Ontario Express Entry

One of the thirteen provinces of Canada, Ontario, is the most populous. Located in the central part of the country, this province is home to a large network of inland waterways that include major rivers and lakes like  Rainy River, Lake Superior, St. Marys River, Detroit River, Niagara River, Lake Ontario and many others. The whole province is divided into Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario, which has the majority of the arable land and, consequently, the major part of the population.

In addition to that, Ontario is also known as the country’s wealthiest province as it has a considerable share of the nation’s natural resources and diversified industrial economy. The capital, Ottawa, and the most populous city, Toronto, are two of the most popular cities in Canada.

But, what factors make the particular province the most populous in the country?

Well, firstly, Ontario’s health care system is one of the best in the world. It is delivered through the provincial and territorial systems of publicly funded health care, popularly known as Medicare. It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984 and is universal. Secondly, education in Ontario is divided into public and private primary and secondary schools, which are later supported by post-secondary institutions. The Ontario Ministry of Education administers public elementary and secondary schools. At the same time, the colleges and universities are looked after by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Other than these, there are many organizations in Ontario that promote education like ‘People for Education’ and ‘The Society for Quality Education’, to name a few. Moreover, Ontario is proud of its multicultural population as over half of the population are newcomers to the country.

What is OINP?

OINP is an abbreviation of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. Similar to the other PNPs, this program welcomes skilled immigrants by easing the immigration process for professional and skilled workers and international students who meet the basic requirements to boost the economy.  The government of Ontario works with the PNP in association with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which is the federal immigration department. The OINP deals with three immigration categories: Human Capital, Employer Job Offer and Business Immigration, each of which is further divided into streams.

Human Capital Category of the OINP

Under this section of the OINP, the province of Ontario nominates the candidates who have the required skills, educational qualifications and work experience to augment the Ontario labour market. As aforementioned, this stream is further divided into three Express Entry streams and two international student streams – Masters Graduate Stream and Ph.D. Graduate Stream.

What are the Ontario Express Entry streams?

There are three Ontario Express Entry streams, namely, Ontario Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream, Ontario Express Entry Human Capital Priorities Stream and Ontario Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream. They allow people to immigrate to the province of Ontario and become permanent residents.

How to immigrate to Ontario through the Express Entry program?

For the three streams of Express Entry, the interested candidates do not have to apply directly to OINP for nomination. As a result, in order to be considered under any of these streams, the candidates have to be qualified under one of the federal programs (either the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) or the Canadian Experience Class (CEC)) first. Then, they have to wait for the province to select them from the federal Express Entry pool and invite them to apply for nomination.

Types of Ontario Express Entry Programs

• Ontario Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream
• Ontario Express Entry Human Capital Priorities Stream
• Ontario Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream

Express Entry program eligibility

Ontario Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream

This stream aims to attract French-speaking candidates who wish to live and work in the province of Ontario. They should also have a strong English language proficiency.

Ontario Express Entry Human Capital Priorities Stream

This stream is meant for skilled workers who wish to live and work in Ontario. They should have the necessary skills and abilities to establish themselves in the province and boost its economy. All of the previously mentioned requirements are nearly the same for this stream. However, the language requirement for the Ontario Express Entry Human Capital Priorities Stream requires proof of language proficiency of minimum CLB/NCLC level 7 in English or French. The province chooses six specific technology sector occupations with tech draws, where the CRS score is determined by the Director of the draw from the Express Entry pool as part of this stream.

Apart from the above-mentioned qualifications, if candidates belong to the following occupations, their chances become stronger:

• Software engineers and designers (NOC 2173)
• Computer and information systems managers (NOC 0213)
• Computer engineers (NOC 2147)
• Computer programmers and interactive media developers (NOC 2174)
• Database analysts and data administrators (NOC 2172)
• Web designers and developers (NOC 2175)

Ontario Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream

This stream targets skilled trades workers in eligible sectors. They should be residing and working legally in Ontario at the time of their application.

What is the process to apply for the Ontario Express Entry program?

Ontario will select eligible applicants from the Express Entry Pool if the candidates meet the eligibility criteria for one of the streams mentioned above and score the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score, as determined by the director of the draws.

Now, those whole fulfill the two criteria and are selected will receive a Notification of Interest (NOI) from the province of Ontario. Then, they can submit an application for nomination under the Ontario Immigrant Nomination Program (OINP). This application for nomination should be submitted within 45 calendar days from receipt of the NOI. The application fee required for this process is CAD 1500, which is due at this stage.

When the application is approved, the candidate will receive a nomination certificate and 600 additional points under their Express Entry profile. As a result, on the next Express Entry draw, they will receive an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The final application must be submitted within 60 days from receipt of the ITA.