Overview

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is the province’s economic immigration program. It works in partnership with the Government of Canada through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Foreign workers, international students and others with the right skills, experience and education apply to the OINP for a nomination.

The OINP recognizes and nominates people for permanent residence who have the skills and experience the Ontario economy needs, and the Government of Canada makes the final decision to approve applications for permanent residence.

For other ways to immigrate to Ontario, visit the Government of Canada’s website.

What you need to know

The OINP has nine streams you may qualify for.

If you have a job offer in Ontario

 

The following streams operate through the OINP’s Expression of Interest System. To qualify, you must register an expression of interest and receive an invitation to apply.

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.

If you have a Masters or PhD degree from an Ontario university

 

The following streams operate through the OINP’s Expression of Interest System. To qualify, you must register an expression of interest and receive an invitation to apply.

Masters Graduate stream

Apply for the Masters Graduate stream if you have a masters 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 have the skills and experience that Ontario employers need

 

The following streams operate through the federal government’s Express Entry System. To qualify, you must have an Express Entry profile and receive a notification of interest from Ontario.

Human Capital Priorities stream

Apply for the Human Capital Priorities stream if you have the required skilled work experience, education and language abilities

Skilled Trades stream

Apply for the Skilled Trades stream if you are a foreign worker with Ontario work experience in an eligible skilled trade.

French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream

Apply for the French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream if you are a French-speaking foreign worker with strong English language abilities.

If you are a foreign entrepreneur with a great business idea

 

Apply to the Entrepreneur stream as your opportunity to come to Ontario to establish a new business or buy and grow an existing business in the province. This stream operates through an Expression of Interest system. To qualify, you must register an expression of interest and receive an invitation to apply.

Support for businesses

The Business Immigration Services team takes an active role in helping employers find talent solutions with immigration. We are here to help businesses navigate the immigration system to:

  • fill labour shortages
  • retain international students
  • get skilled workers faster

As a designated referral partner under Canada’s Global Skills Strategy, OINP business services can help innovative companies that are scaling-up or significantly investing in Ontario. We offer personalized service that can help businesses get an expedited work permit and labour market impact assessment (LMIA) processing for your highly skilled talent needs.

We provide info-sessions, in-person or teleconference meetings, and dedicated staff for your assistance.

Contact us today at business.immigration@ontario.ca

Promotional materials

To help raise awareness about the OINP, an information sheet is available to download and print:

Contact us

If you have general questions about the OINP:

If you have questions about your application for a visa or temporary permit or your application for permanent residence, please contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada through their website or by telephone at 1-888-242-2100 (in Canada only).