Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program expression of interest system streams

Overview

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) uses an expression of interest system to manage its applications 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
• PhD Graduate stream
• Entrepreneur stream*

*Please note that the Entrepreneur stream uses different scoring factors for its expression of interest system. For more information on these scoring factors and registering an expression of interest, please visit the Entrepreneur stream’s expression of interest page.

Before you can apply to these streams, you must register an expression of interest to let the OINP know you wish to be invited to apply.

You can only apply to these streams if you are invited. Registering an expression of interest is not the same as applying to the OINP or applying for permanent residency.

Registering allows the OINP to gather important information about you in order to rank and select those who are most likely to meet Ontario’s economic and labour market needs, based on one or more of the following attributes:

• education – level and field of education and where completed
• language – English or French
• regional immigration – intention to settle outside of the Greater Toronto Area
• skill and work experience level
• earnings history
• other factors relevant to employment prospects – job offer in Ontario, Canadian work experience
• strategic priorities – attributes that would address immediate labour market needs in Ontario or a region of Ontario

Before you apply

How to register an expression of interest

Read the stream requirements to ensure you are eligible.

The information you provide in your expression of interest must be accurate at the time you register or update your expression of interest.

Your Attestation Form must be completed on the same day you register your Expression of Interest (EOI). Should you receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), you are required to upload this form as part of your application.

You can only register one expression of interest per OINP stream at any given time.

Fees

There is no fee to register an expression of interest. If you are invited to apply to the program, you will be required to pay an application fee at that time. Application fees differ by stream.

Updating your information

You can update your expression of interest in the OINP e-filing portal with new information at any time up until the time you receive an invitation to apply or your expression of interested is deleted.

Validity period

Your expression of interest registration will remain valid for up to 12 months until you receive an invitation to apply or until you withdraw your registration. After 12 months, your expression of interest will automatically be deleted. If you are still interested in applying to the program, you must register a new expression of interest.

Register an expression of interest

After you register an expression of interest

Once you have registered an expression of interest, please do not contact the program.

If you are invited to apply, you will receive a notification in the OINP e-Filing Portal. It is important to note that:

• a registration does not guarantee that you will be invited to apply to the OINP
• an invitation to apply does not guarantee you will receive a certificate of nomination

You must demonstrate that you meet all stream requirements at the time of your application, including that you had the qualifications that you claimed in your expression of interest registration.

If it is determined that any information provided in your expression of interest registration is not accurate, is incorrect, or misleading, your application may be denied, and you may be subject to penalties or prosecution.

Please consult the expression of interest system invitation to apply page for more information about expression of interest draw results.

Invitations and how to apply

Make sure you meet the requirements

Each stream has a number of requirements you must meet before you can apply.

Review the stream requirements below:

Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream

Apply for the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream if you are a skilled foreign worker with a job offer in Ontario.

Employer Job Offer: International Student stream

Apply for the Employer Job Offer: International Student stream if you are a recent graduate with a job offer in Ontario.

Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream

Apply for the Employer Job Offer: In Demand Skills stream if you are a foreign worker in an in-demand occupation with a job offer in Ontario.

Masters Graduate stream

Apply for the Masters Graduate stream if you have a master’s degree from an Ontario university.

PhD Graduate stream

Apply for the PhD Graduate stream if you have a PhD degree from an Ontario university.

If you receive an invitation to apply

From time to time the OINP will rank candidates in one or more of the OINP stream selection pools, either on a general basis (rank all candidates who registered an expression of interest) or on a targeted basis (rank only those candidates who have one or more targeted labour market or human capital attributes) and invite the highest ranking candidates to apply.

If you are invited to apply, your application must be submitted within 14 calendar days from the date you receive the invitation.

Have your supporting documents ready

You must provide supporting documents to validate the information in your application and to prove you meet the eligibility criteria.

All supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded in your online application. Refer to the document checklist for the stream under which you wish to apply.

If a supporting document is not in French or English, you must provide a copy of the original document and a notarized translation of the document. Please read Document translation and notarization for more information.

Remember if you do not upload all the required documents, your application will be returned and your fee refunded.

Cost to apply

For the Masters Graduate, PhD Graduate, and Employer Job Offer: International Student streams, the application fee is $1,500.

For the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker and In-Demand Skills streams, the application fee is as follows:

• $1,500 if the job offer is outside of the Greater Toronto Area
• $2,000 if the job offer is within the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions)

The fee covers the cost of processing your application. We only accept Visa, Visa Debit, Mastercard and Mastercard Debit.

Refunds

We will only refund the fee if we find that your application is incomplete or you withdraw your application before we start processing it.

We will not refund the fee if your application is unsuccessful.

You can check the status of your application through your account in the OINP e-Filing Portal.

Using a representative to apply

Authorizing a paid representative to assist you can be helpful but is not necessary. If you choose to use a representative, please follow the steps on how to appoint one. This will ensure you retain access to, and control of, your online application and allow you to change or end your authorization if need be.

Submit an application

If you are using a representative or you are a representative, the submission process is different. Read Using a representative to apply for information on how to apply.

To apply:

• click the submit an application button below
• log into your ONe-key account as a returning user
• from your My Applications page, click on the file number link to begin your application

It takes a minimum of two hours to complete your application. You don’t have to complete the application all at once. Have your credit card ready (we accept Visa, Visa Debit, Mastercard and Mastercard Debit) and be ready to scan and upload your supporting documents (in English or French).

Submit an application

If you receive an invitation but do not apply

If you receive an invitation to apply but do not submit an application or fail to apply within the required timeline, your expression of interest will be removed from the stream selection pool (expressions of interest you may have registered for other streams will not be removed).

You will receive an email notification that your expression of interest has been removed from the selection pool. You may register a new expression of interest at any time.

How we choose candidates to invite

The answers you provide to each question in your expression of interest registration will be scored based on several scoring factors. Once submitted, your expression of interest registration will then be entered into a selection pool. Each OINP stream has its own selection pool. All candidates registering for the same stream will be placed in the same selection pool.

Scoring factors

We will score your answers using the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system to assign points to your job offer and Canadian work experience.

Find your job's NOC to determine its skill level and type.

If you are invited to apply, you will be required to submit specific documents to support each scoring factor for which you received points. Scoring factors are not the same as stream criteria. You must meet all the criteria for the stream you wish to apply and provide the mandatory documents with your application. Refer to the document checklist for each stream.

Employment / labour market factors

Education

Language

Regionalization

How the EOI scoring is applied to each stream

After you apply to the OINP

After you (or your representative) submits your application, you will get an email to confirm that we have received it.

You can check the status of your application through your account in the OINP e-Filing Portal at any time.

For regular updates on processing times, read OINP Application processing times and nominations issued.

If you are nominated, your next step is to apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence. IRCC makes the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.

Withdrawing your application

To withdraw your application, click on the Withdraw button next to your file number on your main page of the OINP e-Filing Portal.

Please note: We will only refund the application fee if you withdraw your application before we start processing it.

Changes in personal information

You must notify us if there are any changes to the information provided in your application, including (but not limited to) changes in:

• contact information
• immigration status (expiration or change in work permit)
• family composition due to:
  • marriage or common-law relationship
  • birth of a child
  • change of custody of a child
  • divorce/separation
  • death

You can make changes to your telephone number, email address and country of residence by logging into the OINP e-Filing Portal and clicking on “My Profile” on your main page. After the change has been made, click “Save”.

For all other changes, or to correct a data entry error (for example if you misspelled your name):

• complete and save a Change of Personal Information form
• send the completed form by email as an attachment to ontarionominee@ontario.ca
• use the subject line “Application Change Notice – [File number]”
• if you are requesting a correction to your name or date of birth, please also include a copy of the personal details page of your passport to validate your request

Please note: We will not accept requests to completely change a name or date of birth.

If you do not notify us of changes to your personal information it could impact the outcome of your application.

If you are nominated

If your application is successful, you will receive a nomination approval letter, a work permit support letter (if applicable) and a nomination certificate by email.

Once we notify you, your next step is to apply for permanent residence to IRCC within six months.

You will need to include your nomination approval letter and nomination certificate.

A nomination does not guarantee approval of your application for permanent residence with IRCC.

You may request an extension of your nomination certificate if you applied to IRCC but your application for permanent residence was returned due to being incomplete, or you were delayed in gathering supporting documents (for example, police criminal record check) for your application for permanent residence.

Only requests that comply with the above requirements will be granted.

You can request an extension by emailing the OINP at ontarionominee@ontario.ca with both of the following:

• a letter of explanation describing the reason to extend your nomination certificate
• a copy of the incomplete letter from IRCC (if applicable)

For streams that require a job offer, refer to the applicable stream page for conditions of nomination and details about the work permit support letter.

If you are not nominated

If your application is unsuccessful, we will let you know by email.

If you think we made an error in our decision that led to your application being refused, you may ask for an internal review.

To request an internal review:

• Download and complete the Notice of Request for Internal Review form. Ensure that you carefully read the instructions on the form.
• In a separate document, clearly identify an error or errors in the director’s decision or order that, if not made, would have resulted in the decision or order being decided differently (see subsection 10(1)(a) of Ontario Regulation 421/17 (General))
• Send the completed Notice of Request for Internal Review form and all supporting documents by email to internalreview-revisioninterne@ontario.ca. You must email us within 30 calendar days of receiving your notice of refusal.

Do not include any new information that you did not include in your original application, unless that information was not reasonably available to you at the time the decision or order was made.

New information that you did not include in your application because of an oversight will not be considered.

Internal review requests must be sent by email. We will not accept requests by mail, fax or in person.

This is a summary document only. For your application to be approved, you must follow the process and meet the criteria established under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015 and its regulations. To the extent that there is any discrepancy between this document and the legislation, the legislation governs.

Contact us

Ask us a question by email at ontarionominee@ontario.ca or by phone from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at:

• Tel: 416-327-0374
• Toll-free: 1-866-214-6820 (toll-free within North America only)
• TTY: 416-325-0866
• Toll-free TTY: 1-866-853-2137

Technical problems

If you are experiencing technical issues with applying online, send us an email at ontarionominee@ontario.ca and include:

• your file number
• description of the problem
• screenshots
• your full name and contact information

We will review your email and respond to you as soon as possible.