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Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)
Last updated: 2026-09-17
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) belongs to Canada's largest province by population and economy, and has historically received the largest nomination allocation of any province. On June 25, 2026, however, Ontario rebuilt the program: all eight former streams — employer job offer foreign worker, in-demand skills and international student, the masters and PhD graduate streams, and the three Express Entry streams — were closed and replaced by a single Ontario Workforce Priority Stream. The new stream covers a wider range of occupations but raises the language and education bars and sets explicit requirements for employer size. Its Expression of Interest system opened on August 4, 2026.
- Who it suits
- Skilled workers, tradespeople and intermediate-skilled workers with an Ontario job offer, plus self-employed physicians
- Language
- CLB 6 for most positions; CLB 5 for skilled trades; CLB 4 for TEER 4 and 5
- Application fee
- CAD $1,500 outside the Greater Toronto Area; $2,000 inside it
- Deadlines
- After an invitation: 14 days for the employer, 17 for the applicant; PR within 6 months of nomination
Official processing times
Taken from IRCC's own processing times tool and synced twice a month.
| Application type | Published processing time |
|---|---|
| Provincial nominee — Express Entry | about 7 months |
| Provincial nominee — base track | about 13 months |
IRCC data updated: October 9, 2026 · Synced by us: 2026-10-20
Processing times are IRCC's statistics on applications it has already finished — a guide, not a commitment. Individual files vary with document completeness, requests for more information and background checks. For applications where the time depends on where you file, only a few common locations are listed; use IRCC's tool for others.
Pathways within the new stream
The Ontario Workforce Priority Stream is now the only open stream, with pathways defined by occupation level and applicant circumstances.
TEER 0–3 positions
- For management, professional and technical roles
- CLB 6 in all four abilities
- A post-secondary credential, with an ECA for foreign qualifications
- Work experience can be met three different ways — see below
TEER 4–5 positions
- For intermediate-skilled and entry-level roles
- CLB 4 in all four abilities
- A secondary school diploma is enough
- The most accessible pathway in the new stream
Skilled trades
- For licensed trades and comparable skilled occupations
- CLB 5, slightly below the general requirement
- A secondary school diploma is enough
- Suited to candidates with genuine trade credentials
Self-employed physicians
- No job offer required — the exception within the stream
- An OHIP billing number is required
- Appropriate registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
- A deliberate response to Ontario's physician shortage
Applicant requirements
- Work experience for TEER 0–3 can be met three ways: six months of consecutive, paid, full-time experience in the offered position; recent graduation from an Ontario institution; or two years of cumulative experience in the same NOC
- Language: CLB 6 in all four abilities for most positions, CLB 5 for skilled trades, CLB 4 for TEER 4 and 5, in English or French
- Education: a post-secondary credential for TEER 0–3; secondary school for TEER 4–5 and the trades; foreign credentials require an Educational Credential Assessment
- Status: if you are in Canada, you must hold valid status through a work permit, study permit or visitor record
- The job offer must meet the required wage level for that occupation and region
- Successful applicants may opt to be nominated through the federal Express Entry system, which usually processes faster
Language and education at a glance
| Position type | Language | Education |
|---|---|---|
| TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 | CLB 6 in all four abilities | Post-secondary credential |
| Skilled trades | CLB 5 in all four abilities | Secondary school |
| TEER 4 and 5 | CLB 4 in all four abilities | Secondary school |
This is where the 2026 redesign bites: some positions under the old employer job offer streams required no language test at all, while every pathway in the new stream has a minimum. Foreign credentials always need an ECA.
Official stream requirements →Employer requirements
Revenue and staffing thresholds vary by the employer's location, and are markedly lower outside the big cities.
| Employer location | Minimum gross annual revenue | Local full-time employees |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Toronto Area (Toronto, Durham, Halton, Peel, York) | CAD $1,000,000 | At least 5 |
| Ottawa, Waterloo, Hamilton, Niagara, Essex, Greater Sudbury, Thunder Bay and other listed divisions | CAD $500,000 | At least 3 |
| Everywhere else in Ontario | CAD $250,000 in each of the last two fiscal years | At least 3 |
Employees must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents working full-time (30+ hours a week) at the location of the position. Employers must also have been in active business for three years, have premises in Ontario, and have no outstanding orders under the Employment Standards Act or the Occupational Health and Safety Act; transport employers need a CVOR certificate rated Excellent or Satisfactory.
Official employer guide →Employer recruitment obligations
- Reasonable domestic recruitment using at least two methods must be demonstrated
- Advertisements must run for at least four weeks before the position is offered
- The position must be full-time (at least 30 hours a week) and meet the regional wage level for the occupation
- The employer must register and submit the position in the employer portal before the candidate can file an EOI
- Employers with outstanding Ontario labour law penalties cannot participate
How to apply
- 1
The employer registers and submits the position
Everything starts with the employer registering in the portal and submitting the job offer.
- 2
The applicant files an EOI within 30 days
Once the position is registered, the candidate has 30 days to register and submit an Expression of Interest. There is no fee for the EOI.
- 3
Wait for an invitation to apply
Ontario selects candidates from the pool by score. An EOI does not guarantee an invitation.
- 4
Employer files in 14 days, applicant in 17
After an invitation, the employer has 14 calendar days to file for approval of the position and the applicant 17 calendar days to file the nomination application with the fee — tight windows that reward preparing documents in advance.
- 5
Pay the application fee
CAD $1,500 outside the Greater Toronto Area, $2,000 inside it, with the same split for self-employed physicians by practice location. Only Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards are accepted.
- 6
Apply for PR within six months of nomination
Nominees must file with IRCC within six months; those nominated through Express Entry add 600 CRS points.
Common questions
I was preparing under the masters graduate or an Express Entry stream — what now?+
Those streams closed on June 25, 2026 and will issue no further invitations. Applications already filed are assessed under the old rules; anything not yet filed needs to be reassessed against the Ontario Workforce Priority stream. The biggest shift is that the new stream requires an Ontario job offer for everyone except self-employed physicians, and every pathway now has a minimum language score.
Can I still apply without a job offer?+
Only through the self-employed physician pathway. The streams that needed no offer, such as Human Capital Priorities, are closed. This is the most substantive consequence of the redesign: the OINP is now an employer-centred program.
Why do so many employers fail to qualify?+
The new stream sets hard thresholds: three years in active business, premises in Ontario, gross annual revenue by region (CAD $1 million in the GTA, $500,000 in listed divisions, $250,000 elsewhere), and a minimum number of Canadian or permanent resident full-time employees at the location (five in the GTA, three elsewhere). Small startups often fall short, so verify the employer before committing.
What is the advantage of working outside Toronto?+
Two things. The employer's bar is lower — revenue falls from $1 million to $500,000 or $250,000 and the staffing requirement from five employees to three — and the application fee is $1,500 rather than $2,000. Ontario defines rural communities as census divisions under 150,000 people and sets easier revenue requirements for employers there.
Why are the post-invitation deadlines so short?+
Fourteen calendar days for the employer and seventeen for the applicant are among the tightest in Canada. In practice this means assembling language results, the ECA, employment records and the employer's financial and recruitment documents while the EOI is still in the pool, and keeping them unexpired, so that an invitation can be answered immediately.
Wondering whether you qualify?
Contact us for an assessment and plan tailored to your background.
Book a consultationThis page summarizes official information from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for general reference only. Immigration rules change often, so always check IRCC's latest requirements. Every case is different — contact us for an assessment of your situation.