December

December 18, 2015

Full eligibility criteria and application guidelines for the new Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Business Category – Corporate and Entrepreneur Streams are now available.

OINP is now accepting applications under the Corporate Stream. For more information, please visit the Corporate Stream section.

Interested entrepreneurs can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to participate in the Entrepreneur Stream. For more information, please visit the Entrepreneur Stream section.

November

November 24, 2015

Express Entry is an Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) application management system to manage permanent resident applications for skilled migration to Canada.

Ontario uses Express Entry (EE) to select potential nominees for permanent residence under two Ontario Express Entry Streams.

It has come to our attention that technical issues may have resulted in candidates not receiving Notification of Interest (NOI) though they believe they meet the criteria for Ontario’s Express Entry streams. If you believe you fall into this category and have not received an NOI within one month of submitting your EE profile, we encourage you to create a new profile in the EE system. If you create a new EE profile, you must delete your old profile.

If you have any questions about your EE profile please contact Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada.

November 16, 2015

Program update: Temporary pause on OINP “base” stream applications

Annual provincial nomination targets are determined by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) received a base stream allocation of 2,500 nominations for 2015.

OINP has exhausted its base stream allocation for 2015, and the program is unable to issue further nominations under its base streams until January 4, 2016. If you have already submitted an application to the OINP but have not yet received a decision, your application will be finalized in 2016.

If your employer pre-screen application has been approved, the OINP will continue to accept the corresponding nominee application(s) under the Foreign Worker and International Student with a Job Offer streams.

Between November 16th, 2015 and January 3, 2016, the program will not accept any new Employer pre-screen applications or applications under the Master’s and PhD streams. Any applications received during this time period will be returned to the applicant. The program welcomes new applications under these streams starting on January 4, 2016.

Thank you for your interest in the OINP.

October

October 29, 2015

Closure of the investor component and introducing redesigned business streams

The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration is redesigning its OINP business streams to better address the changing needs of Ontario’s economy.

Effective immediately, new applications under the OINP Investor Component will no longer be accepted.

Applications for the redesigned business streams will be available in fall 2015.

All Investor Component applications received on or before October 29, 2015 will not be affected and will be processed under the Investor Component criteria as it applied at the date of application.

This closure to new applications only applies to the OINP Investor Component. It does not affect other OINP categories. Applications will continue to be accepted for:

  • Employer/Job Offer
  • Human Capital including Masters Graduates, PhD Graduates
  • Ontario Express Entry - Human Capital Priorities and Ontario French Speaking Skilled Workers Stream

The OINP is improving its programs to:

  • meet the needs of foreign businesses and entrepreneurs
  • to reflect Ontario’s evolving economic and labour market needs
  • to improve the processes and administration of the program

The OINP is introducing its Corporate and Entrepreneur streams. More information, including full eligibility criteria, application guides and forms, will be available on this website in fall 2015.

Please visit this page for program updates and direct any questions to business.immigration@ontario.ca or immigration.affaires@ontario.ca.

July

July 24, 2015

PNP is now the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program

Effective July 24, Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program will be called the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.

The name change reflects the province’s increased role in selecting immigrants to Ontario, and a more robust program design.

There are no changes to the program eligibility criteria or to the application process. Applications submitted under the old name will not be affected by the change.

June

June 20, 2015

Due to Federal level changes to the issuance of temporary work permits, as of June 20th, 2015, OINP no longer has the authority to issue support letters for open work permits. This only applies to nominees in streams under the Human Capital Categoryand includes all streams that do not require a job offer. To learn about your options for retaining legal status in Canada, see CIC’s website for information about Bridging Open Work Permit eligibility requirements.

All Ontario nominees with a job offer may still qualify for a temporary work permit, and Ontario will continue to support temporary work permit applications of nominees. Please note that a provincial nomination does not guarantee approval of a temporary work permit application, as CIC is responsible for the issuance of temporary work permits.

June 10, 2015

Effective June 25, 2015, Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) will update its application guides and forms. These updated guides and forms reflect previously announced changes to the application process and to required supporting documents, as well as additional changes outlined below. OINP has not made changes to program eligibility criteria.

March

March 17, 2015

Effective April 17, 2015, Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program will not be accepting applications from international students in their final semester of studies. All international student applicants, with or without a job offer, must have met all the degree requirements at the time of application.

Also note that official transcripts for applications submitted on or after April 17, 2015 must be submitted by the applicant as part of a complete application package in the original sealed envelope from the academic institution that will be granting the degree.

For more information, please visit the International Students sections of this website.

Please note that the application guides will be updated shortly to reflect these changes.

February

February 12, 2015

Effective March 16, 2015, Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program will no longer accept incomplete Employer and Nominee applications and will return them to applicants.

An application may be deemed incomplete if, for example:

  • the application form is illegible or incomplete (all fields must be completed, and questions that are not applicable should be marked "N/A")
  • the required supporting documents are not provided, or
  • the translations are not complete, certified or notarized

In cases where Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program returns incomplete applications to applicants, Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program will also return the enclosed processing fees.

Please note that Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program reception staff are not authorized to review the completeness of applications in person. Accordingly, they will not provide in-person advice on whether applications are complete.

February 4, 2015

Every year, Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program’s nomination target is capped by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Ontario’s allocation for 2015 has been set at 5,200. This includes nominations for both PNP and Express Entry.

Ontario is currently developing its approach to Express Entry. Information will be posted on our website as soon as it becomes available.