Human Capital Priorities

Ontario Human Capital Priorities is one of the Human Capital streams of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) operated by the province of Ontario. Human Capital Priorities uses a merit-based system to nominate highly-qualified skilled workers from the federal Express Entry pool who will be able to be lasting members of Ontario’s workforce

Candidates who are successfully nominated through the Ontario Human Capital Priorities Stream will be invited to submit an official application for Canadian permanent residence. This stream is aligned with the federal Express Entry immigration system. In order to be eligible for the stream, a candidate must have an active profile in one of the following two Express Entry programs:

• Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), or;
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

The program is by invitation only and foreign nationals cannot apply to the program directly. All candidates in the Express Entry pool are automatically considered for the program when they submit their Express Entry profile. The province will send a Notification of Interest (NOI) to the Express Entry accounts of those candidates it invites to apply.

Program Requirements

Ontario Human Capital Priorities is aligned with the federal Express Entry system. In order to be considered, candidates must have an active Express Entry profile in either Federal Skilled Worker(FSW) or Canadian Experience Class (CEC):

1. Federal Skilled Worker requires candidates to have, at minimum, a high school diploma, as well as at least one year of continuous full-time, skilled work experience. Work experience is considered skilled if obtained in a position at National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Level 0, A, or B. Candidates must also demonstrate language proficiency in English or French consistent with Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7.
2. Canadian Experience Class has no minimum education requirement. CEC candidates must have a minimum of one year of full-time Canadian skilled work experience. This work experience does not have to be continuous, but it must have been obtained within the three years prior to application. Work experience is considered skilled if obtained in a position at NOC Skill Level 0, A, or B. Candidates must also demonstrate language proficiency in English or French consistent with CLB level 7 for work experience obtained at NOC Skill Level 0 or A and CLB 5 for work experience obtained at NOC Skill Level B.

All candidates in Express Entry are assigned a score based on their profile. This score is called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. In order to be eligible for the Ontario Human Capital Priorities stream, a candidate’s CRS score must be 400 points or higher. There have been instances where OINP has briefly lowered the minimum score requirement in the past, but there is no guarantee this will happen again in the future.

All candidates must demonstrate language proficiency in English or French consistent with Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7.

All candidates for the Ontario Human Capital Priorities stream must meet the settlement funds requirement as determined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This can be demonstrated through their own finances, or through maintaining a valid offer of employment. Please note that candidates in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) stream of Express Entry still must demonstrate proof of settlement funds for the OINP application. CEC candidates are exempt from showing settlement funds at the federal level, but not at the provincial level.

Application Procedure

The Ontario Human Capital Priorities stream operates on an invitation only basis. To apply to the stream, candidates who meet the minimum eligibility requirements must create an Express Entry profile. They must then wait to be issued a Notification of Interest (NOI) from the province of Ontario.Note that simply meeting the minimum eligibility requirements does not guarantee that a candidate will receive an NOI.

The province of Ontario reviews Express Entry profiles and issues an NOI to those candidates the province may be interested in nominating. Only candidates who receive an NOI are eligible to submit an application to the OINP for provincial nomination.

OINP regularly announces recent rounds of NOI’s issued and the CRS score range of recipients. Once a candidate receives an NOI, they have 45 calendar days to prepare and submit an online application through the OINP e-Filing Portal. The OINP application fee is $1,500 CAD. 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 IRCC online account.

After accepting the provincial nomination, the applicant’s CRS score will increase by 600 points, virtually guaranteeing they will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence in the next Express Entry draw. After receiving an ITA, the applicant must prepare and submit an official application for Canadian permanent residence within the designated time frame