Minimum Eligibility Criteria

The minimum requirements are to become an eligible candidate for the OINP- Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream. However, having eligibility does not confirm the approval from the designated province. Below are the eligibility criteria:

Job Offer Requirements

1. • The job offer must be for a permanent, full-time position i.e. at least 30 hours/week with no end date. Contractual or reasonable jobs are not eligible.
   • The wage for your job offer must be equal to or higher than the median wage level, for that occupation, in the specific region of Ontario where you will be working. The exception to this rule is if you’re working in a union and the union agreement determines your wage;
   • To convert the annual wage into an hourly rate, divide your annual salary by (52x No. of hours of work/week e.g. 40).
   • The position itself must be urgent and necessary for the employer’s operations.
   • The job offer must be in either of the two sets of occupations mentioned below. If it is in the 8 occupations mentioned below, it can be anywhere in Ontario:
     • 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 84120 – Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators
     • NOC 85100 – Livestock labourers
     • NOC 85101 – Harvesting labourers
     • NOC 85103 – Nursery and greenhouse labourers
     • NOC 94141 – Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
   • If the job offer is in any of the 14 occupations mentioned below, it must be Outside the Greater Toronto Area:
     • NOC 94100 – Machine operators, 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 94124 – Woodworking machine operators
     • NOC 94132 – Industrial sewing machine operators
     • NOC 94140 – Process control and machine operators, food and beverage processing
     • NOC 94201 – Electronics assemblers, fabricators, inspectors and testers
     • NOC 94204 – Mechanical assemblers and inspectors
     • NOC 94213 – Industrial painters, coaters and metal finishing process operators
     • NOC 94219 – Other products assemblers, finishers and inspectors
     • NOC 95102 – Labourers in chemical products processing and utilities

Work Experience

• Work Experience in Ontario: Within the last 3 years of submitting your OINP application (not the EOI), you must have at least 9 months of cumulative paid full-time work experience in Ontario (or equivalent part-time), in the same NOC Code as your job offer.
• Self-Employment: You can claim self-employment experience. But it needs to be independently verifiable through third parties e.g. reference letters, proof of payments to you, etc.
• Licensing: If your job offer is for an occupation that requires a mandatory licence or other authorization in Ontario, you must hold a valid licence or authorization from the appropriate regulatory body in Ontario when you apply.

Educational Requirements:

• Have completed the equivalent of a Canadian secondary school (high school) education or above, as demonstrated by a valid Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). You must authorize the organization doing your ECA to share the results with the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program electronically. 

Language Requirements

• Have an English or a French-language level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 or above in all language competencies (reading, writing, listening, and speaking).
• Language ability must be proved with valid language test results i.e. IELTS – General Training, CELPIP – General Test, TEF, or TCF.

Intent to reside in Ontario:

All applicants must intend to reside in Ontario. The OINP will request that the applicant demonstrate ties to Ontario, which include (but are not limited to) current and/or previous employment, job offers or jobs applied/interviewed for, education, volunteer work, lease agreements for a residence, property ownership, professional networks and affiliations, family ties, social connections or personal relationships, and previous visits to Ontario.

Legal Status:

Hold legal status (i.e. a visitor record, study permit, or work permit) and should maintain that status until nomination (if residing in Canada at the time of applying). You can also apply while on “maintained/implied” status. 

Employer Eligibility Requirements

1. Have been in active business for at least three years prior to your application submission, so it cannot be an employer which just started its business;
2. Have business premises in Ontario where the prospective nominee will work;
3. Demonstrate sufficient proof of recruitment efforts if the prospective nominee is currently living abroad, or working in a province or territory other than Ontario;
4. Comply with all provincial labour laws, including, but not limited to, employment standards, health and safety, and labour relations legislation;
5. If the applicant will work or report to work inside the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the employer must have at least $1,000,000 CAD in annual gross revenues and 5 full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents;
6. If the applicant will work or report to work outside the GTA, the employer must have at least $500,000 CAD in annual gross revenues and 3 full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents;
7. The employer must make an application for approval of an employment position by submitting an employer form.

Scoring Enough Points

The OINP Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream is points based. You need to score enough points to be invited to apply for a nomination. To calculate your points, use our free points calculator.

The maximum points that you can obtain in this stream are less than the Foreign Worker Stream, as even though language skills are mandatory, there are no points for them. Similarly, the max points of NOC TEER are 10, not 20 in two sections like the Foreign Worker Stream.

Last year, 1,069 applicants were invited to apply by OINP through the In-Demand Skills stream or 6% of the overall invite, through 4 rounds of invites. The minimum scores required to receive an invite varied from 23 – 30.