The OINP in-demand Skills stream nominates eligible foreign workers with a job offer in an in-demand skills job in Ontario. This stream belongs to the OINP Employer Job Offer pathway.
The OINP or Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program nominates candidates through the following streams:
- Employer Job Offer stream: This stream is exclusively for foreign workers or students who have a valid job offer from an employer in Ontario. This stream includes three sub-streams:
- OINP Employer Job Offer: In-demand skills stream
- OINP Employer Job Offer: Foreign Skilled worker
- OINP Employer Job Offer: International Student Stream
- OINP for students with Ontario education: This includes the Master Graduate stream and the PhD Graduate stream. These pathways are for eligible graduates who have a master’s or a doctorate from a valid university in Ontario.
- OINP Express Entry streams: This stream operates through the Express Entry system It has three sub-streams:
- OINP Entrepreneur stream
Candidates can apply for Canada PR through the PNP pathway within 6 months of becoming provincial nominees and settle in the country permanently.
This blog is a complete guide to the OINP In-Demand Skills Trade Stream
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The OINP In-demand Skills Stream: Overview
- What is the OINP in-demand skills stream?
- Eligibility requirements
- List of In-demand occupations
- EOI Scoring factors
- Documents Checklist
- Application fee
- Processing Time
- How to Apply?
What is the OINP in-demand Skills stream?
The OINP in-demand skills stream invites applicants with a job offer in an in-demand occupation in the province of Ontario. These occupations are in specific sectors of construction, trucking, agriculture, or personal support services.
Eligibility Requirements for OINP In-Demand Skills Stream
To be eligible for the OINP in-demand skills stream, you must meet the following conditions.
| Eligibility Factors | Mandatory Requirements for In-demand Skills Stream |
|---|---|
| Expression of Interest (EOI) | You must have registered an OINP Expression of Interest and must have received an Invitation to Apply in the OINP draws. |
| Valid Employer | You must get a job offer from a valid employer in Ontario. A valid employer: They must have a positive LMIA or demonstrate that they made reasonable efforts to hire Canadian citizens or permanent residents before offering employment to a foreign worker. The business of the employer must be active for at least three years. They must have no outstanding issues under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000, or the Occupational Health and Safety Act. If your job offer is in the GTA, the annual gross revenue of your employer must be $100000. On the other hand, if your job offer is outside the Greater Toronto Area, the gross revenue must be $500000. Your employer must have hired at least three Canadian citizens or PRs if your job location is outside the GTA. If you will report to work in the Greater Toronto Area, the employer must have hired at least 5 Canadian citizens or permanent residents. They must provide an Employer form to you. You will be required to submit this form while uploading the documents for the OINP in-demand Skills stream. |
| Job Offer | You must have acquired a valid job offer from an eligible employer in Ontario. The offer must be in an eligible in-demand occupation in Ontario. The employment must be permanent. A permanent job means there is no end date for the employment contract. Contractual jobs are ineligible for OINP. The offer must be of full-time employment. This means 30 hours of paid work within a week. It is equal to 1560 hours of paid work in a year. Your employment must not impact the job of anyone involved in a labor dispute. The employment must pay you equal to or higher than the median salary of your occupation. For instance, if your occupation belongs to NOC code 44101, your job offer must pay you $19.00 or higher. The median wage for any region in Ontario can be accessed from the Job Bank. The location of your job offer must be in Ontario. The employment offer must be urgently required by the employer to keep the business running smoothly. |
| Work Experience | Possess at least 9 months of paid and full-time work experience in the same NOC code in which you receive your job offer. This work experience must have been acquired within three years of applying to the OINP In-demand skills stream. If the experience is in part-time work, it should be 15 hours of paid work per week, or 1200 hours of work in 18 months. |
| Licensure | If mandatory, you must have a license or authorization certification to be eligible for the OINP in-demand skills stream. |
| Language Proficiency | Score at least CLB 4 in all four areas of speaking, listening, writing, and reading. The OINP accepts CELPIP-G, PTE-Core, and IELTS tests for English proficiency, and TCF and TEF for French proficiency. |
| Academic Proficiency | Must have a Canadian high school diploma or its equivalent. In case you completed your secondary school education from outside Canada, you must provide an ECA (Educational Credential Assessment) report. The ECA report must not be older than 5 years. The ECA must be done by the following organizations: Comparative Education Service (CES) International Credential Assessment Service of Canada International Credential Evaluation Service International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) World Education Services (WES) |
| Live in Ontario | You must settle in Ontario. The sole purpose of OINP is to attract and facilitate skilled immigrants to settle in the province and add to its economy. Thus you must be able to demonstrate that you will ultimately settle in Ontario. This can be assessed by: Having proof of studying in Ontario Working in Ontario Leasing or owning a property in Ontario Having a social circle in the province |
| Work Permit | If you are applying for the OINP In-demand skills stream from Canada, you must have a valid work permit or study permit while applying. |
| Business Ownership | You or your family members must not own any equity in your employer’s business. The only exception to this requirement is if you own the equity as a part of job remuneration. The equity thus earned must be less than 10%. |
List of In-demand occupations eligible for OINP In-Demand Skills Stream
Below is the list of occupations along with their NOC codes and TEER levels that are eligible for the OINP in-demand skills stream throughout Ontario.
| BOC 4 Jobs in education, law, and social community and government services. | ||
| NOC codes | TEER levels | Job titles |
| 44101 | 4 | Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations |
| BOC 6 Jobs in Sales and services | ||
| 65202 | 5 | Meat cutters and fishmongers in retail and wholesale |
| BOC 7 Trades, transport and equipment operators | ||
| 75110 | 5 | Construction trades helpers and laborers |
| BOC 8 Natural resources and agriculture | ||
| 84120 | 4 | Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators |
| 85100 | 5 | Livestock laborers |
| 85101 | 5 | Harvesting laborers |
| 85103 | 5 | Nursery and greenhouse workers |
| BOC 9 Jobs in Manufacturing and utilities | ||
| 94141 | 4 | Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers |
Below is the list of occupations that are eligible for the OINP in-demand skills stream only if the job location is outside the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This includes the city of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York, and Peel areas.
| BOC 9 Jobs in Manufacturing and utilities | ||
| NOC codes | TEER level | Job titles |
| 94100 | 4 | Machine operators, mineral and metal processing |
| 94105 | 4 | Metalworking and forging machine operators |
| 94106 | 4 | Machining tool operators |
| 94107 | 4 | Machine operators of other metal products |
| 94110 | 4 | Chemical plant machine operators |
| 94111 | 4 | Plastics processing machine operators |
| 94124 | 4 | Woodworking machine operators |
| 94132 | 4 | Industrial sewing machine operators |
| 94140 | 4 | Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing |
| 94201 | 4 | Electronics assemblers, fabricators, inspectors and testers |
| 94204 | 4 | Mechanical assemblers and inspectors |
| 94213 | 4 | Industrial painters, coaters and metal finishing process operators |
| 94219 | 4 | Other products assemblers, finishers and inspectors |
| 95102 | 5 | Laborers in chemical products processing and utilities |
EOI Scoring Factors for the In-Demand Skills Stream
Once you provide information while registering your OINP Expression of Interest, you will be scored out of 46 points based on the following factors:
- Location of the job – 10 points
- NOC code of your job offer – 10 points
- Wages – 10 points
- Availability of work permit – 10 points
- Existing work experience with the employer – 03 points
- Canadian work experience – 03 points
The scoring grid for the OINP in-demand skills stream is tabulated below.
| Location of job | |
| Northern Ontario | 10 points |
| Areas outside the GTA | 08 points |
| Inside the GTA (excluding Toronto) | 03 points |
| Broad Occupational Category (BOC) of Your Job Offer | |
| BOC 0 | 10 points |
| BOC 1 | 05 points |
| BOC 2 | 10 points |
| BOC 3 | 10 points |
| BOC 4 | 04 points |
| BOC 6 | 03 points |
| BOC 7 | 07 points |
| BOC 8 | 04 points |
| BOC 9 | 05 points |
| Salary per hour | |
| $40 or more | 10 points |
| $35-$39.99 | 08 points |
| $30-$34.99 | 07 points |
| $25-$29.00 | 06 points |
| $20-$24.99 | 05 points |
| Less than $20 | 0 points |
| Work Permit availability | |
| If you have a valid work permit | 10 points |
| No work permit | 0 points |
| Job Tenure with Job Offer | |
| If you were already working for 6 months or more in the position for which you got a job offer. | 03 points |
| Working for less than 6 months in the same position of job offer | 00 points |
| Canadian Experience | |
| If you earned $40k annually | 03 points |
| If you earned less than $40 annually | 00 points |
| Total points available | 46 points |
Documents for OINP In-Demand Skills Stream
Keep the following documents ready before applying for the OINP In-Demand Skills Stream.
- A scanned copy of your passport photograph
- Copy of the personal details page of your passport. Copies of all the pages of the passport that have Canadian visa stamps
- Work Permit (if applicable)
- Study Permit (if applicable)
- Job Offer letter (not older than 6 months)
- Pay slips if you are already working at the job offered
- License or certificate (if applicable)
- A positive LMIA
- Work Experience reference letters
- ECA report (valid for 5 years)
- Language test results (valid for 2 years)
- Resumé
All the documents must be uploaded either in English or French. If your documents are in any other language, they must be translated into one of the above languages by an authorized translator.
Application Fee for OINP In-Demand Skills Stream
The non-refundable application fee for the Ontario In-Demand Skills Stream is $1,500 if the job offer is outside the GTA. However, if the job offer is within the GTA, the application fee is $2000 (CAD).
Processing time for In-Demand Skills Stream
The application process for the OINP In-Demand Skills stream takes up to 120 – 150 days. This does not include the time IRCC will take to process your PR visa application. Submitting a complete and updated application significantly improves the processing time.
Steps for Provincial Nomination through the OINP in-demand Skills stream
Getting your Canada PR through the OINP Employer Job Offer In-demand Skills stream includes the following steps.
- Create and sign in to the Ontario account
- Register an Expression of Interest (EOI)
- Get a score out of 46, and receive an ITA in the OINP draws
- Apply for the OINP in-demand skills stream and upload all the mandatory documents. You must apply within 14 days of getting the ITA.
- Pay the program fee
- Get the nomination certificate, nomination approval letter, and work permit support letter once your OINP application is approved
- Apply to the IRCC for Canada PR through the PNP program within 6 months of receiving the provincial nomination.
- Get the COPR once IRCC approves your PR application.
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