Ontario In-Demand Skills is one of the Employer Job Offer streams of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) operated by the province of Ontario. In-Demand Skills targets foreign nationals who have work experience in one of the province’s in-demand occupations, obtained within Ontario, and who possess a valid job offer from an Ontario employer.
Candidates who are successfully nominated through the Ontario In-Demand Skills stream will be invited to submit an official application for Canadian permanent residence.
The Ontario In-Demand Skills stream has certain requirements which must be met by both the foreign national applicant and the Ontario employer.
In order to qualify for the Ontario In-Demand Skills stream, a foreign national must have a valid job offer from an Ontario employer. The job offer must be for a full-time position, paid at or above the median wage level for that occupation in Ontario. The position must be in one of the OINP In-Demand Occupations
The In-Demand Skills stream requires a minimum language proficiency score, in either English or French, consistent with the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4.
All applicants to this stream must have completed an educational credential equivalent to a Canadian high school diploma or higher.
Any person applying to OINP In-Demand Skills must have a cumulative amount of at least 1 year of full-time work experience obtained within the previous 3 years. This work experience must have been obtained in Ontario and be in the same in-demand NOC code as the occupation listed on their Ontario job offer
If a position requires a licence to practice in Ontario, then the applicant must hold the valid licence, certificate, or authorization to practice the profession as indicated on their Ontario job offer. The licence must have been issued by an eligible regulatory body in Ontario.
All candidates for the Ontario In-Demand Skills stream must meet the settlement funds requirement as determined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This can be demonstrated through the candidate’s own finances, through maintaining a valid offer of employment with annual compensation that meets the minimum settlement funds requirement, or through some combination of the two.
All applicants to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) must prove their intention to reside in the province. This can be shown through connections to the province (relatives, past education, etc.), investment in the province (purchase of property), or efforts to participate in Ontario society (volunteering, work experience, etc.).
In order for an applicant to apply to the Ontario In-Demand Skills stream, they must have a valid job offer from an eligible Ontario employer.
The employer must offer a full-time, indeterminate position with a wage that meets industry standards.
The business must be established and in good standing in Ontario with a history of good workplace and business practices. The business must also meet minimum gross annual revenue and employee requirements:
The employer must demonstrate that reasonable efforts were made to recruit a Canadian to fill the position prior to offering the position to a foreign national unless the foreign national already has authorization to work in Ontario.
Eligible applicants can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through OINP’s e-Filing Portal for the chance to be invited to apply for nomination. Profiles are ranked on an OINP points-based system. The highest-ranking candidates will be issued an invitation to apply in one of the OINP draws.
Once an invitation is received, the applicant has 14 calendar days to apply for nomination. If the province approves the application, Ontario will notify the applicant they have been selected for provincial nomination. This notification will be sent to the applicant’s ONe-Key account within the e-Filing Portal.
After receiving a provincial nomination, an applicant must submit a federal application for Canadian permanent residence. Applicants in this program must complete and submit a paper-based application for permanent residence and submit it by mail to the appropriate application centre. Paper-based PNP applications for permanent residence are generally processed within 18 months.