Temporary residency holders in Ontario can now apply for PR in the province through the new “expression of Interest” system.
If you are an international student or a professional who wants to settle in Ontario permanently, can apply for the PR now through the “Expression of Interest” system. There are many Canadian provinces that issue a specific number of provincial nominations every year. Ontario is one of these and perhaps is the most popular Canadian province because of its diversity and opportunities for immigrants. Here you will be provided with detailed information about how you can be successfully selected for long-term residence in Ontario. The Ontario education or work experience can help you out a lot for the selection process.
The federal government of Canada permits a limited number of invitations to Ontario each year. According to the immigration minister, Vic Fedeli, Ontario will issue 13,300 nominations in 2022, because Ontario Immigrants Nominations Program (OINP) is developing by leaps and bounds. In the current year, 8,350 nominations have been allowed to this province. Whereas, an additional 250 nominations are allocated for temporary foreign workers with minimum National Occupational Classification (NOC) skilled level.
Ontario Immigrant Nominee program Categories
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) cannot handle such a huge amount of applications itself. So, there are made some series and systems. There is a system named as an expression of interest. As a candidate, you can enroll an expression of interest with the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. It has to manage all the applications of the following streams:
- Stream for the Employer Job Offer for foreign worker system,
- Employer Job Offer series for international students,
- Program for the expertise of excessive demand through Employer Job Offer
- Immigration for the Master’s degree holders,
- Stream for the Ph.D. degree holders.
EOI system for OINP Applications
You as a candidate for OINP, will not be applicable for the above series until and unless you have not applied for the expression of interest first. The basic purpose to apply for the expression of interest is that you inform OINP that you are applying for any of the above-mentioned programs. In other words, you will be eligible to apply for the PR, if you are selected and get an ITA.
The process to enroll you for the expression of interest is different from the process to bid for OINP. Your selection will be based on the thorough inspection of your data by OINP. It will make a criterion considering the financial aspect and Labor market of Ontario. If your profile successfully meets the criteria, you will be selected to apply for PR.
Ontario Immigrant Nominee selection factors
The essential features considered by the Ontario Immigrant Nominee program in order to give you the invitation to apply are:
- Qualification (Degree type, subject, and from where you got that degree)
- Language (English or French spoken will get the priority)
- Expertise and experience
- Wage
- Other work-related features ( job offer in Ontario or job experience in Canada)
- The skills which are urgently needed in the Labor market. If you have that skills then you will be given priority.
If you want your application to be selected, you must have to follow the rules and regulations of the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015. There is a proper criterion set, which you will have to meet to attain priority for the selection.
How to enroll an expression of interest for OINP
You will have to follow the following procedure to enroll an expression of interest:
- Make an account in ONIP e-Filling Portal,
- Go through the criteria of all streams carefully,
- Select the category that relates your expertise,
- Though you can also choose more than 2 immigration categories to enroll an expression of interest but keep in mind that these selections musst match your Skillset,
- You will have to enroll for the one expression of interest using one immigration program at a time. For the other one, you will have to follow the same procedure again. In short, at a time you cannot enroll one expression of interest for more than one programs.
Submit correct information
The most important point while filling the form to enroll expression of interest is to fill in the authentic information. In case you enter the wrong information you will be guaranteed disqualified for it. After all, you will have to provide proof of each claimed skill.
Application fees
To enroll an expression of interest, there are no charges. But you will have to pay charges once you are successfully selected to apply. The charges vary from series to series.
Amendment in details
You are free to make any amendments to your online profile portal, until and unless you got an invitation to apply.
Profile validity
The duration of your application for the expression of interest is estimated at one year. You can anytime be selected within a year. After that period, if you are not selected, your portal will be suspended from the OINP system. In other words, you will have to apply via the same procedure again if you are interested.
Things must be avoided
You must avoid the following things.
- Do not try to approach the program directly,
- Just wait patiently for their invitation.
Selection guarantee?
Just keep in mind that it is not mandatory that after enrollment for expression of interest, you will be selected for applying. And if you are selected, it is not guaranteed that you will be granted the certificate of PR for OINP.
When you are successfully selected for applying
If you pass the criteria of expression of interest, you will officially get an invitation to apply. You will simply get a notification of the selection in your OINP e Filing Portal.
After this official invitation, you will have to follow the following process:
- Print out a pdf copy of the Attestation Form, sign the printed copy. You will have to upload this signed copy with the other documents to the other tab,
- The date of signing the attestation form must be the same as the date you enroll in an expression of interest,
- Upload your application within 2 weeks after their invitation notification. In case, you fail to apply before the deadlines, your expression of interest will be deleted from ONIP. In this scenerio, you will have to apply again through the same procedure.
How to apply
Before applying, keep your required documents ready for scanning and uploading.
The simple procedure for applying is given below:
- Firsto of all, there will be an option to submit the application below the portal. Just click on that for the further process,
- Secondly, the one-key profile that you make before the invitation, log in to it again,
- Third, there will be a sheet of my application, click on that,
- Fill your application carefully with scanning and uploading the required documents,
- The final step is the submission of the application.
What is the next after applying to the ONIP
When you are done with the submission process:
- You will receive a confirmation mail that your application is successfully delivered.
- For the notifications, keep checking your OINP Application processing times and nominations issued.
- When you will get the notification about your selection, apply to the Federal government through Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for the sake of getting permanent residency there.
What if you want to remove your application?
In case, you changed your mind, you can remove your application from the online portal. There will be an option named “Withdraw” in your portal after your file number on the principal page. When you will click on that your application will be removed from the OINP.
So, here comes a question in our minds about charges. So, clear your mind before removing your application that your charges will be refunded to you if you remove the application when your application is not in processing by OINP for the nomination.
OINP criteria for selecting the candidates for the invitation
The candidates will be selected based on the marks of answers they fill in their application. All the applications are joined in the pool for selection. These pools for the selection vary from one immigration program to another.
There is a proper system named National Occupation Classification (NOC) to give the marks to your answers. Their purpose is to give the marks to your job offer, Canadian work experience, the level of your qualification, aptitude for language, and local immigration.
Here are the details of these points.
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Points factors
NOC level helps your application by giving different marks on the basis of your job offer, including your work expertise and work experience. These rankings by NOC are not applicable for the candidates who applied for the programs for the Master and Ph.D. graduates.
1- Job offer points
The job offer points are divided into NOC skill type, skill level, and wages.
- Job offer – NOC Skills level
The pool ranks your expertise with marks by arranging them in levels like A, B, C, and D. You can check your level and marks for your expertise ranking by NOC from here:
| Level | Marks |
| A | 10 |
| B | 8 |
| C | 0 |
| D | 0 |
- Job offer – NOC type
| NOC type | Marks |
| 0 | 10 |
| 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 10 |
| 3 | 10 |
| 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 5 |
| 7 | 5 |
| 8 | 5 |
| 9 | 10 |
- Job offer – Wages points
The ranking for the salary is based on the marks given for the type of work and expertise. So you can estimate your salary on the basis of the marks of your work genre and expertise. Here are these:
| Per hour rate | Marks |
| 40 USD | 10 |
| 20 to 39.99 USD | 5 |
| Less than 20 USD | 0 |
2- Work experience
The selection pool ranks your application by giving different marks on the basis of Canadian work experience and time duration, your expertise, and your wage history.
- Canadian work experience duration
| Time period | Marks |
| Less than a year | 4 |
| A year or more | 0 |
- Canadian work experience NOC skill level
The selection pool ranks your application on the basis of your expertise for the Canadian work experience by levels A, B, C, and D. And the marks are given accordingly.
| Level | Marks |
| A | 3 |
| B | 0 |
| C | 0 |
| D | 0 |
- Canadian work experience earning history:
| Salary per year | Marks |
| 40k USD | 3 |
| Less than 40K USD | 0 |
3- Education points
OINP makes a criterion according to your qualification including your degree, your subject, and your educational experience in Canada. And ranks all the applications accordingly.
- Highest level of education
| Degree | Marks |
| PhD | 10 |
| Masters | 8 |
| Bachelors | 6 |
| Diploma or certificate | 5 |
| Intermediates & below | 0 |
- Field of study
The selection pool gives priority to some subjects and ranks your application according to that:
| Subjects | Marks |
| Engineering | 10 |
| Health care | 10 |
| Math & Computer science | 9 |
| Business & Administration | 7 |
| Trades | 7 |
| Social, Legal, Education & Science | 6 |
| Arts & Humanities | 5 |
- Canadian education
You will be given points according to your qualification testimonials in Canada. This ranking is not applicable for the series of Foreign workers or in-demand skills series.
| Canadian testimonial | Marks |
| More than 1 | 10 |
| 1 | 5 |
4- Official language proficiency
You will be given marks on the basis of your aptitude for language and understanding of the languages. This ranking is not applicable for the series of Foreign workers or in-demand skills series.
- Level of official languages
| CLB | Marks |
| 9 & higher | 10 |
| 8 | 6 |
| 7 | 4 |
| 6 & Below | 0 |
- Knoledge of official languages
You will be ranked on the basis of the languages you have knowledge about or you can understand them.
| Number of official languages | Marks |
| 2 | 10 |
| 1 | 5 |
5- Regional immigration
The selection pool ranks the location of immigration on the basis of the location of your work (for employees) and your study (for students).
This ranking is not applicable for the applicants who applied for the series of Masters and Ph.D. graduates.
Here are the details for both.
- Points for location of your work
If you are applying for local immigration, your ranking will be based on the location of your work:
| Location (work) | Marks |
| Outside GTA | 10 |
| Inside GTA | 6 |
Points for the location of your education in the province
| Location (education) | Marks |
| Outside GTA | 10 |
| Inside GTA | 6 |
Strategic priorities
To address immediate labor market needs in the province or a region of the province. As determined by the Ontario Immigrant Nominee program on the expression of interest system invitation to apply webpage – 10 points (if in use).