you must:

Apply within two years of earning your PhD Degree; and
Have legal status in Canada (although you can apply from outside Canada); and
Intend to live and work in Ontario.

Corporate and Entrepreneur Streams

To be eligible under the Corporate stream, your corporation and its key staff must:

Invest at least $5 million in a business; and
Create five full-time and permanent positions for Canadian citizens or permanent residents for every key staff; and
Key staff must be essential to the business, and they must meet a minimum language requirement (Canadian Language Benchmark 5).

To be eligible under the Entrepreneur stream, you must:

Make a minimum investment of $500 000; and
Create at least two full-time permanent positions for Canadian citizens or permanent residents; and
Meet a minimum language requirement (Canadian Language Benchmark 5)

You can also apply to immigrate through Ontario Express Entry.

For More Information

Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) - Information about Ontario's Provincial Nominee Program. From the Ontario Immigration website.
Provincial Nominees - Information about the Provincial Nominee Program across Canada. Eligibility requirements for this program can differ in each province. From Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
National Occupation Classification (NOC) - The National Occupational Classification (NOC) is the nationally accepted guide to occupations in Canada.
IRCC Help Centre - A tool that helps answer frequently asked questions on immigration matters. It offers several ways of searching through the information available, including search by keyword. From Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).