In-Demand Skills

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has several streams and one of those are the Employer Job Offer In-Demand Skills Stream. This stream targets workers with a job offer in a specific occupation, allowing them to apply to live and work permanently in Ontario.

This is a Non-Express Entry pathway, allowing candidates to apply directly to the province by submitting an Expression of Interest. Only foreign nationals who have received a permanent and full-time job offer from an eligible Ontario employer and meet all the other eligibility requirements should apply.

Applicant Requirements

·         Work Experience: 9 months of cumulative work experience in Ontario within past 3 years, experience needs to be in the same in-demand occupation (same NOC) as your job offer

·         Education: Minimum completion of Canadian secondary school (high school) diploma or credential, or the equivalent in another country (ECA required for outside Canada education)

·         Language: CLB level 4 or higher in either English or French.

Tests accepted are IELTS General, CELPIP General, PTE Core for English.

Tests accepted are TEF Canada, and TCF Canada for French.

·         Valid License (if applicable): In the case the job offer is for an occupation which requires a mandatory license or other form of authorization, candidate must possess the valid license or authorization issued by the appropriate regulatory body in Ontario.

·         Settlement Funds: Applicants must meet the settlement funds requirement as determined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This can be shown via things like annual earnings from employment, bank statements, any/or a job offer in Ontario.

·         Intent to Reside:  Applicant must show intent to reside in Ontario, this can be shown by showing ties to Ontario. Things like relatives, past education, purchase of property, work experience in Ontario, etc.

·         Legal Status: Applicants that are applying from within Canada, must have legal status at the time of application and until they receive a nomination from Ontario.

Job Offer Requirements

To qualify and be eligible under Ontario’s Employer Job Offer In-Demand Skills Stream, the applicant needs to have a job offer in Ontario from an employer that meets the following criteria:

·         The position must be full-time, requiring a minimum of 1,560 hours annually and at least 30 hours of paid work weekly, with no specified end date (needs to be indeterminate duration). It cannot be a seasonal, contract-based position, or involved in a labour dispute.

·         The job’s pay must meet or exceed the median wage for that occupation in the specific region of Ontario where the applicant will work. Utilization of the Job Bank website can be done to find this information using the occupation title, NOC code, and location.  If applicant is already working in the position, the pay in the job offer must meet or exceed the current wage being paid and meet or exceed the median wage level.

Eligible NOC Codes:

Moreover, the occupation must be in an eligible NOC Code in TEER category 4 of 5.

For positions inside or outside the GTA, the following NOC codes are eligible:

NOC 44101: Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations

NOC 65202: Meat cutters and fishmongers – retail and wholesale

NOC 75110: Construction trades helpers and labourers

NOC 75119: Other trades helpers and labourers

NOC 84120:Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators

NOC 85100: Livestock Labourers

NOC 85103: Nursery and greenhouse labourers

NOC 94141: Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers

The following NOC codes are only eligible for positions outside the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton York and Peel Regions). In TEER categories 4 or 5:

NOC 14400: Shippers and Receivers

NOC 14402: Production logistics workers

NOC 65320: Dry cleaning, laundry and related occupations

NOC 74200: Railway yard and track maintenance workers

NOC 74203: Automotive and heavy truck and equipment parts installers and servicers

NOC 74204: Utility maintenance workers

NOC 74205: Public works maintenance equipment operators and related workers

NOC 75101: Material handlers

NOC 75211: Railway and motor transport labourers

NOC 75212: Public works and maintenance labourers

NOC 85102: Aquaculture and marine harvest labourers

NOC 94100: Machine operators, mineral and metal processing

NOC 94101: Foundry workers

NOC 94102: Glass forming and finishing machine operators and glass cutters

NOC 94103: Concrete, clay and stone forming operators

NOC 94104: Inspectors and testers, mineral and metal processing

NOC 94105: Metalworking and forging machine operators

NOC 94106: Machining tool operators

NOC 94107: Machine operators of other metal products

NOC 94110: Chemical plant machine operators

NOC 94111: Plastics processing machine operators

NOC 94112: Rubber processing machine operators and related workers

NOC 94120: Sawmill machine operators

NOC 94121: Pulp mill, papermaking and finishing machine operators

NOC 94123: Lumber graders and other wood processing inspectors and graders

NOC 94124: Woodworking machine operators

NOC 94132: Industrial sewing machine operators

NOC 94140: Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing

NOC 94142: Fish and seafood plant workers

NOC 94143: Testers and graders, food and beverage processing

NOC 94200: Motor vehicle assemblers, inspectors and testers

NOC 94201: Electronics assemblers, fabricators, inspectors and testers

NOC 94202: Assemblers and inspectors, electrical appliance, apparatus and equipment manufacturing

NOC 94203: Assemblers, fabricators and inspectors, industrial electrical motors and transformers

NOC 94204: Mechanical assemblers and inspectors

NOC 94205: Machine operators and inspectors, electrical apparatus manufacturing

NOC 94211: Assemblers and inspectors of other wood products

NOC 94212: Plastic products assemblers, finishers and inspectors

NOC 94213: Industrial painters, coaters and metal finishing process operators

NOC 94219: Other products assemblers, finishers and inspectors

NOC 95100: Labourers in mineral and metal processing

NOC 95101: Labourers in metal fabrication

NOC 95102: Labourers in chemical products processing and utilities

NOC 95103: Labourers in wood, pulp and paper processing

NOC 95104: Labourers in rubber and plastic products manufacturing

NOC 95106: Labourers in food and beverage processing

NOC 95107: Labourers in fish and seafood processing

Employer Requirements

To be eligible under the Employer Job Offer; In-demand Skills Stream, the employer needs to meet the following requirements:

·         Minimum three years of active business prior to application submission

·         Have a business premises in Ontario where the applicant will work

·         Employer must have no orders outstanding that have been made against them under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act

·         The employer needs to demonstrate that adequate effort was made to recruit a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, prior to the position being offered to the applicant (unless the applicant holds a valid work permit to work in Ontario, or the employer holds a positive LMIA)

Furthermore, the employer needs to meet certain revenue requirements, see below:

·         Minimum total gross revenue of $1,000,000 if the applicant will work or report to a location inside the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York, and Peel Regions)

·         Minimum total gross revenue of $500,000 if the applicant will work or report to work at a location outside of the Greater Toronto Area

The employer is also required to meet “full-time employee requirements”, see below:

·         If the work location is inside the Greater Toronto Area, the employer must have at least 5 full-time employees that are Canadian citizens or permanent residents that report to work at that location

·         If the work location is outside the Greater Toronto Area, the employer must have at least 3 full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents that report to work at that location.

Employer Form

The employer needs to make an application for approval of an employment position. This can be done by filling out and signing an Application for Approval of an Employment Position (Employer Form). Applicants are required to submit this form with their application.

How to Apply – Application Procedure

To apply to the In-Demand Skills Stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), applicants can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) by signing on to the OINP e-filing Portal. The profiles are ranked via a points-based system. Candidates with highest rank will be issued an invitation to apply, when OINP draws take place.

Upon receiving an invitation to apply, candidates have 14 calendar days to submit their application for nomination. Therefore, it is important to have all your documents ready beforehand.

If approved by the province, Ontario will notify the applicant of their selection for provincial nomination. The notification will be delivered to the applicant through the applicants account within the e-Filing Portal.

The next step the applicant needs to do after receiving the provincial nomination is to submit a federal application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence.

Are you looking to apply?

If you are looking to apply to the In-Demand Skills Stream and need assistance, feel free to contact us at info@bgkglobalimmigration.com