the CanadaVisa Team - 11 April, 2017
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) will resume identifying candidates in the Express Entry pool through the popular Human Capital Priorities (HCP) Stream during the week of April 10 to 14, 2017. Identified candidates will be issued a Notification of Interest (NOI), after which they may apply to the Ontario government for a provincial nomination certificate. This is the second time the province of Ontario has resumed issuing NOIs for the HCP Stream in 2017, after it had ceased identifying candidates for over a year between February 16, 2016 and February 21, 2017.
In its announcement, the OINP encouraged prospective applicants to create a new profile in the Express Entry pool, and delete their old profile, “to make it easier for Ontario to identify their profile during its search of the federal government’s Express Entry pool.”
The HCP is a passive stream, meaning that candidates in the Express Entry pool must wait to be identified and receive a NOI before being able to submit an application. The OINP identifies candidates in the Express Entry pool who meet the eligibility criteria and have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 400. In order to be eligible, a candidate in the Express Entry pool must show, among other requirements, a Bachelor, Master’s, or PhD degree, language proficiency in English or French at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 or above, and minimum skilled work experience requirements.
Those candidates who receive a NOI are in a position to apply for a provincial nomination certificate. Successful applicants will receive 600 points under the CRS, leading to an Invitation To Apply (ITA) in a future draw from the Express Entry pool.
The OINP also released a list of in-demand trades, stating that candidates in these trades occupations will be specifically targeted. It is important to note that the issuance of NOIs is not limited to candidates in these occupations — candidates in any occupation may be issued a NOI. The list includes:
Ontario has been the most popular immigration destination in Canada for many decades. The province is home to Canada's largest city, Toronto, as well as the nation's capital, Ottawa. In addition, there are a range of cities and communities throughout Ontario that prove attractive to all sorts of newcomers to Canada.
