OINP – Foreign Worker Stream

The Foreign Worker Stream targets the foreign workers with job letter from Ontario employer intent to live in Ontario permanently

The Foreign Worker Stream of Employer Job Offer Category is one of several immigration streams of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program(OINP), a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) operated by the province of Ontario. The Foreign Worker Stream targets the foreign worker and international students with a job offer from Ontario employer intent to live and work in Ontario permanently. The eligible candidate with the right set of skills, education, and experience may receive a provincial nomination for Ontario. A successfully nominated candidate under the Foreign Worker Stream can apply for Canadian permanent residence in IRCC. The candidate must demonstrate the intent to live and work in Ontario permanently.

If the candidate is living in Ontario, it must be on a valid status which can be a study permit, work permit or visitor visa. The OINP also accepts applications from the applicants who are on an Implied Status while applying.

Under the Foreign Worker Stream, both the applicant and Ontario employer must meet the certain requirements of this stream.

Eligibility Requirement

Applicant Requirement

Job Offer

To be eligible for Foreign Worker Stream, the candidate must have a job offer for a full-time and permanent job position from an Ontario employer. The job offer must be for a position for an occupation under National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B. The wages for the position must meet the entry-level wage levels of Ontario.

Work Experience

The candidate must have at least one year of full-time, cumulative paid work experience or the equivalent to the part-time work obtained in the last five(5) years prior to the submission of the application to OINP in the occupation listed in your job offer. It must be obtained in Canada while maintaining legal status. The candidate must have performed the same work duties matching to the duties under NOC which was listed in the job offer.

If the candidate claimed occupation that requires authorization or licensing, the candidate must demonstrate the valid licence issued and verified by the appropriate regulatory body. The cumulative work experience means the work does need to be continuous for one year. The work you have done will add up to one year of work.

The candidate also claims a work experience obtained while self-employed but it must have been paid, full-time or the equivalent part-time and in the NOC Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B. This can be demonstrated through the documentation which includes:

• the confirmation of business ownership,
• reference letters from the clients mentioning the services provided and the payment details,
• proof of ongoing payments for the services provided through the invoices or other related documents
• employment documents independently verifiable through 3rd parties.
• Independent documents include the reference letter from third parties indicating the applicant’s duties and periods of work, document indicating the payments to the applicant, services provided by the applicant.

Whereas the reference letter from the applicant, business partner, or family member will not be acceptable.

Intention To Reside In Ontario

Candidate must demonstrate the intent to live and work in Ontario which can be demonstrated through the following ties of a candidate to Ontario:

• Any employment in Ontario
• Jobs applied/interviews for or job offer in Ontario
• Education studies in Ontario
• Volunteer work in Ontario
• Lease Agreement or Property ownership for a residence in Ontario
• Professional affiliations and network
• Family ties
• Personal relationships or social connections
• Last visit to Ontario

Employer Requirement

Job Offer

The employer must provide a job offer for a full-time and permanent position which must consistis of at least 30 hours of paid work per week for 52 weeks which must include the periods of paid vacations. The job offer position must be in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B to be eligible for this stream.

The position for which the applicant will be working must meet the median wage level for the occupation in the specific employment region of Ontario. If the applicant is already working for this job, the wage of job must be equal to or greater than the current wage of the applicant earning in that position and must meet the median wage level.

The job offer position must be necessary to the employer’s business and the position must be aligned with the existing business activities.

Business Requirement

The employer’s business must be active for at least three (3) years prior to the application submission date. The location of business must be maintained in the Ontario where the application will work. If the applicant will work in more than one location the employer must maintain the place of business in Ontario where the applicant will report to work. The business must be in compliance with all the Provincial Labour Laws, including but not limited to the health and safety, employment standards and labour relations legislation.

The employer must able to demonstrate the minimum number of employers who are Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada and working full-time at the location where the application will work.

• • If the applicant will report to work or work in the Greater Toronto Area, the employer must demonstrate that the business has at least five full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or Permanent Residence who work or report at the same location.
  • If the applicant will report to work or work Outside the Greater Toronto Area, the employer must demonstrate the business has at least three full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or Permanent Residence who work or report at the same location.

If the employer’s business where the applicant will work or report to work location is in the Greater Toronto Area (including the City of Toronto, Halton, Durham, York and Peel Regions), the employer must demonstrate that the business had a total gross annual revenue of at least $1,000,000 (excluding HST/GST).

If the employer’s business where the applicant will work or report to work location is outside the Greater Toronto Area, the employer must demonstrate that the business had a total gross annual revenue of at least $500,000 (excluding HST/GST).

Recruitment Requirement

The employer must demonstrate they have made reasonable but unsuccessful efforts to fulfil the position of the job offer with the permanent resident or Canadian citizen. The employer must need to demonstrate sufficient proof of recruitment efforts if the candidate is visiting Canada, currently living abroad, or working in the territory, or province other then Ontario. The employer need not demonstrate if the applicant is an individual authorized to work in Ontario or the employer is having an LMIA for the exact NOC code and position being offered to the applicant.

Ineligible Job Offer

The job will not be considered as eligible if the offering position is part-time or seasonal, subcontractor, or regardless of hours worked or an agency position. If the employment of a candidate involved in such a dispute or affect the settlement of any labour dispute, it will be considered ineligible. Also, it will be considered ineligible if the applicant or whose family members who holds or has held equity in the business, unless the equity was obtained as part of the applicant’s remuneration as an employee, and the total held by their family members and applicant is/was less than 10%.

Application Procedure

Before submitting an application, the candidate must first review the job offer, employer requirements and applicant requirements of the stream to ensure they are eligible to apply for this stream.

The eligible candidates can register the online application via the OINP e-Filing Portal. After registering, the applicant will have 14 calendar days to submit their completed application with the supporting scanned documents and an OINP application fee. If the documents are not in English or French, the applicant must translate the supporting documents from a certified translator accredited by the ATIO and/or obtain a notarization if the documents are not translated by a translator certified by the ATIO. The OINP application fee is $1,500 CAD for the job offer obtained is located outside the Greater Toronto Area and $2,000 CAD for the job offer obtained in the Greater Toronto Area.

The OINP considers applications incomplete and refunds the application fee if the applicant submits an incorrect supporting documents or the required documents are not certified or notarized. The applicant must also notify any changes to the personal information to the OINP.

If the applicant is nominated by the OINP, the applicant will receive a Nomination Approval Letter (Letter of Nomination), Confirmation of Nomination (OINP Certificate of Nomination) and a work permit support letter. The applicant must continue to meet the conditions of their nomination. The applicant must inform the OINP if there are any changes in the position title, job offer conditions, duties, wages, employment location, and/or hours of work. The OINP must be notified if the employment is ceased by the employer of the applicant.

With the work permit support letter issued by the province, the applicant will able to apply for a work permit application to IRCC while their permanent residency application is in processing. After receiving a provincial nomination candidate has six months to complete and submit a paper-based application for permanent residence by mail to the appropriate application centre which is generally processed within 18 months.