BOWP only happens after AOR at main PR portal and not at the OINP level, correct? Yes
My process is currently at "nomination received" but haven't been able to submit my PR application because of some delays getting the police records from my home country.
I've read and asked so many times in this forum so my answers are based on what I've learned here: you must have a valid work permit to be able to apply for a BOWP. If you loose your permit (and your job) before you finalize the whole process, you have to withdraw your application. That's kind of the trick of the Employer Job Offer : Foreign Worker Stream.
In my case, my work permit expires in April 2025, so I still have 9 months to submit my PR application, get AOR, and apply for BOWP. I was part of the lucky ones that got their work permit extended for 18 months last year. If it weren't for that, I would probably be somewhere else.
I had a coworker who applied for this stream, but her nomination took too long and it wasn't approved before her WP expired. She had to quit the job and withdraw the application. She's now on visitor record and searching for options to stay in Canada (like a job that would sponsor her on LMIA, which are not easy to find).