The province of Ontario has announced details of a new Canadian immigration stream called "Opportunities Ontario: Human Capital Priorities Stream" , ed the federal Express Entry immigration selection system.

Ontario is Canada’s most populated province and home to the national capital city, Ottawa, as well as Canada’s largest city, Toronto

This stream enables the Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program (OOPNP) to nominate individuals who have qualified for the Express Entry pool and who have the required education, skilled work experience, language ability, and other characteristics to help them successfully establish and integrate into Ontario’s labour market and communities.

How it works

When candidates register for Express Entry, they must indicate their interest in immigrating to either Ontario or “All Provinces and Territories.” Theymust also be eligible to enter the pool through either the Federal Skilled Worker Program or the Canadian Experience Class.

OOPNP searches the Express Entry pool and identifies potential candidates who:

• Have a minimum score of 400 on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and
• Meet the criteria of Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities Stream.

Candidates identified by the OOPNP will receive a PT Notification of Interest from Ontario through their MyCIC account. This notification will invite them to apply to OOPNP for nomination under the Human Capital Priorities Stream. From this point, selected candidates have 45 days to apply to OOPNP under the Human Capital Priorities Stream.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible to apply for the Ontario Human Capital Priorities Stream, you must meet the following provincial criteria:

• Work Experience: All applicants require a minimum level of work experience. Candidates who choose to be assessed against the FSWP criteria must have a minimum of one year of continuous and full-time employment (1,560 hours or more) or an equal amount in continuous part-time paid work experience in a National Occupation Classification (NOC) level 0, A, or B occupation in the past five years from the date of the PT Notification of Interest from Ontario. This work experience must have been completed in one specific NOC occupation. Candidates who choose to be assessed against the CEC criteria are required to have a minimum of one year of cumulative and full-time employment (1,560 hours or more) or an equal amount in part-time paid work experience in a NOC 0, A, or B occupation in Canada in the past three years from the date of the PT notification of interest from OOPNP.
• Education: All applicants must have a Canadian Bachelor’s, Master’s or Ph.D. degree or an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report produced by a designated organization indicating that their foreign education is the equivalent of a Canadian Bachelor’s, Master’s or Ph.D. degree.
• Language Proficiency: All applicants must have a language level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 or above in all language competencies (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) in either English or French, as proven by language test results from a standardised language test recognised by the governments of Canada and Ontario.
• CRS score: All applicants must score a minimum of 400 points under the CRS. The score must remain at or above 400 during both the Ontario nomination processing stage and at the federal application for permanent residence processing stage.
• Settlement Funds: All applicants must possess sufficient unencumbered funds that are readily transferable in a convertible currency to cover settlement costs in Ontario. This must be supported by bank statements.
• Intention to Reside in Ontario: All applicants must intend to reside in Ontario, as demonstrated by a statement of intent and indication of ties to Ontario.

Learn more about the province of Ontario.

To find out if you are eligible for the OOPNP Human Capital Priorities Stream or more than 60 other Canadian immigration programs, please fill out a free assessment.