Everything in Canada inexorably leads back to Ontario. The country’s most populated province by a wide margin, one in three Canadians live within its borders, along with practically everything powerful and important.
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).
The OINP recognizes and nominates people for permanent residence who have the skills and experience that will help Ontario’s economy, and the Government of Canada makes the final decision to approve applications for permanent residence.

Please Note: - The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is currently accepting applications under the following streams:

• Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream
• PhD Graduate Stream
• French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream*
• Human Capital Priorities Stream*
• Skilled Trades Stream*
• Entrepreneur Stream

The following OINP streams are closed to applications at this time:

• Employer Job Offer: International Student Stream
• Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream
• Masters Graduate Stream

To apply under Ontario’s Express Entry streams, you must have a profile in the federal government’s Express Entry system and receive a Notification of Interest from Ontario.

What you need to know

There are three ways an applicant may qualify for a nomination:

• Employer job offer category: for workers who already have a permanent job offer from an Ontario employer
• Human capital category: for workers who have valuable work experience, education, language skills, and a profile in Canada’s Express Entry system; or for graduate students
• Business category: for entrepreneurs looking to start a new or buy an existing business in Ontario

1. Employer job offer category

The employer job offer category has three streams. You must have a full-time and permanent job offer from an Ontario employer to qualify.

• Foreign Worker stream: for workers in skilled positions
• International Student stream: for recent graduates in Ontario
• In-Demand Skills stream: for intermediate skilled workers in specific sectors, such as agriculture, construction, trucking and personal support workers

2. Human capital category

The human capital category has two sub-categories, the international graduate streams and Ontario’s Express Entry streams.

• International graduates
• Ontario’s Express Entry

International graduates
To qualify under the Master’s Graduate or PhD Graduate streams, you must have a graduate degree from an eligible Ontario university and apply within two years of getting your degree.

• Masters Graduate Stream
• PhD Graduate Stream

Ontario’s Express Entry
To qualify under Ontario’s Express Entry streams, you must have received a notification of interest from Ontario and have an up-to-date profile with your most current work experience, language tests and education in the federal government’s Express Entry system.

• French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream: for French-Speaking skilled workers with the required work experience, education and language proficiency in French and English
• Human Capital Priorities stream: for skilled workers with the required work experience, education and language proficiency in French or English
• Skilled Trades stream: for workers with work experience in Ontario in an eligible trade occupation

3. Business category

The business category has one stream. You must be an entrepreneur from outside of Canada who is looking to implement a new business idea or buy and grow an existing business in Ontario.
• Entrepreneur stream

Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)-Ontario Express Entry

Ontario Express Entry is available to French-speaking and other skilled workers with the required work experience, education and language proficiency in French and English workers with work experience in Ontario in an eligible trade occupation. The candidates need a Notification of Interest (NOA) before they can apply online to be nominated by the Ontario government for permanent residence.
It has three streams namely French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream, Human Capital Priorities Stream, and Skilled Trade Stream
French Speaking Skilled Worker Stream
This program is ideal for French-speaking skilled workers with strong English language abilities to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario. The candidates must have a valid profile in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC’s) Express Entry system and receive a Notification of Interest from Ontario before they can apply online to be nominated by the Ontario government for permanent residence.
This stream has several mandatory requirements the candidates must meet before they can apply.
Learn more about the Eligibility Criteria for French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream
Human Capital Priorities Stream
This program is Foreign workers with Skilled Work Experience, strong language, and education to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario. The candidates must have a valid profile in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC’s) Express Entry system and receive a Notification of Interest from Ontario before they can apply online to be nominated by the Ontario government for permanent residence.
This stream has several mandatory requirements the candidates must meet before they can apply.
Learn more about the Eligibility Criteria for Human Capital Priorities Stream
Skilled Trades Stream
This program is Foreign workers with Ontario Work Experience in Eligible Trades to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario. The candidates must have a valid profile in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC’s) Express Entry system and receive a Notification of Interest from Ontario before they can apply online to be nominated by the Ontario government for permanent residence.
This stream has several mandatory requirements the candidates must meet before they can apply.
The human capital category has two sub-categories

• The international Graduate Streams
• Ontario’s Express Entry streams

Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream

The Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream is an immigration stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. It gives foreign workers with a job offer in specific in-demand occupations, such as in agriculture, construction, trucking or personal support work, the opportunity to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario.
This stream is open to foreign workers in and outside of Canada.
You must apply online to be nominated by the Ontario government for permanent residence.
Before you apply make sure you meet the mandatory requirements
This stream has a number of mandatory requirements you must meet before you can apply. These include:

• Job offer requirements – what your job offer must include
• Applicant requirements – what you need to have before you apply
• Employer requirements– what your employer needs to have before you apply

Job offer requirements

• Full time and permanent
• he positions offered must be in one of the following occupations in National Occupation Classification (NOC) Skill Level C or D: NOC 3413 / NOC 4412 / NOC 7441 / NOC 7511 / NOC 7521 / NOC 7611 / NOC 8431 / NOC 8432 / NOC 8611 / NOC 9462.
• Pay for the job offered must meet or be higher than the median wage level, for that occupation.
• Position is necessary to employer’s business

Applicant requirements

• At least 9 months of full-time (or the equivalent in part-time) paid work experience in Ontario, in the same in-demand occupation (same NOC code) as your job offer within last 3 years.
• Applicant must be able to understand, read, write and speak either English or French at a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 or higher.
• Applicant must have a Canadian secondary school (high school) diploma or credential, or its equivalent in another country. If applicants’ studies are completed outside of Canada, they need to get an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) that proves your education is equivalent to a Canadian high school diploma.
• Applicant must have enough money to support themselves and their dependent family members when they settle in Canada
• Applicant must intend to live in Ontario after you’ve been granted permanent residence.
• If applying from within Canada, applicant must have legal status

Employer requirements
1. General requirements
To qualify under the In-Demand Skills Stream, employer must:

• have been in active business for at least three years prior to submitting your application
• have business premises in Ontario where you will work
• have no outstanding orders made against them under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act
• demonstrate that enough effort was made to recruit a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident prior to offering the position to you (this only applies if you are currently living outside of Canada or working outside of Ontario)

2. Revenue requirements
Employer’s business must also meet the following requirements for its most recently completed fiscal year (the year used for tax or accounting purposes):

• a minimum of $1,000,000 in total gross annual revenue if you will work or report to work at a location in the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions)

or

• a minimum of $500,000 in total gross annual revenue if you will work or report to work at a location outside the Greater Toronto Area

3. Employee requirements

Employer’s business must also have at the time of application submission:

• at least five full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents who work at the location where you will work, or will report to work, if you will work or report to work at a location in the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions)

or

• at least three full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents who work at the location where you will work, or will report to work, if you will work or report to work at a location outside the Greater Toronto Area

4. Employer Form
Employer’s must make an application for approval of an employment position by filling out and signing an Employer Form.
Your employer then must give you the form so you can scan and upload it with your application.

OINP PhD Graduate Stream

The PhD Graduate Stream is an immigration stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. It gives international graduates with an Ontario PhD degree the opportunity to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario.
You must apply online to be nominated by the Ontario government for permanent residence. If you are nominated your next step is to apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). They make the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.
Before you apply make sure you meet the mandatory requirements
1. Education

• Applicant must have completed the requirements necessary to obtain a PhD degree. The degree must be from an eligible university.
• At least two years of your PhD studies must have been completed while legally living and studying in Ontario.

Please Note: - You don’t qualify if you have received a bursary, grant or scholarship that requires you return to your home country after you earn your PhD degree. You may only apply after you have fulfilled those commitments and can demonstrate an intention to live in Ontario.
2. Residency in Ontario
Applicant must have legally lived in Ontario for at least one year in the past two years before application.
3. Settlement funds
Applicant must have enough money to support themselves and their dependent family members when they settle in Canada

4. Intention to live in Ontario
You must intend to live and work in Ontario after you’re granted permanent residence. 
5. Legal status in Canada
If applying from within Canada, applicant must have legal status
6. Application period
Applicant’s must submit their application within two years of completing the requirements necessary to obtain your PhD degree.