Ontario Skilled Trades 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. Ontario Skilled Trades issues provincial nominations to skilled tradespeople with active Express Entry profiles who are already living in Ontario and have Ontario work experience in a skilled trade.
Candidates who are successfully nominated through the Ontario Skilled Trades 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 the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program under Express Entry. 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.
Ontario Skilled Worker is aligned with the federal Express Entry system. In order to be considered, a candidate must have an active Express Entry profile in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program. As candidates are required to have an active Express Entry profile in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the minimum requirements are aligned with the requirements of that program.
Candidates for Ontario Skilled Trades must be residing in Ontario at the time of their application. As well, candidates must be in possession of a valid work permit at the time the application is submitted.
All candidates must submit language test results demonstrating proficiency in either English or French at a minimum level equivalent to the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 5 in all four abilities. These language test results must have been obtained within the two years prior to application.
All candidates must have obtained work experience in Ontario in an eligible skilled trade.
All candidates for the Ontario Skilled Trades 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.
In order to be eligible for the Skilled Trades stream, candidates must meet specific work experience requirements. The candidate must have at least 12-months of cumulative full-time work experience completed in Ontario within the past 2 years. This work experience must have been obtained in a skilled trade.
If the work experience was obtained in a compulsory trade (a trade requiring licensing or certification), then the license or certificate must be valid at the time of application. As well, OINP will only consider work experience obtained while the worker held valid certification or licensing as issued by the Ontario College of Trades.
The Ontario Skilled Trades 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.
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. Applications for permanent residence submitted through Express Entry are generally processed within six months