The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has implemented the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 system, as required by the federal government. Any new documents or registrations submitted to the OINP must reflect the new federal NOC 2021 system.
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program employer job offer streams: employer guide
Learn how to apply for the approval of an employment position for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, and recruit foreign workers on a full-time and permanent basis.
Overview
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Employer Job Offer streams provide Ontario’s employers with an opportunity to recruit and retain foreign workers to help fill their labour needs.
To qualify as an employer, you must meet program requirements and have made a job offer for a full-time and permanent position to an eligible foreign worker or international student.
The Employer Job Offer: In Demand Skills Stream
The Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream gives foreign workers with a job offer in specific in-demand occupations such as in agriculture, construction, and other select occupations the opportunity to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario. This stream is open to foreign workers in and outside of Canada.
- You must first register in the OINP’s Expression of Interest Systemand receive an invitation to apply before you can apply online to be nominated by the Ontario government for permanent residence.
- If you are nominated, your next step is to apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada(IRCC). They make the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.
Job offer requirements
To qualify under the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream, you must have a job offer in Ontario from an employer that meets the following requirements.
Please refer to section 4 of Ontario Regulation 422/17 and the Employer Guide for more details on each requirement.
- Important: In order for your application to be approved, the job offer must be effective the date that you are nominated by the OINP, if you are already working for the employer in the approved employment position; or if you are not, on the date you obtain a work permit and begin working in the approved employment position. This means that your employer must adhere to the terms and conditions in the job offer and begin paying you the approved wage once you are nominated and begin working.
- Full-time and permanent
- The job offer must be for a full-time and permanent position.
- Full-time means the job must be a minimum of 1,560 hours a year and a minimum of 30 hours of paid work per week.
- Permanent means the job must have no end date (also known as an indeterminate duration). Job offers that are seasonal and/or contract based are ineligible.
* Note that your job offer will not qualify if it affects the employment of a person involved in a labour dispute.
- Eligible occupation
The position offered can be in any location in Ontario (inside and outside the Greater Toronto Area) and must be in one of the following occupations in National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER category 4 or 5:
- 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
The position offered must be outside the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions) and must be in one of the following occupations in National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER category 4 or 5:
- 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
- Median wage level
The pay of the job offered must meet or be higher than the median wage level, for that occupation, in the specific region of Ontario where you will be working. To find the median wage, go to the Job Bank website. Enter the occupation title and NOC code of the job offer into the occupation search. Then enter the location where you will be working into the filter search. Refer to the median wage level listed on the chart.
If the wage of the employment region where the applicant will work or report to work is not available on the wage report, the Ontario wage should be used.
If you are already working in the position, the wage of the job offer must be equal to or greater than the wage level that the employer currently pays you in that position, in addition to meeting or exceeding the median wage level.
These wage requirements do not apply if you have a collective agreement (a written contract between the employer and a union), in your workplace, that determines your wages.
If you are paid an annual salary, your hourly wage can be calculated as follows:
- deduct any bonuses or other discretionary benefits from the annual salary
- divide the remaining amount by the number of weeks of work per year (this will generally be 52 weeks)
- divide this amount by the number of hours of work per week
- the remaining amount is the hourly wage
The program does not consider remuneration by piece work, bonuses, commissions, vacation pay or non-financial compensation as comprising part of your hourly base wage to be included in the calculation of work experience.
- Position is urgently necessary to employer’s business
The position offered must be urgently necessary to your employer’s business. This means that the job offer must align with your employer’s existing business activities and the position must be urgently needed to maintain or grow ongoing business activity.
- Work based in Ontario
The work you do while in the position of the job offer must occur primarily in Ontario.
You or any member of your family may only hold or have held equity in your employer’s business, either directly or indirectly if the equity is/was less than 10% and only if it was obtained as part of the remuneration package as an employee. The combined total amount of equity held by you, or any of your family members, must be less than 10%.
Note that a family member includes your spouse, common law partner and children under the age of 22, including their children.
Applicant requirements
After you receive an invitation to apply, you may apply to the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream. You must meet all the requirements in the categories below in order for your application to be approved.
Please refer to section 7 of Ontario Regulation 422/17 for more details on each requirement.
- Expression of interest and invitation to apply
- You must have received an invitation to apply and applied within the deadline identified.
- You must demonstrate that you had the qualifications that you claimed you had in the expression of interest that you registered with the OINP and attested to.
- Work experience
You must have at least 9 months of cumulative paid full-time work experience (or the equivalent in part-time work) in Ontario, in the same in-demand occupation (same NOC code) as your job offer.
You must have gained this work experience within the three years prior to the date you submit your application, not the date you received the invitation to apply, while legally living and working in Ontario..
Cumulative means the work you’ve done must add up to 9 months — it does not have to be 9 months of continuous work.
Full-time work experience means working in a job with at least 30 hours of paid work in a week that amounts to at least 1,200 hours of paid work over a 9-month period.
Part-time equivalent work experience means:
- working in one job for at least 15 hours of paid work in a week that amounts to at least 1,200 hours of paid work over an 18-month period
- working in more than one job for at least 30 hours of paid work in a week for nine months that amounts to at least 1,200 hours of paid work in that 9-month period
Vacation periods, regular sick leave and other standard paid leave entitlements as provided for in collective agreements, workplace legislation and/or individual employer policies are not considered interruptions to full-time employment. Extended leaves are considered interruptions to full-time employment and are not to be included in the calculation of work experience.
If you are using periods of self-employment, you will need provide employment documentation that is independently verifiable through third parties. This can include client reference letters indicating your duties and periods of work, as well as evidence of ongoing payments to you personally, for the services provided (for example, invoices). Please also note that your hours of self-employed work must be quantifiable to ensure that you accumulated at least 1,200 hours over 9 months of employment. Reference letters from yourself, your business partners and/or a family member are not accepted by the program.
- Valid licence or other authorization (if applicable)
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.
For more information on licences and authorizations in Ontario, please visit the Ontario’s Jobs and Employment website or the Skilled Trades Ontario website.
- Language
You must be able to understand, read, write and speak either English or French at a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 or higher.
To prove that you have the mandatory language skills, you must take an approved English or French language test before you submit your application to this stream.
The test must have been taken within two years from the date you submit your application, not the date you receive your invitation to apply.
For English tests, we accept:
- International English Language Testing (IELTS) – we only accept the General Training test
- Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) – we only accept the General test
For French tests, we accept:
- Test d’évaluation de français pour le Canada (TEF Canada)
- Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada (TCF Canada)
Learn more about the English and French language tests.
- Education
You must have a Canadian secondary school (high school) diploma or credential, or its equivalent in another country.
If you completed your studies outside of Canada, you need to get an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) that proves your education is equivalent to a Canadian high school diploma.
The assessment must be done by one of the following organizations, designated by IRCC:
- Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
- International Credential Assessment Service of Canada
- International Credential Evaluation Service
- International Qualifications Assessment Service
- World Education Services
Each organization charges a different fee and has different processing times. Please review the website of each ECA organization to choose the one that’s best for you.
You must give us a copy of the ECA report when you submit your application. The report cannot be more than five years old at the time you submit your application.
We must be able to confirm your ECA results with the organization that completed it. This means you must authorize the organization to share the results with us specifically (the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program). Authorizing the organization to share the results of your assessment with IRCC is not sufficient for the purposes of your application to the OINP.
To authorize us to see your ECA results from:
- Comparative Education Service – fill out a consent form (PDF)
- World Education Services – order a copy of your ECA report online and indicate the “Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program” as the recipient of the report.
** Note: For the other organizations, no additional steps are required.
- Please contact the ECA organization directly if you have any specific questions about the process for getting an ECA or how to authorize and share your ECA results with us.
You must authorize the organization to share the results of your assessment specifically with the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). Authorizing the organization to share the results of your assessment with IRCC is not sufficient for the purposes of your application to the OINP.
If you do not provide a copy of your ECA report and/or if you do not authorize an organization listed above to share the results of your assessment with the OINP, your application will be returned as incomplete and your application fee refunded.
- Intention to live in Ontario
You must intend to live in Ontario after you’ve been granted permanent residence. We determine this by examining your ties to Ontario, which can include doing things like:
- working or having worked Ontario
- getting job offers, applying to or interviewing for jobs
- studying
- volunteering
- leasing or owning property
- visiting
- having professional networks and affiliations, family ties and personal relationships
- Legal status in Canada (if applicable)
If you are applying from within Canada, you must have legal status (a visitor record, study permit, or work permit) at the time you apply and should maintain that status until the time of nomination.
You may apply if you are in ‘implied status’ at the time of your OINP application submission. ‘Implied status’ means that you submitted an application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to renew/extend your temporary status document (a visitor record, work permit, study permit) before its expiry date. You can remain in Canada and continue to work or study under the same conditions as your existing permit until a decision is made on your pending IRCC application.
Employer requirements
Please refer to section 4 of Ontario Regulation 422/17 and the Employer Guide for more details on each requirement.
- General requirements
To qualify under the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream, your employer must:
- have been in active business for at least three years prior to submitting your application.
- have business premises in Ontario where you will work.
- have no outstanding orders made against them under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act
- demonstrate that enough effort was made to recruit a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident prior to offering the position to you (this only applies if you are currently living outside of Canada or working outside of Ontario)
Job offer
You must give the applicant the original job offer that is signed and dated by you and the applicant to upload with their application.
The job offer must:
- be less than six months old.
- be printed on business letterhead that shows your business address, telephone/fax numbers, email and website addresses
- identify the responsible officer/supervisor and include their signature
- be stamped with the business corporate seal (if applicable)
- include the following information:
- job title
- NOC code
- wage for the position being offered
- duties and responsibilities
- number of hours per week and number of weeks of work per year
- number of days/weeks of vacation
- workplace location
- employment start date
- an indication that the offer being made is for a full-time position of an indeterminate duration (no end date)
- confirmation that the terms and conditions of the job offer are effective as of the date of nomination if the nominee is already working for you in the approved employment position, or if the nominee is not, on the date that the nominee obtains a work permit and begins working for you in the approved employment position
* Note: If the applicant is currently working for you in the same position as the job offer, they can submit the original job offer signed by you and the applicant (it must include the information listed above). You must also give the applicant a letter confirming they are still employed by your company, the conditions of the job and any changes to the position being offered.
Employers must demonstrate that reasonable efforts were made to recruit a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident prior to offering the position to the applicant, unless:
- the applicant already has a valid work permit to work in Ontario
- the employer has a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for the position
The OINP is designed to assist employers in circumstances where their efforts to fill a position domestically were unsuccessful due to skills shortages. Employers are expected to conduct domestic recruitment efforts on their own, or with the assistance of recruitment agencies/specialists (for example, head hunters, human resource consulting firms) who have expertise in recruiting domestic talent.
Please note that the OINP does not consider domestic recruitment efforts carried out by an immigration representative to be reasonable. In such situations, a conflict of interest exists since the immigration representative stands to benefit financially should domestic recruitment efforts be determined to be unsuccessful. If an application indicates that domestic recruitment efforts were undertaken by an immigration representative, the application will be refused.
- Revenue requirements
Your employer’s business must meet the relevant revenue requirement for the most recently completed fiscal year (the year used for tax or accounting purposes):
- a minimum of $1,000,000 in total gross annual revenue if you will work or report to work at a location in the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions)
- a minimum of $500,000 in total gross annual revenue if you will work or report to work at a location outside the Greater Toronto Area
Meaning of report to work
In cases where the applicant will work at more than one location, the location where the applicant will report to work means either:
- the location where the applicant’s immediate supervisor or manager works
- the location of the administrative office where the applicant will receive work assignments
- Full-time employee requirements
Your employer’s business must also have at the time of application submission one of the following:
- at least five full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents who work at the location where you will work, or will report to work, if you will work or report to work at a location in the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions)
- at least three full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents who work at the location where you will work, or will report to work, if you will work or report to work at a location outside the Greater Toronto Area
Meaning of full-time employee
- A full-time employee is an employee who has worked a minimum of 30 hours per week.
- Employer Form
Your employer must make an application for approval of an employment position by filling out and signing an Employer Form.
Your employer then must give you the form so you can scan and upload it with your application.
When we assess your application, we may need additional supporting documents from your employer to validate information included in the Employer Form. Please read the Employer Checklist for a list of possible documents that may be requested.
Employer Job Offer Streams: Employer Checklist
- Summary
- Employer form
- Job offer
- Other documents (if applicable)
- Additional documents (if requested after application submission)
- Active business documents
- Business premise documents
- Gross annual revenue documents
- Number of full-time employees documents
- Recruitment efforts documentation (Foreign Worker or In-Demand Skills streams only)
- How to submit your documentation
Scoring factors
Once you register an expression of interest under this stream you will be assigned points based on the following factors.
If you are invited to apply, you will be required to submit specific documents to support each scoring factor for which you received points. Scoring factors are not the same as stream criteria. You must meet all criteria for this stream and provide the mandatory documents with your application.
Refer to the document checklist for the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills stream.
Employment / labour market factors
Job offer: NOC broad occupational category
- Occupational Category 0,2,3 – 10 points
- Occupational Category 7 – 7 points
- Occupational Category 1,9 – 5 points
- Occupational Category 4,8 – 4 points
- Occupational Category 5,6 – 3 points
Job offer: wage
- $40 per hour or higher – 10 points
- $35 to $39.99 per hour – 8 points
- $30 to $34.99 per hour – 7 points
- $25 to $29.99 per hour – 6 points
- $20 to $24.99 per hour – 5 points
- Less than $20 per hour – 0 points
Work permit status
- With valid work permit – 10 points
- Without valid work permit – 0 points
Job tenure with job offer employer
- 6 months or more working in job offer position – 3 points
- Less than 6 months working in job offer position or not currently working in position – 0 points
Canadian work experience: earnings history
Based on a Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency in the last five years.
- $40k or more earnings in a year – 3 points
- Less than $40k earnings in a year – 0 points
Regionalization
Regional immigration: location of job offer
- Northern Ontario – 10 points
- Other areas outside GTA (except Northern Ontario) – 8 points
- Inside GTA (except Toronto) – 3 points
- Toronto – 0 points
Recruitment efforts documentation
(Foreign Worker or In-Demand Skills streams only)
Some employers have to demonstrate that they made enough effort to recruit a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident for the position being offered to the applicant.
You may be asked to provide proof of recruitment efforts if the OINP applicant is:
- currently living abroad
- visiting Canada
- working in a province or territory other than Ontario
You will not have to provide proof of recruitment if the applicant is currently authorized to work in Ontario, or you have a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for the same NOC code and position being offered to the applicant. If you do have a LMIA, you may be asked to provide a copy.
Proof of recruitment efforts
To prove you tried to recruit a Canadian citizen or permanent resident prior to offering the position to the applicant, you may be asked to submit additional documents to demonstrate your advertising or recruitment methods after application submission, above and beyond the job advertisements that you must give the applicant to scan and upload with their application.
You should use a minimum of two advertising or recruitment methods, including:
- a job bank advertisement with the Government of Canada’s Job Bank
- print media (national or provincial/territorial newspapers, national journals, magazines with national coverage, specialized journals, professional association magazines, newsletters, etc.)
- advertisement on general employment websites (workopolis.com, monster.ca, indeed.ca, LinkedIn Jobs, CareerBuilder.ca, Glassdoor.ca, Eluta.ca etc.)
- advertisement on specialist websites dedicated to specific occupation profiles (accounting, marketing, biotechnology, education, engineering etc.)
- posting on employer’s career website for internal and external candidates
- demonstrated participation at job fairs
Your advertisement should be posted for at least four weeks prior to offering the position to the applicant, be accessible to the general public and include:
- business operating name
- business address
- position title and duties
- skill requirements which include education and/or work experience
- wage (where a wage is posted, the median wage must be within the range)
- location where the employee will work (city or town)
- contact information: name, address, telephone number, email address
- date posted and date advertisement will close (dd/mm/yyyy – dd/mm/yyyy)
Do not submit personal information about candidates to the OINP, such as resumes containing names, addresses, dates of birth, etc.
How to submit your documentation
The following documents must be given to the applicant to upload with their application
- Employer Form
- Signed job offer
- If applicable:
- Job advertisements
- LMIA
- Collective agreement
- Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration (CVOR) certificate
