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.

1. Expression of interest and invitation to apply

1. You must have received an invitation to apply and applied within the deadline identified.
2. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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 Ontario’s Jobs and Employment website or the Skilled Trades Ontario website.

4. 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.

5. 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.
• 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.

6. 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

7. 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 IRCCapplication.

Employer requirements

Please refer to section 4 of Ontario Regulation 422/17 and the Employer Guide for more details on each requirement.

1. 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)

Please note, if your employer is seeking an approval of a NOC 7511 – Transport truck driver employment position, they must demonstrate that they have a valid CVOR certificate, as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Highway Traffic Act, and a safety rating under that Act of Excellent, Satisfactory or Satisfactory Unaudited.

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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 the information included in the Employer Form. Please read the Employer Checklist for a list of possible documents that may be requested.