The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program is one of the most varied and dynamic of Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), with streams and categories designed to welcome skilled workers, graduates, and business immigrants.

Ontario Immigration: An Overview

To many people, Ontario is the crown jewel in the Canadian landscape. This vast province, situated in east-central Canada, is home to the country’s largest city, Toronto, the national capital, Ottawa, and numerous other cities, towns, and communities that have welcomed newcomers from around the world for many decades.

But how do you move to Ontario? Apart from federal programs, such as those managed under the Express Entry immigration system, Ontario immigration authorities also offer unique pathways to Canada through the province’s PNPs.

What is the OINP program?

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) allows the province to nominate skilled workers, international graduates, and business owners for permanent residence in Canada. It’s designed to meet Ontario’s labour market and economic needs by selecting candidates with the education, experience, and language skills to succeed. Applicants can qualify through different streams, either under Ontario’s Expression of Interest (EOI) system or the federal Express Entry system.

The following table shows the range of immigration streams and categories operated by the Ontario immigration authorities. Click on any item in the left column to learn more about that particular stream or category.

How to Choose the Best OINP Stream for You?

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program includes multiple immigration streams designed for different applicant profiles. Each option has its own eligibility criteria and application process.

Choosing the right stream depends on your personal profile and immigration goals. Here’s how to narrow it down:

1. Do you have a job offer in Ontario?
   Consider the Employer Job Offer streams (for foreign workers, students, or in-demand skills).
2. Do you have an active Express Entry profile?
   Look at Express Entry-linked streams like the Human Capital Priorities or Skilled Trades streams.
3. Have you studied or worked in Ontario recently?
   The International Student, Master’s Graduate, or PhD Graduate streams could be ideal.
4. Are you an entrepreneur planning to invest in Ontario?
   The OINP Entrepreneur Stream may be the right fit.
5. Check your eligibility
   Each stream has unique requirements—review them carefully.

How to check which OINP streams are open?

Once you’ve identified which stream fits your profile, the next step is to check if that stream is currently accepting applications.
Ontario Immigrant Nominee streams open and close throughout the year, sometimes with little notice, and many operate on a first-come, first-served basis.
You can find out which streams are open right now in our Canada PNP Live Tracker.

Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Application Process

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) operates under two main pathways: those managed through Ontario’s Expression of Interest (EOI) system and those aligned with the federal Express Entry system. While both lead to the same goal — obtaining a provincial nomination and applying for permanent residence — the steps, registration process, and where you apply differ significantly.

The table below outlines the main stages for each pathway, showing how the process unfolds from registration to nomination and, finally, permanent residence:

Understanding the Expression of Interest System (EOI)

The Expression of Interest (EOI) system is how Ontario selects candidates to apply for provincial nomination under several OINP streams. When you register an EOI, you answer a series of questions about your background — including your job offer, education, work experience, and language skills. Based on your answers, you receive a score, and your profile is placed in a selection pool with other candidates applying for the same stream. Ontario regularly conducts draws to invite the highest-scoring candidates to apply for nomination.

Your EOI score is determined by specific scoring factors, which vary depending on the stream. These factors include your occupation (NOC TEER category), education level, field of study, language ability, Canadian work or study experience, and where your job or studies took place in Ontario. Candidates with stronger qualifications — for example, higher wages, advanced education, or experience in high-demand sectors or regions outside Toronto — tend to score higher.

It’s important to remember that scoring factors are not the same as eligibility criteria. Even if your score is high, you must still meet all the specific requirements of the stream you’re applying under and submit documents to prove each factor claimed in your profile. Because each OINP stream applies the EOI scoring differently, make sure to review the detailed scoring and document checklist on the official OINP website before registering your EOI.

This system applies to the following OINP streams:

• Employer Job Offer category (Foreign Worker, International Student stream, and In-Demand Skills streams)
• Masters or PhD degree from an Ontario university (Masters Graduate stream and PhD Graduate stream)

Although it may be confused with the Express Entry system operated by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ( IRCC ), Ontario’s EOI is a different system, operated by the province and tailored to meet Ontario’s labour market and educational priorities.

Main EOI Scoring Factors

We created the following table to help you understand the main areas Ontario evaluates and how points are generally awarded, with some examples:

To consult the detailed list of points per category, please visit the official page on how Ontario selects the people to invite.

Scoring Factors by OINP Stream

This table shows which scoring factors are applied to each OINP stream under the EOI system.

General requirements to apply to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program

Across nearly all OINP streams, the general requirements include:

• If you’re already inside Canada, you must have a valid immigration status in Canada (A valid Work permit, study permit
• Proof of identity and admissibility
• Intention to live in Ontario
• Accurate educational credentials (or an Educational Credential Assessment, where relevant),
• You need to demonstrate an English or French knowledge and language ability. For this, you need to provide language test results, obtained within the last two years from an approved language testing service. For English, the International English Language Testing IELTS (General Training test), CELPIP and PTE Core are accepted and for French tests, the following are accepted: Test d’évaluation de français pour le Canada (TEF) Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada (TCF Canada)
• Detailed documentation to support every claim in your profile.

Beyond these baseline criteria, each specific stream has its own requirements. So make sure to check the stream you have selected for and an in-depth list of requirements.

• For example, Employer Job Offer streams demand a full-time, permanent job offer that meets Ontario standards (such as wage thresholds and employer business requirements).
• Human-Capital and Graduate streams may require a master’s or PhD degree from an Ontario university, or certain work experience in eligible occupations.
• Some streams tied to Express Entry also require you to maintain a valid Express Entry profile and meet federal program criteria like proof of settlement funds.

All you need to know about the OINP in a Video

To get more info on the OINP, watch this video made with the help of Canada Abroad, one of Moving2Canada’s recommended Canadian immigration consultants.

Please note, this video was released October 2021 before Canada switched to the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021.