Overview

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) uses an expression of interest system to manage its applications for the following streams:

Before you can apply to these streams, you must register an expression of interest to let the OINP know you wish to be invited to apply.

You can only apply to these streams if you are invited. Registering an expression of interest is not the same as applying to the OINP or applying for permanent residency.

Registering allows the OINP to gather important information about you in order to rank and select those who are most likely to meet Ontario’s economic and labour market needs, based on one or more of the following attributes:

  • education – level and field of education and where completed
  • language – English or French
  • regional immigration – intention to settle outside of the Greater Toronto Area
  • skill and work experience level
  • earnings history
  • other factors relevant to employment prospects – job offer in Ontario, Canadian work experience
  • strategic priorities – attributes that would address immediate labour market needs in Ontario or a region of Ontario

This is a summary document only. For your application to be approved, you must follow the process and meet the criteria established under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015 and its regulations. To the extent that there is any discrepancy between this document and the legislation, the legislation governs.

How to register an expression of interest

  • create a profile in the OINP e-Filing Portal
  • read the applicant requirements for your stream and ensure that you are eligible
  • register an expression of interest for one or more streams

The information you provide in your expression of interest must be accurate at the time you register or update your expression of interest.

If you are invited to apply, a PDF copy of the Attestation Form must be printed, signed personally in ink by the applicant, and uploaded to the “Other” tab under Supporting Documents.

The Attestation Form should be signed on the same date that you submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) to the OINP.

You can only register one expression of interest per OINP stream at any given time.

Fees

There is no fee to register an expression of interest. If you are invited to apply to the program, you will be required to pay an application fee at that time. Application fees differ by stream.

Updating your information

You can update your expression of interest in the OINP e-filing portal with new information at any time up until the time you receive an invitation to apply or your expression of interested is deleted.

Validity period

Your expression of interest registration will remain valid for up to 12 months until you receive an invitation to apply or until you withdraw your registration. After 12 months, your expression of interest will automatically be deleted from OINPs systems. If you are still interested in applying to the program, you must register a new expression of interest.

After you register an expression of interest

Once you have registered an expression of interest, please do not contact the program.

If you are invited to apply, you will receive a notification in the OINP e-Filing Portal. It is important to note that:

  • a registration does not guarantee that you will be invited to apply to the OINP
  • an invitation to apply does not guarantee you will receive a certificate of nomination

You must demonstrate that you meet all relevant OINP stream criteria at the time of your application, including that you had the qualifications that you claimed in your expression of interest registration.

If it is determined that any information provided in your expression of interest registration is not accurate, is incorrect, or misleading, your application may be denied and you may be subject to penalties or prosecution.

Please consult the expression of interest system invitation to apply page for more information about expression of interest draw results.

Invitations and how to apply

From time to time the OINP will rank candidates in one or more of the OINP stream selection pools, either on a general basis (rank all candidates who registered an expression of interest) or on a targeted basis (rank only those candidates who have one or more targeted labour market or human capital attributes) and invite the highest ranking candidates to apply.

If you receive an invitation to apply

If you are invited to apply, your application must be submitted within 14 calendar days from the date you receive the invitation.

To apply:

  • click the submit an application button below
  • log into your ONe-key account as a returning user
  • from your My Applications page, click on the file number link to begin your application

It takes a minimum of two hours to complete your application. You don’t have to complete the application all at once. Have your credit card ready (we accept Visa, Visa Debit, Mastercard and Mastercard Debit) and be ready to scan and upload your supporting documents (in English or French).

Submit an application

After you apply to the OINP

After you (or your representative) submits your application, you will get an email to confirm that we have received it.

You can check the status of your application through your account in the OINP e-Filing Portal at any time.

For regular updates on processing times, read OINP Application processing times and nominations issued.

If you are nominated, your next step is to apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence. IRCC makes the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.

Withdrawing your application

To withdraw your application, click on the Withdraw button next to your file number on your main page of the OINP e-Filing Portal.

Please note: We will only refund the application fee if you withdraw your application before we start processing it.

If you receive an invitation but do not apply

If you receive an invitation to apply but do not submit an application or fail to apply within the required timeline, your expression of interest will be removed from the stream selection pool (expressions of interest you may have registered for other streams will not be removed).

You will receive an email notification that your expression of interest has been removed from the selection pool. You may register a new expression of interest at any time.

How we choose candidates to invite

The answers you provide to each question in your expression of interest registration will be scored based on several scoring factors. Once submitted, your expression of interest registration will then be entered into a selection pool. Each OINP stream has its own selection pool. All candidates registering for the same stream will be placed in the same selection pool.

Scoring factors

We will score your answers using the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system to assign points to your job offer and Canadian work experience.

Find your job's NOC to determine its skill level and type.

Job offer: NOC skill level

(Not applied to Masters Graduate or PhD Graduate streams.)

  • NOC Skill Level A – 10 points
  • NOC Skill Level B – 8 points
  • NOC Skill Level C – 0 points
  • NOC Skill Level D – 0 points

Job offer: NOC type

(Not applied to Masters Graduate or PhD Graduate streams.)

  • NOC Type 0,1,2,3,9 – 10 points
  • NOC Type 4,5,6,7,8 – 5 points

Job offer: wage

(Not applied to Masters Graduate or PhD Graduate streams.)

  • $40 per hour or higher – 10 points
  • $20 to $39.99 per hour – 5 points
  • Less than $20 per hour – 0 points

Canadian work experience: length

(Cumulative)

  • 12 Months or more – 4 points
  • Less than 12 months – 0 points

Canadian work experience: NOC Skill Level

  • NOC Skill Level A – 3 points
  • NOC Skill Level B – 0 points
  • NOC Skill Level C – 0 points
  • NOC Skill Level D – 0 points

Canadian work experience: earnings history

  • $40k or more earnings in a year – 3 points
  • Less than $40k earnings in a year – 0 points

Highest level of education

(Only applied to International Student stream)

  • PhD – 10 points
  • Masters – 8 points
  • Bachelors or equivalent – 6 points
  • College diploma or trade certificate – 5 points
  • Less than college or trade certificate – 0 points

Field of study

(Not applied to Foreign Worker or In-Demand Skills streams)

  • Engineering – 10 points
  • Health care – 10 points
  • Math and Computer Science – 9 points
  • Business and Administration – 7 points
  • Trades – 7 points
  • Social, Legal, Education and Science – 6 points
  • Arts and Humanities – 5 points

Canadian education experience

(Not applied to Foreign Worker or In-Demand Skills streams.)

  • More than one Canadian credential – 10 points
  • One Canadian credential – 5 points

Official language ability

(Not applied to Foreign Worker or In-Demand Skills streams.)

  • CLB 9 or higher – 10 points
  • CLB 8 – 6 points
  • CLB 7 – 4 points
  • CLB 6 or lower – 0 points

Knowledge of official languages

(Not applied to Foreign Worker or In-Demand Skills streams.)

  • 2 Official Languages – 10 points
  • 1 Official Language – 5 points

Regional immigration: location of job Offer

(Not applied to Masters or PhD streams.)

  • Outside GTA – 10 points
  • Inside GTA – 6 points

Regional immigration: location of study

(Not applied to Foreign Worker or In-Demand Skills streams)

  • Outside GTA – 10 points
  • Inside GTA – 6 points

Strategic priorities

(To address immediate labour market needs in the province or a region of the province.)

  • As determined by OINP on the expression of interest system invitation to apply webpage – 10 points  (if in use).

Contact us

Ask us a question by email at ontarionominee@ontario.ca or by phone from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at:

Updated: August 19, 2021
Published: April 16, 2021