the CanadaVisa Team - 23 July, 2015
The Ontario Pilot Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) was established in May 2007 to help Ontario employers attract and retain skilled foreign workers. It was the last province to offer such a program to fast-track the issuance of Canadian immigration (Permanent Resident) visas, and it remains in pilot project phase.
The Ontario PNP website has recently issued some additional information to help Ontario employers plan for the recruitment and integration of approved nominee employees. The information is intended to help employers retain these new employees by ensuring that they have the tools for a proper settlement into life in Ontario. It encourages employers to consider such questions as; Where will the employees live? How will they get to work? Where are the nearby immigrant settlement organizations? Where will their children go to school? It also offers links and contact information for nominees.
The Ontario PNP is an employer-driven stream in that Ontario employers must first complete a Pre-screen application process before they can nominate future employees for Canadian immigration. Foreign skilled workers cannot submit an application unless they have a job offer from a qualified Ontario employer.
There are two categories of the Ontario PNP:
1. The Employer Category is intended for Ontario employers that need to hire foreign workers in the health, education, manufacturing, and construction sectors, on a permanent, full-time basis. This category includes 20 specific occupations within these sectors. There is an international graduate component to this category as well.
2. The Multinational Investor Category is designed to facilitate the entry of key personnel into companies that are making major investments in Ontario.
More information about these two categories is available on the Ontario PNP page.
