Applicant Requirements

To qualify under the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream with a TEER 0–3 job offer, an applicant must:

• Have a qualifying job offer in a NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation.
• Have an eligible employer that participates in the OINP Employer Portal process.
• Register an Expression of Interest and receive an Invitation to Apply.
• Meet the applicable work experience requirement or, where permitted, hold the mandatory licence or authorization required for the occupation.
• Hold a valid licence or other authorization if required by Ontario or Canadian law to work in the position.
• Meet the applicable language requirement.
• Meet the applicable education requirement.
• Have legal status in Canada if applying from within Canada.
• Demonstrate an intention to live and work in Ontario.
• Provide documents supporting the EOI scoring factors for which points were claimed.
• Submit a complete application within the required deadline.

The employer’s application for approval of the employment position must also be approved before the applicant can receive a nomination.

Work Experience Requirements

Applicants with a TEER 0–3 job offer must meet one of the applicable work experience or licensing options below.

Option 1: Six Months in the Job Offer Position

Applicants may qualify with at least:

• 6 months of consecutive, paid, full-time work experience
• In the employment position set out in the job offer
• Gained within the 12 months before submitting the OINP application

The experience must generally be with the same employer, in the same occupation and at the applicable work location.

Option 2: Recent Ontario Graduate

An eligible recent Ontario graduate may qualify with at least:

• 3 months of consecutive, paid, full-time work experience
• In the employment position set out in the job offer
• Gained within the 12 months before submitting the application

For this purpose, the applicant must have graduated from an eligible Ontario institution within the previous three years with an eligible credential, such as:

• A post-secondary degree or diploma that took at least two years to complete on a full-time basis
• An Ontario College Graduate Certificate
• A master’s degree
• A PhD degree

Option 3: Two Years of Related Work Experience

Applicants may qualify with at least:

• 2 years of cumulative, paid, full-time work experience
• Obtained within the 5 years before submitting the application
• In the same NOC occupation as the job offer position, subject to specific permitted related-occupation exceptions

Equivalent qualifying part-time work experience may also be accepted.

Specific related-occupation rules apply to certain engineering, pharmacy and nursing-related occupations.

Option 4: Mandatory Licence or Authorization

Where the job offer position requires a licence or other authorization under Ontario or Canadian law, holding the required valid licence or authorization may satisfy the work experience requirement.

However, special rules apply to certain transportation occupations.

Transport and Transit Drivers

Applicants with a job offer under:

• NOC 73300 – Transport truck drivers, or
• NOC 73301 – Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators

must meet the minimum six-month consecutive paid work experience requirement even if they hold the required licence or are recent Ontario graduates.

Language Requirements

Language requirements depend on the applicant’s occupation.

Most TEER 0–3 Occupations

Applicants generally require at least Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 6 in all four language abilities:

• Reading
• Writing
• Listening
• Speaking

Eligible Skilled Trades Occupations

Applicants with a job offer in one of the specified skilled trades occupations generally require at least CLB 5 in all four abilities.

The designated skilled trades occupations include specified occupations within:

• Major Group 72
• Major Group 73
• Major Group 82
• Major Group 83
• Major Group 93
• Minor Group 6320
• Unit Group 62200

subject to the exclusions identified by the OINP.

Recent Ontario Graduate Exemption

A language test is not required for certain applicants who graduated from an eligible Ontario institution within the previous three years with one of the qualifying credentials specified by the OINP.

Accepted Language Tests

Accepted English tests include:

• IELTS General Training
• CELPIP General
• PTE Core

Accepted French tests include:

• TEF Canada
• TCF Canada

Where a language test is required, the test must generally have been taken within the two years before the application is submitted.

Education Requirements

Education requirements depend on the occupation.

For a TEER 0–3 position that is not one of the OINP’s listed skilled trades occupations, the applicant must generally have at least:

• A post-secondary degree or diploma requiring at least one year of full-time study from an eligible Canadian institution, or
• An equivalent foreign credential.

Applicants relying on foreign education generally require a valid Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) demonstrating Canadian equivalency.

Different education rules may apply to applicants with job offers in designated skilled trades occupations.

Job Offer Requirements

The employer’s job offer must:

• Be for a full-time position.
• Be permanent, meaning the position has no end date.
• Be located in Ontario.
• Be in an eligible NOC occupation.
• Be urgently necessary to the employer’s business.
• Not affect the employment of a person involved in a labour dispute.
• Meet the applicable wage requirement.

For OINP purposes:

• Full-time generally means at least 1,560 hours per year and at least 30 hours of paid work per week.
• Permanent means employment of an indeterminate duration with no end date.

Seasonal and contract-based job offers are not eligible.

Wage Requirements

The offered wage must meet the applicable wage level for the occupation in the Ontario region where the employee will work or report to work.

Generally, the wage must meet or exceed the applicable median wage.

However, an eligible recent Ontario graduate with a TEER 0–3 job offer may qualify where the wage meets or exceeds the applicable low wage level, subject to the program requirements.

If regional Job Bank wage information is unavailable, the Ontario wage may be used. If Ontario wage information is also unavailable, historic Job Bank information or national wage data may be considered.

If the applicant is already working in the position, the offered wage must:

• Meet or exceed the applicable OINP wage requirement, and
• Be equal to or greater than the wage the employer is currently paying the applicant in that position.

Piecework, bonuses, commissions, vacation pay and non-financial compensation do not count toward the required hourly base wage.

Different rules may apply where the position is covered by a collective agreement.

Employer Requirements

The employer must meet all OINP employer eligibility requirements and ultimately obtain approval of the employment position.

Generally, the employer must:

• Have been in active business for at least three years before applying.
• Have business premises in Ontario where the applicant will work or report to work.
• Have no outstanding orders under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 or Occupational Health and Safety Act.
• Meet the applicable gross annual revenue requirement.
• Meet the applicable minimum number of Canadian citizen or permanent resident full-time employees.
• Complete reasonable domestic recruitment efforts where required.
• Offer an eligible full-time and permanent position.
• Demonstrate that the position is urgently necessary to the business.

Additional requirements apply to certain transportation employers.

Employer Revenue Requirements

The employer’s minimum gross annual revenue requirement depends on where the applicant will work or report to work.

Greater Toronto Area

If the employee will work or report to work in the Greater Toronto Area, the employer must generally have at least:

$1,000,000 in total gross annual revenue

for its most recently completed fiscal year.

The GTA includes:

• City of Toronto
• Durham
• Halton
• Peel
• York

Specified Ontario Census Divisions

If the employee will work or report to work in one of the specified Ontario census divisions identified by the OINP, the employer must generally have at least:

$500,000 in total gross annual revenue

for its most recently completed fiscal year.

Specified areas include locations such as Ottawa, Waterloo, Hamilton, Simcoe, Middlesex, Niagara, Essex, Wellington, Greater Sudbury, Frontenac, Brant, Peterborough, Hastings and Thunder Bay.

Other Ontario Locations

For qualifying locations not included in the two categories above, the employer must generally have at least:

$250,000 in total gross annual revenue in each of the two most recently completed fiscal years.

Employer Employee Requirements

The employer must also maintain a minimum number of eligible full-time employees at the location where the applicant will work or report to work.

Inside the GTA

The employer must generally have at least:

5 full-time employees

who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents and who work or report to work at that location.

Outside the GTA

The employer must generally have at least:

3 full-time employees

who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents and who work or report to work at that location.

For this requirement, a full-time employee generally means an employee who works at least 30 hours per week.

Recruitment Requirements

Employers may be required to demonstrate that reasonable efforts were made to recruit a Canadian citizen or permanent resident before offering the position to the foreign worker.

Domestic recruitment is generally not required where:

• The foreign worker is already authorized to work in Ontario, or
• The employer has a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for the same NOC and position.

Where recruitment is required, the employer is generally expected to use at least two recruitment or advertising methods, and advertisements should generally run for at least four weeks before the position is offered.

Recruitment undertaken by an immigration representative on behalf of the employer is not considered reasonable recruitment by the OINP because of the potential conflict of interest.

Expression of Interest Process

Applicants cannot submit a nomination application directly without first receiving an Invitation to Apply.

The process begins with the employer.

Step 1: Employer Submits the Job Offer

The employer registers its business in the OINP Employer Portal and provides information about the applicant’s position by submitting a job offer.

This step is required even if the applicant is already working in the position.

Once the employer submits the job offer, the applicant receives a job offer ID.

Step 2: Applicant Registers an EOI

The applicant uses the job offer ID to register an Expression of Interest through the OINP e-Filing Portal.

The applicant must register the EOI within 30 calendar days from the date the employer submitted the job offer.

If the EOI is not registered within the 30-day period, the job offer expires in the system and the employer must submit a new job offer before the applicant can register another EOI.

The EOI remains in the selection pool for up to 12 months, unless the applicant receives an invitation or the EOI is otherwise withdrawn.

Step 3: OINP Invitation Rounds

Ontario may conduct:

• General invitation rounds, or
• Targeted invitation rounds based on labour market or human capital attributes.

Candidates are ranked through the EOI scoring system, and selected candidates may receive an Invitation to Apply.

Registering an EOI does not guarantee an invitation.

Expression of Interest Scoring

Applicants receive an EOI score based on factors that may include:

• NOC TEER category
• NOC broad occupational category
• Hourly wage
• Ontario work experience
• Canadian earnings history
• Legal status in Canada
• Highest level of education
• Number of Canadian education credentials
• Official language ability
• Knowledge of both English and French
• Regionalization factors

EOI scoring factors are not the same as eligibility requirements.

An applicant must meet the basic eligibility criteria for the stream regardless of their EOI score.

If invited, applicants must provide documentation supporting the scoring factors for which they claimed and received points.

Free EOI Points and Eligibility Calculator: https://owps-navigator.lovable.app/