You can change your spouse accompanying to YES at any time during the process as long as you meet the you meet the 67/100 eligibility points critera for EE. Given your situation, I would say that update the EE profile now and mention spouse as accompanying in OINP application. Explain this change in a letter of explanation. It is always better if you can apply together.Can anyone guide me accordingly?
There is a concern that I would like to address with regard to the most recent OINP Tech Draw that occurred on 5th May, 2023.
Prior to this NOI from OINP, I had an express entry profile as a single applicant but on the 29th April, 2023, I got married therefore changing my marital status. I was away from home for my honeymoon but while on this trip, I attempted to make the necessary changes to my status on 3rd and 4th May, 2023. Upon trying to make these changes, I encountered technical glitches when attempting to resubmit my Express Entry profile. I attempted multiple times to submit the new changes but continuously experienced the following error message “Invalid Session”. With that being said, I was unable to update my profile and on 5th May, 2023, I got an email with a new message. Upon checking it, it was an OINP NOI under the Human Capital Priorities Stream which would have been offered to me as my CRS score is 478 but that would have been for me as a single applicant, and I am no longer single.
I would like to know if there is still time for me to change my status and add my spouse to my application as an accompanying family member. I am currently awaiting my spouse’s ECA from WES which would maintain the CRS score above the cut-off of 475 for this draw.
Can you please provide feedback on if I can move forward with adding my spouse to my EE application and then by extension proceed forward with the OINP NOI from 5th May, 2023 with no consequences?
So, I would suggest that wait for spouse's ECA if the time permits. I hope spouse's IELTS is already done. For OINP application, you need to make sure that you meet the 67/100 eligibility points critera when spouse is marked as accompanying. Spouse's IELTS and ECA are used for checking this.
Also, get your marriage certificate before you submit your application. This is not required for OINP application, but get just in case you get an additional document request.
Write an letter of explanantion for OINP with what you have said above. You can also mention if your passport does not show spouse's name or attach marriage certificate here just to be safe. Basically, provide as much documantation as you can to support what you are writing here.
I am no expert here, this is just what I think. You can reach out OINP over call 1-866-214-6820 from a Canadian number and confirm this. You can also write an email, but they may not reply to it.