OINP: Everything You Need to Know in 2025

What is the OINP?

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and Ontario’s official immigration program. It allows the province to nominate individuals for permanent residency who have the right skills, education, and experience needed to contribute to Ontario’s economy.

Once nominated by Ontario through OINP, you will get 600 additional points. You can then apply for permanent residency with IRCC, and receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for PR in the next round of invitations.

OINP Streams

The OINP has 8 different streams that you may qualify for. OINP uses 2 different methods by which you can apply to receive an invitation. The method that you need to use really depends on the stream you are applying to. The following is the list of streams with their respective methods to apply to receive an invitation from OINP.

Expression of Interest Streams

You need to register an expression of interest with OINP and provide information like education, work experience, language ability etc. This will help OINP to rate your profile and only send invitations to qualifying applicants. Registering for Expression of Interest is free, but you have to pay an application fee once you receive an invitation to apply and you are willing to submit a full application to OINP for nomination. The following streams fall under Expression of Interest (EOI) System:

• Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream
• Employer Job Offer: International Student stream
• Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream
• Masters Graduate stream
• PhD Graduate stream

Express Entry Streams

This is for applicants who have a valid Express Entry profile with IRCC. You need to show your interest in Ontario’s immigration program while creating your Express Entry profile. OINP will then send invitations to qualifying profiles within your Express Entry profile. Once you receive an invitation from Ontario, you can then submit a full application to OINP for nomination. The following streams fall under Express Entry System:

• Human Capital Priorities stream
• Skilled Trades stream
• French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream

Eligibility Criteria for OINP streams

Each stream has a different set of eligibility requirements, which we tried to cover in the following section for each stream. But there are some general requirements, which are usually applicable for almost each stream. These are:

• Ontario will verify your intent to live in Ontario, by looking into things like family ties, working, studying, and leasing property in Ontario.
• If you are applying from within Canada, you must have legal status like a visitor record, study permit, or work permit. You need to maintain this status throughout the whole application process of OINP. You can still apply if you are on a Maintained status.
• If stream requirements say proof of funds required, then you must have required funds. To prove your financial situation, you can use a bank statement, your annual income from your job (if you already have a job in Ontario) or a combination of both. If there is a large deposit in your provided statement, they can ask you more details to prove that funds belong to you.
• If stream requires a job offer from an Ontario employer, then there are some requirements for qualifying job offer and employer:
  • Work should be Ontario based.
  • It should be a permanent full-time job. No contract and seasonal jobs accepted.
  • Position should be urgently needed by the employer.
  • Wages on the job offer must meet the Low or Median wage level mentioned on the Job Bank website for that occupation. Check stream requirement if it is Low or Median level required for the job.

Before we talk about set of eligibility requirements for each stream, the following table shows the quick summary of basic requirements for each stream:

Foreign Worker Stream

• This is for foreign workers either in or outside of Canada.
• Required job offer in Ontario from an employer (see conditions above).
• Job offer must be in TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3.
• If your occupation in the offered job requires a mandatory license, then you should have a valid license from an approved Ontario body.
• If no mandatory license is required, then you should demonstrate appropriate work experience within the same occupation.
• Work experience should be at least 2 years, and gained within the last 5 years. It should not be a consecutive work experience. It could be either full-time OR part-time equivalent.

International Student Stream

• This is for international students either in or outside of Canada.
• Required job offer in Ontario from an employer (see conditions above).
• Job offer must be in TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3.
• If your occupation in the job offer requires a mandatory license, then you should have a valid license from an approved Ontario body.
• No work experience required.
• You should graduate from an eligible Canadian/Ontario institution.
• You must have graduated within the past 2 years, while you submit your application.

In-Demand Skills Stream

• This is for foreign workers either in or outside of Canada.
• Required job offer in Ontario from an employer (see conditions above).
• Job offer must be in specific in-demand occupations (see below table).
• Required at least secondary school education. If you did your studies outside Canada, then you need an ECA report to prove.
• Required 9 months paid work experience in Ontario, within the same occupation. It should not be a consecutive work experience and should be gained within the last 3 years. It could be either full-time OR part-time equivalent.
• Required CLB level 4 or above.
• The following is the list of all eligible occupations under this stream:

Masters Graduate Stream

• This is for international students either in or outside of Canada.
• You must graduate from an eligible Ontario university with a master degree.
• Required CLB level 7 or above.
• You must have legal status and lived in Ontario for at least 1 year, in the past 2 years. There can be gaps in your residency in Ontario, but it should sum up to 12 months at least.
• Required proof of funds.

PhD Graduate Stream

• This is for international students either in or outside of Canada.
• You must graduate from an eligible Ontario university with a PhD degree.
• You should not graduate with your PhD degree more than 2 years ago, while you submit your application.
• You must have legal status and lived in Ontario for at least 1 year, in the past 2 years. There can be gaps in your residency in Ontario, but it should sum up to 12 months at least.
• Required proof of funds.

Human Capital Priorities Stream (Express Entry)

• No job offer required.
• Requires a valid IRCC’s Express Entry profile.
• OINP will access only Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) profiles.
• For FSW candidates, you must have at least 1 year of continuous full-time (or part-time equivalent) work experience in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3. Work experience from outside of Canada is also considered under this category. You should have gained this experience within the last 5 years. You need at least 67 points on the six selection factors (calculate points here).
• For CEC candidates, you must have at least 1 year of full-time (or part-time equivalent) work experience in Canada in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3. You should have gained this experience within the last 3 years.
• Required bachelor’s, master or PhD degree. If you got your degree outside Canada, then you need to provide ECA for your education.
• Required CLB level 7 or above.
• Required proof of funds.

Skilled Trades Stream (Express Entry)

• Requires a valid IRCC’s Express Entry profile.
• Only for applicants living legally in Ontario on a valid work permit.
• Required 1 year of work experience in Ontario within Major Groups 72 (excluding occupations under transportation officers), 73, 82, 83, 93 (excluding aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors) or Minor Group 6320 (excluding cooks). You can verify your job’s major group by going to the NOC website and entering your job NOC code.
• Required CLB level 5 or above.
• Required proof of funds.

French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream (Express Entry)

• No job offer required.
• Requires a valid IRCC’s Express Entry profile.
• OINP will access only Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) profiles.
• For FSW candidates, you must have at least 1 year of continuous full-time (or part-time equivalent) work experience in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3. Work experience from outside of Canada is also considered under this category. You should have gained this experience within the last 5 years. You need at least 67 points on the six selection factors (calculate points here).
• For CEC candidates, you must have at least 1 year of full-time (or part-time equivalent) work experience in Canada in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3. You should have gained this experience within the last 3 years.
• Required bachelor’s, master or PhD degree. If you got your degree outside Canada, then you need to provide ECA for your education.
• Required CLB level 7 or above for French.
• Required CLB level 6 or above for English.
• Required proof of funds.

Conclusion

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has different streams to meet labour market and economic requirements of the province Ontario. If you are really looking to make Ontario your home or already living there, you might be qualifying to one or more streams under OINP. If you do qualify, don’t wait and create a free Expression of Interest with Ontario or Express Entry profile with IRCC, as per your qualifying stream requirement. Once you are nominated by Ontario, you can then apply for Canadian permanent residency. Always check the official OINP website for the most up to date information.

Stay connected as we will be posting more in coming weeks about OINP like How to apply for OINP in 2025, process of applying and getting nominated and more.

Also read SINP Updates: Categories with eligibility criteria.

If you have any questions or want us to cover another immigration program, feel free to contact us on Facebook or Instagram.