Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)

The following is a guide to help explain the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), and related information to assist in completing the required forms for Immigration, Refugee & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for the employer. Further detailed information about the program and eligibility can be found on the OINP website:

What is the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)?

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is Ontario’s nomination program for permanent residency (PNP). The OINP is designed to contribute to job creation, job retention and economic development by attracting new investment, and by helping employers in targeted sectors to attract and retain qualified employees for jobs for which there are currently labour-market needs. The OINP also supports government priorities by facilitating the immigration of professionals in the health care and education sectors.

The OINP main PNP is mainly employer-driven. This means that as a prospective nominee, you can only apply if your employer is pre-screened, the position is approved, and your employer supports a nominee application package from the OINP.

However, there are two new streams under the international category that do not require a job offer to qualify:

  • the international PhD graduate stream which allows graduates of a PhD program from one of Ontario’s publicly funded universities without the need for a job offer to qualify for the program (other qualifications still apply).
  • the masters graduate stream which allows graduates of a Masters program from one of Ontario’s publicly funded universities with no plans for further education and without the need a job offer to qualify for the program (other qualifications still apply).

Of course, similar to the employer-driven stream, the above two PNP streams have certain requirements that must be met before a nomination can be made. Do read through OINP's websites to make sure you qualify before submitting your application.

The PNP gives Ontario the ability to match immigrants’ skills to Ontario employers’ and labour market needs. It allows Ontario to nominate people for permanent resident status, and have their application fast-tracked by IRCC. IRCC will still perform important functions such as security, police and medical checks on all applicants. It’s a different and additional route and process than for immigrants applying directly to the federal government.

More information from OINP about its PNP streams (.pdf)?

With a job offer:

Every individual who wishes to be nominated by OINP must have a permanent (with no end date), full-time (minimum 30 hrs of paid work per week) job offer. The job offer must be in one of the three skill levels of the National Occupation Code 0, A or B, and this job must be approved by OINP.

The PNP application process therefore has two steps: first, the potential nominee must register in the OINP's Expression of Interest System, and second, the employer must complete the Employer Form to support the nomination.

Step one:
  • The potential nominee must register an Expression of Interest (EOI) in the PNP stream they wish to be considered for. Once registered, the profile will be ranked and placed into the EOI pool for the next round of invitations to apply.
  • Once an invitation to apply is received in the potential nominee's OINP e-Filing Portal account, a full application for the nomination in the stream chosen must be submitted within 14 calendar days.
    * Receipt of an invitation to apply does not mean that the potential nominee qualifies for the nomination stream chosen.
  • At this time, if it was one of the Job Offer streams the invitation to apply was received for, the potential nominee is required to connect with the named employer for the Job Offer to provide the OINP  Employer Form to the employer to complete and return to the potential nominee to upload with their application package.
Step two:
  • Complete the the rest of the profile through the OINP e-Filing Portal and upload all required documents for submission.
  • Once submitted and the processing fees are paid for the nomination, processing can take up to 90 days to finalize.
  • Should the application be deemed approved, a Nomination Certificate will be issued and the nominee can download the Certificate directly from their OINP e-Filing Portal.
Step three:
  • With the Nomination Certificate an application for Permanent Residency (PR) now must be made to Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
  • Individuals nominated by Ontario, and accompanying family members, must still satisfy IRCC requirements, including medical, security and background checks.
  • Once submitted and the processing fees for the PR, processing can take up to 12 months to finalize.

Without a job offer:

Every individual who wishes to be nominated by OINP, must meet one of the two international graduate streams' criteria - either as a Master's or as a PhD graduate. If all requirements are met and a completed nominee application package, along with the appropriate fees are submitted:

  • A provincial nomination certificate will be issued for all successful nominees
  • Once in receipt of the certificate, the nominee must apply to Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
  • Individuals nominated by Ontario, and their accompanying family members, must still satisfy IRCC requirements, including medical, security and background checks.

Contact Information:

For guidance on the program and/or completing the required forms for the PNP, contact one of the following:
 
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP):
Email: ontarionominee@ontario.ca
Telephone: 416-327-0374
Toll-Free: 1-866-214-6820 (toll-free within North America only)
TTY: 416-325-0866 or Toll-Free TTY: 1-866-853-2137
Website: www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-immigrant-nominee-program-oinp
 
Human Resources
University of Waterloo
Telephone : 519-888-4567 ext. 45935
 
Visa and Immigration Support, Legal and Immigration Services
University of Waterloo
Telephone: 519-888-4567 ext. 46332
Website: uwaterloo.ca/legal-and-immigration-services/visa-and-immigration-support