On December 7, Ontario invited 1186 new immigrants to apply for a provincial nomination. Ontario Immigration, through its Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), invited candidates who had profiles in the new Expression of Interest (EOI) pool.

The candidates were qualified under one of the two Employer Job Offer streams. 470 candidates were invited who were eligible for the foreign worker stream with a minimum score of 37. 583 candidates were invited with a nomination from the international student stream who required a minimum score of 62. The remaining 133 invitations were issued to candidates registered under the Regional Immigration Pilot and the in-demand skills category.

The Expression of Interest (EOI) system in OINP has three categories:

• Employer job offer: Foreign worker,
• Employer job offer: International student, and
• Employer job offer: In-demand skills

Candidates who were invited under the occupation in-demand skills stream had work experience in the National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes listed below:

Health and agricultural occupations:

• NOC 3413 – nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
• NOC 4412 – home support workers and related occupations, excluding housekeepers
• NOC 8431 – general farm workers
• NOC 8432 – nursery and greenhouse workers
• NOC 8611 – harvesting labourers
• NOC 9462 – industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers

Manufacturing (outside the GTA only):

• NOC 9411 – machine operators, mineral and metal processing
• NOC 9416 – metalworking and forging machine operators
• NOC 9417 – machining tool operators
• NOC 9418 – other metal products machine operators
• NOC 9421 – chemical plant machine operators
• NOC 9422 – plastics processing machine operators
• NOC 9437 – woodworking machine operators
• NOC 9446 – industrial sewing machine operators
• NOC 9461 – process control and machine operators, food, beverage and associated products processing
• NOC 9523 – electronics assemblers, fabricators, inspectors and testers
• NOC 9526 – mechanical assemblers and inspectors
• NOC 9536 – industrial painters, coaters and metal finishing process operators
• NOC 9537 – other products assemblers, finishers and inspectors

Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Category

Under the employer job offer category, the Ontario foreign worker stream is open to foreign nationals with an eligible job offer from an employer in Ontario.

Applying from Canada isn’t required as long as the eligibility requirements are met. The eligibility criteria include that, the candidates should have the equivalent of two years of work experience in a skilled occupation, an eligible job offer in Ontario, and a genuine intention to stay in Ontario, among other criteria.

Employer job offer: International student Category

Under the employer job offer category, the Ontario international student stream is open for foreign nationals who have an eligible job offer from an employer in Ontario. Applying from Canada isn’t required as long as the eligibility requirements are met. The eligibility criteria include a completed program from a designated learning institution in Canada. International students who wish to do higher studies in Canada need a letter of acceptance from a designated learning institution while applying for a Canadian study permit. Also, the candidate should have a valid job offer from Ontario and intend to settle in the province, among other criteria.

Employer job offer: In-demand skills

This stream gives foreign workers with a job offer in a target occupation the opportunity to work and live permanently in Ontario. Candidates can apply only if they have received a permanent and full-time job offer from an Ontario employer and meet the eligibility criteria for work experience, education, age, etc.

Regional Immigration Pilot:

This new migration pathway was opened last year for candidates under the OINP Employer job offer streams. For candidates to be eligible, they need to have a full-time and permanent job offers from employers located in one of the three Ontario communities namely:

• Chatham-Kent
• Cornwall
• Quinte west/Bellville

 The goal of this pilot is to connect skilled migrants with jobs in small and rural Ontario communities.

Application process:

Candidates need to register an EOI profile in order to get an invitation from the province. The profile is ranked in the EOI pool based on the information submitted.

Awarding points:

EOI profiles are ranked based on different human capital factors set by the province to select potential candidates for a provincial nomination. The points are given based on candidate’s NOC (National Occupational Classification) skill level of the job offer and Canadian work experience. Apart from skill level and work experience, the candidate’s wage, education, official language ability, and region of work or study location are also considered. 10 points are allocated, at discretion, as a response to the labour market needs.

Check out Owlspriority Immigration’s Canada Settlement Resources to learn more about ways to find a new job in Canada, making your initial days in Canada stress-free and confident, etc.