2016 Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Updates

November

November 28, 2016

On November 14, 2016, Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced changes to the Express Entry System. These changes take effect on November 19, 2016. The changes include:

• Awarding Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points to those who have completed high school-level or higher education in Canada
• Lowering CRS points awarded for those with job offers, and
• Lengthening the time candidates have to submit an application for permanent residence after they receive an invitation to apply

Please visit the IRCC website for details about the changes to Express Entry.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has two streams that are used in conjunction with the Express Entry system: the Human Capital Priorities Stream and the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream. To qualify for these streams you must have successfully submitted a profile for the Express Entry system, and maintained your eligibility for Express Entry throughout the processing of your OINP application.

Those who have applied to the Human Capital Priorities Stream must also maintain a CRS score of 400 or above during the processing stage(s) of their OINP application, and during the subsequent federal Express Entry processing stages.

Please note that the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration has placed a temporary pause on the intake of applications for the Human Capital Priorities Stream. However, all applications received before the pause will be processed to completion.

August

August 23, 2016

Important notification

Re: Entrepreneur Stream

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has launched an online application process to make it easier to register an Expression of Interest (EOI), make it easier to apply to the Entrepreneur Stream if invited, and improve processing times for applicants.

EOIs that were received before 11:59 p.m. EDT, August 28, 2016, will be part of the first draw. Results of the first draw will be announced in the coming days.

Draws occur periodically throughout the year with results from each draw posted online. EOIs are valid for a period of one year (12 months) from the date of receipt. Entrepreneurs are welcome to submit another EOI if they are not invited to apply before their EOI expires. Please refer to the Entrepreneur Stream Guide for more information.

Our ministry is committed to improving its application and business systems. Additional online application systems are being developed over the coming months.

Please monitor the OINP update webpage for news, announcements and new developments in the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.

August 2, 2016

Update to the three years of active business requirement for employer applications

Employers must demonstrate that they have been in active business (corporations, limited partnerships and sole proprietorships) for at least 3 years before submitting an application to the OINP. This includes recently amalgamated corporations who are able to demonstrate that:

• the business (including one of the predecessor businesses) has been in continuous operation for three years
• that the job-offers to potential nominees are still valid; and
• that the restructuring does not affect the employment opportunities of Ontarians

In order to demonstrate that they meet the above criteria, employers who have been amalgamated in the past three years are required to provide the following documents.

• A written statement explaining the need for foreign workers if layoffs occurred as a result of the amalgamation

If the amalgamation took place prior to the submission of, or approval of, the employer application, the employer must provide:

• Revenue Canada Schedules 125 (Income Statement Information) and 141 (Accounting Practitioner Information) or the company’s financial statements signed by a certified accountant for the pre-amalgamated and post-amalgamated corporations covering the three years prior to the application being submitted
• Revenue Canada T4 Summary for the pre-merger and post-merger corporations covering the three years prior to the application being submitted

If an amalgamation took place after an employer application is approved, the employer must also provide an updated job offer letter for each position. The new offer must match the key information that was approved by the program during the employer pre-screen application process. Specifically the position must:

• be permanent and full time
• be the same National Occupational Classification (NOC) code as the previous offer
• offer the same wage or a higher wage as the previous offer; and
• be for the same number of hours as the previous offer

Please note: on May 9, 2016 the OINP temporarily paused intake of new pre-screen applications (see program update for May 9, 2016). The guidance above applies only to applications received by the Program prior to May 9, 2016.

May

May 30, 2016

Important notification: Fraudulent calls

Some members of the public have received fraudulent calls from an OINP phone number (416-327-0374) requesting payment of funds, and threatening deportation. These calls are not being made by OINP staff. This may be a case of Call ID spoofing which is used by individuals to disguise their phone number to appear as someone else.

OINP never contacts clients by phone to collect funds.

Never give out personal information such as account numbers, social insurance number (SIN), mother’s maiden name, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls.

OINP recommends that if you have concerns about the legitimacy of a call, you should ask for the name of the agent calling, and then email the OINP at ontarionominee@ontario.ca to confirm whether the call was genuine.

Anyone receiving a telephone call from an OINP phone number demanding payment should hang up immediately and contact their local police and notify OINP. You may also report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by telephone at 1-888-495-8501 or through their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.

May 9, 2016
Important notification

As a result of changes Ontario has made to more closely align the streams of the program with the needs of its labour market, the province has already received the sufficient number of OINP applications to meet its 2016 federal allocation. This is further proof that Ontario remains a very sought after destination for highly-skilled workers.

Following the lead of other jurisdictions, Ontario has made the responsible decision to place a temporary pause on the intake of applications for select, high-volume OINP streams. Other provinces have also done this in the past after fully maximizing their allotments. It’s important to note that lower-volume streams of the OINP and other options continue to be available.

• Ontario stopped sending Notifications of Interest (NOIs) for the OINP Human Capital Priorities (Express Entry) stream effective February 16, 2016.
• Ontario temporarily paused the intake of new applications for the following select, high-volume OINP streams effective 5 p.m. EDT on May 9, 2016:
  • Employer Pre-screen
  • International Student – Masters Graduate stream
  • International Student – PhD Graduate stream
• All applications for the Employer Pre-screen and International Students (Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate) streams sent after 5 p.m. EDT on May 9, 2016 will not be processed and will be returned to the applicant along with the unprocessed payment.
• The OINP will continue to accept applications from Foreign Worker and International Student with a Job Offer applicants as Employer Pre-screen applications are assessed. Only those Foreign Worker and International Student with a Job Offer applicants whose job offer has been approved through the Employer Pre-screen application process may apply to the OINP. These applicants will have 60 days from the date of the Employer Pre-screen approval letter to apply to either of these streams.
• The OINP continues to accept and process applications for the French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream and the Corporate stream. The OINP also continues to accept Expressions of Interest for the Entrepreneur stream.
• Ontario remains a top destination for workers and their families from all over the world.
• Ontario anticipates that it will receive its 2017 nomination allocation from the federal government before the end of November 2016, and the province expects to be in a position to accept applications for some streams in six months.
• Given the positive effect of the program on Ontario’s economy, the province continues to engage the federal government on nominee numbers.

There are many ways to immigrate to Ontario:

• The federal government determines the maximum number of nominations Ontario can award annually. Each year, there are about 300,000 immigrants that come to Canada. Of these, Ontario is allowed to select 5,500 through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) in 2016. This program, which represents only 1.8 per cent of total immigration to Canada, is targeted towards filling labour market gaps with skilled workers. It is just one option for immigrating to Ontario.
• Please visit the specific webpages for those streams that are still accepting applications or expressions of interest: French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream, Corporate stream and Entrepreneur stream.
• In addition, other options are available from the federal government.

Please monitor the OINP update webpage for news, announcements and new developments with the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.

We’re improving our system:

Ontario is committed to providing an efficient and streamlined application processing system. Improvements to the OINP application process will be implemented in the coming months – including a move to an online application processing system. Our goal is to make it easier to apply, and to improve processing times.

April

April 8, 2016

Update to the settlement fund requirement for Ontario express entry and masters graduates

All applicants to the Masters Graduate Stream and the Ontario Express Entry Streams (Human Capital Priorities and the French-Speaking Skilled Worker) must demonstrate that they have sufficient funds and/or income to cover settlement costs in Ontario for themselves and their dependant family members. For more information, please review the “Settlement Funds” section of the applicable guide.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) determines settlement fund requirements based on the Low-Income Cut-Offs (LICO) for different family sizes. These amounts are updated every year by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). You can find the new LICO requirements here.

For applicants who have applied on or after May 6, 2016: please ensure that your application package contains supporting information which demonstrates you meet the new settlement funds requirement.

For applicants who have submitted an application prior to May 6, 2016: your application will be evaluated against the settlement funds requirement that was in place at the time of application. That is, you will need to meet the LICO requirement of 2015. Please note that applicants of the Ontario Express Entry Streams may be refused by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) when they apply for permanent resident status if they do not meet the new 2016 LICO.

*Note that the number of family members includes both accompanying and non-accompanying dependents.

March

March 4, 2016

Clarification: Wage requirements

The OINP expects that the employee will receive pay for hours worked according to the information provided by the employer. The OINP requires that an employer’s wage offer to a prospective nominee be described on the basis of the individual’s hourly wage expressed as either a) hourly pay and hours per year, or b) weekly pay and weeks per year. This allows the program to verify that prospective nominees will be appropriately remunerated.

Please note: The program does not consider remuneration by piece work, bonuses, commissions, vacation pay or non-financial compensation as comprising part of a prospective nominee’s offered wage. An employer may offer a prospective nominee piece work, bonuses, commissions, or non-financial compensation in addition to base pay. However, these will not be considered part of the prospective nominee’s hourly or weekly base pay. Additionally, the hourly or weekly base pay offered to the prospective nominee must meet or exceed the prevailing wage (for the Foreign Worker Stream) or entry-level wage (for the International Student with a Job Offer Stream) established by occupation and region on the federal government’s Job Bank website.

February

February 29, 2016

The OINP collects credit card information to verify an applicant’s residency history and/or assess an applicant’s intention to settle in Ontario.

This update provides guidelines on the submission of credit card information to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).

Please note that documents containing sensitive credit card information must be redacted to be accepted by the OINP. To sufficiently redact the sensitive information from your credit card statement, please do the following:

• Using a black marker, block out the entire cardholder account number on all pages of your credit card statements or other documents containing this information, if applicable.
• Photocopy the document(s) after you have blocked out all appearances of the cardholder account number and security code, if applicable.
• Submit the photocopied document(s) only, not the originals.

Applicants should not submit credit card statements unless they are specified to do so in the application guide/form or are otherwise requested to do so by program staff to support an application.

Where the program requests supplemental financial information to support an application, applicants are asked to remove any credit card information prior to forwarding to OINP.

Please be advised that the OINP cannot accept redacted documents containing credit card information via email or fax. Redacted documents containing credit card information must be forwarded via mail/courier or dropped off in person at the OINP offices.

Effective March 30^th, 2016, application submissions that contain documents with credit card information that lack sufficient redaction will be returned to applicants as incomplete submissions because these documents cannot be accepted by OINP.

January

January 20, 2016

Entrepreneur stream criteria clarification – Updated guide

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Entrepreneur Stream Guide has been updated to clarify the minimum business experience requirement.

Entrepreneurs and their business partner (if applicable) are required to have a minimum of 36 months of full-time business experience in the last 60 months. Entrepreneurs and their business partner are not required to have spent the last 12 months in either active general business administration or in an area of expertise related to the proposed business opportunity provided they meet the minimum requirement of 36 months in the last 60 months of full-time business experience.

This clarification has no impact on the Expression of Interest (EOI) submission process. EOIs already submitted will not be impacted. Please note that meeting the minimum business experience requirement, or other minimum requirements, does not guarantee that you will receive an invitation to apply to the Entrepreneur Stream.

The updated OINP Entrepreneur Stream Guide is effective immediately.

Please keep checking this website for further program updates.

January 11, 2016

Individuals submitting an application to either of Ontario‘s Express Entry streams – the Human Capital Priorities Stream or the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream – must provide an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report for education obtained outside of Canada. An ECA report is used to verify that education obtained abroad meets the education requirements of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program’s (OINP) Express Entry streams.

All applicants to the OINP must provide an original ECA report or a copy of the report as part of their application package. Further, the process for individuals to authorize an ECA granting organization to share information with the OINP differs by organization. Please review the information below to learn more about the process for the organization with which you have an ECA or to which you will be applying for an ECA.

If you have any specific questions about the process for getting an ECA, or about how to provide authorization to share your ECA results with the OINP, please contact the ECA granting organization with which you are working.

Please also note that the information in this program update supersedes information found in the OINP application guides and forms for the Human Capital Priorities Stream and the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream.

Comparative Education Service (CES)

Applicants to the OINP must submit a copy of their CES ECA report and must authorize CES to share the results of their ECA with the OINP by filling out the following consent form: http://learn.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Release-Information-Designate-OR-Withdraw-Representation.pdf.

If you have not yet applied for an ECA you should include the consent form as part of your ECA application package. If you have already submitted an application package for an ECA, you should fill out the form and send it to the CES by email. Please include your CES file number in the email.

International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS)

Applicants to the OINP must submit a copy of their ICAS ECA report. The ECA report must be included as part of your OINP application package. If it is not included, your application will be considered incomplete and will be returned to you.

Medical Council of Canada (MCC)

Applicants to the OINP must submit a copy of their MCC ECA report and must grant the MCC authority to share their information with the OINP. To do this, you must go to your physiciansapply.ca account and send an email to the MCC service desk which gives consent for the MCC to share your ECA report with the OINP. Please be sure to enter “Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program” in the subject line of the email.

Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC)

Applicants to the OINP must include the original ECA report issued by PEBC as part of the application package to the OINP. If it is not included, your application will be considered incomplete and will be returned to you.

World Education Services (WES)

All applications to the OINP must include a copy of the applicant’s WES ECA report.
You must also authorize WES to share the results of your ECA report with the OINP:

• If you already have an ECA:
  • If you have an existing WES ECA report, you must order a duplicate of the report at: https://www.wes.org/ca/apply/xcopycic.asp. The “Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, MCI” must be indicated as the recipient of the report.
• If you do not have an ECA:
  • If you are applying for the first time for an ECA report, you must select the “Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, MCI” as a recipient of the report.