Hi,
I am in a similar position. If you already received a nomination certificate for OINP you have to apply through the Non-EE PNP online as you stated. The nomination certificate won't give points to your EE profile.
Since you have already paid $1,500 for Ontario to process your PNP, might as well submit your federal application now. You have to apply online even if your nomination certificate say you have to apply on paper. Just look up Canada PR Portal on google, you can create an account and fill out forms. This is different from GC Key.
You can look at the spreadsheet here to see other applicants' timeline:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U00ooiZO57vNqjpgsTvhciDdiffcozBk8os9T_zkXVg/edit#gid=0
I submitted my federal application on in early January. No update so far, as expected.
This was my thought process when deciding which application to submit:
- Waiting for a year to get the experience needed does not guarantee me to get an ITA right away.
- My passport and PGWP could also be expiring when I get an ITA hence making things more complicated.
- Factoring in the 1 year of work experience needed from now, a few months in the pool, and ~6 months of processing time. The timeline of getting PR by either applying via Non-EE PNP now or EE in the future could be roughly the same.
But do whatever that best suits your situation.