The Canadian province of Ontario has announced that it is temporarily pausing the intake of applications for select streams through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), while other OINP streams remain open.
In a notice placed on its website, the government of Ontario stated that it had already received the sufficient number of OINP applications to meet its federal allocation, and noted that other Canadian provinces have implemented similar measures over recent months. For example, Alberta and British Columbia have both placed pauses on certain Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams within the last year, only to reopen them at a later date.
Similarly, in 2015 and into 2016 the provinces of Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia had application intake thresholds for certain immigration categories that were replenished during the year, even after initial notices had stated that the annual intake cap for those categories had been reached.
The OINP and Express Entry
Since Ontario opened its doors to candidates in the Express Entry pool in mid-2015 through the creation of two new streams, many candidates in the Express Entry pool have noticed that Ontario — which has for decades welcomed more newcomers than any other province — presents a fast-track immigration pathway.
The OINP Human Capital Priorities stream, one of the two aforementioned Express Entry- ed OINP streams, has proven to be particularly popular. This stream is 'passive' in the sense that an Express Entry candidate may only make an application if he or she is contacted by the OINP and issued what is known as a Notification of Interest (NOI). One of the requirements is that a candidate must have already entered the Express Entry pool and be awarded 400 or more Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points. If the candidate successfully obtains an OINP nomination certificate through this stream, he or she is awarded 600 additional CRS points and will subsequently receive an Invitation To Apply for Canadian permanent residence.
It should be noted that the pause on the issuance of NOIs through the Human Capital Priorities stream (which came into effect on February 16) is temporary in nature, and there is every reason to believe that the OINP will begin to issue NOIs again at a later date. At the time of writing, it is unknown when this might occur, and it could well be the case that no prior announcement will be made.
The other Express Entry- ed OINP stream is the French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream, which remains open. Candidates for this stream must have a minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level of 7 in French and CLB 6 in English, as demonstrated by results from standardised language tests recognised by the governments of Canada and Ontario. While some candidates may, on first glance, be discouraged by the French requirement, a proficiency of CLB 7 is far from indicating perfect fluency. Candidates who have previously been exposed to the language may, with a bit of additional effort and revision, reach adequate-intermediate proficiency and potentially benefit from this Canadian immigration option. The Canada Immigration Language Converter tool allows candidates to compare CLBs with language descriptions and test requirements.
The OINP and business immigration
Both the Corporate stream and the Entrepreneur stream of the OINP remain open for new applications and Expressions of Interest, respectively.
The OINP and international students
All applications for the International Students (Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate) streams sent after 5 p.m. EDT on May 9, 2016 will not be processed and will be returned to the applicant along with the unprocessed payment. The governments of Canada and Ontario, however, have been vocal about their desire to attract and retain more international students as permanent residents of Canada. With this in mind, it is entirely possible that the OINP will begin to accept new applications through these streams, or new ones that are similar, in the non-too-distant future.
The International Student with a Job Offer stream of the OINP remains open to eligible candidates whose job offer has been approved through the Employer Pre-screen application process.
Current Status of OINP Immigration Streams
| OINP Stream | Status | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Human Capital Priorities | Temporary pause on Notifications of Interest (NOIs) being sent as of February 16, 2016. | Aligned with federal Express Entry system. |
| French-Speaking Skilled Worker | Open — OINP continues to accept and process applications. | Aligned with federal Express Entry system. |
International Student – Masters Graduate stream | Temporary pause in effect as of May 9, 2016. | Job offer not required. |
International Student – PhD Graduate stream | Temporary pause in effect as of May 9, 2016. | Job offer not required. |
| Foreign Worker | Open to eligible candidates whose job offer has been approved through the Employer Pre-screen application process. | Job offer must meet the prevailing wage level in Ontario for that occupation. |
| International Student with a Job Offer | Open to eligible candidates whose job offer has been approved through the Employer Pre-screen application process. | Previous education requirement is not Ontario-specific; graduates who studied in any province may be eligible. |
| Corporate | Open — OINP continues to accept and process applications. | Successful applicants obtain Temporary Work Permits before Permanent Resident status may be obtained. |
| Entrepreneur | Open — OINP continues to accept Expressions of Interest. | Successful applicants obtain Temporary Work Permits before Permanent Resident status may be obtained. |