In Demand Skills Stream

OINP Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream

The Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream is an immigration stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.

It gives foreign workers with a job offer in specific in-demand occupations, such as in agriculture, construction, trucking or personal support work, 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 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.

Before you apply

1. Make sure you meet the mandatory requirements

This stream has a number of mandatory requirements you must meet before you can apply. These include:

Job offer requirements – what your job offer must include
Applicant requirements – what you need to have before you apply
Employer requirements– what your employer needs to have before you apply

2. Understand the application process

Please note:

you have to apply online through the OINP e-Filing Portal
it takes about three hours to complete the application
you do not have to complete the application in one session, you can save your work and return to it later
you must submit your application within 14 calendar days after you register or your registration will expire (if it does, you can re-register provided we are still accepting new registrations under this stream)
you can complete the application yourself or have a representative complete it on your behalf
you have to pay to apply and the cost varies depending on where you will be working
you have to pay by credit card, we only accept Visa, Visa Debit, MasterCard and MasterCard Debit

3. Have your supporting documents ready

You also need to make sure you have all your supporting documents, in English or French, scanned and ready to upload when you apply. If you do not, your application will be returned as incomplete and your application fee will be refunded.

1. 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’s Guide for more details on each requirement.

1. 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).

2. Eligible occupation

The position offered must be in one of the following occupations in National Occupation Classification (NOC) Skill Level C or D:

NOC 3413 – nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
NOC 4412 – home support workers and related occupations, excluding housekeepers
NOC 7441 – residential and commercial installers and servicers
NOC 7511 – transport truck drivers
NOC 7521 – heavy equipment operators (except crane)
NOC 7611 – construction trades helpers and labourers
NOC 8431 – general farm workers
NOC 8432 – nursery and greenhouse workers
NOC 8611 – harvesting labourers
NOC 9462 – industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers

3. 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. Refer to the Employer’s Guide for steps on how to find the median wage level.

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.

4. Position is necessary to employer’s business

The position offered must be 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 needed to maintain or grow ongoing business activity.

2. Applicant requirements

Before you apply, you must meet the criteria in seven categories below.

Please refer to section 7 of Ontario Regulation 422/17 and the application guide for more details on each requirement.

1. Work experience

You must have at least 9 months of full-time (or the equivalent in part-time) paid work experience 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 submitting your application while legally living and working in Ontario.

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 in nine months.

Part-time equivalent work experience means:

working in one job for at least 15 hours per week over the course of eighteen (18) months that amounts to at least 1,200 hours of paid work

working in more than one job for at least 30 hours per week for nine months that amounts to at least 1,200 hours of paid work

2. Valid licence or other authorization (if applicable)

If you need a licence or other authorization for the job that you have been offered, you must have it when you apply.

Find out if your job is in a compulsory trade that requires a licence.

3. 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 be no more than two years old at the time you submit your application.

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

4. 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:

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 (the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program).

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.

5. Settlement funds

You must have enough money to support yourself and your dependent family members when you settle in Canada.

You can meet this requirement through the annual earnings of your job offer from your employer.

If the annual salary of your job offer is insufficient to meet the settlement funds requirement based on your family size, you can also include one or a combination of the following to make up the difference:

Funds as demonstrated by the balance listed in bank statements (belonging to yourself and/or your spouse/common-law partner), and/or
Statements of accounts showing other investments, such as fixed term deposits and mutual funds that can be readily converted to cash.

Learn more about the amount of money you must have available in order to apply (see “How much money you will need”).

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 such as:

working or having worked here
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.

3. Employer requirements

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

1. General requirements

To qualify under the 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)

2. Revenue requirements

Your employer’s business must also meet the following requirements for its 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:

the location where the applicant’s immediate supervisor or manager works, or
the location of the administrative office where the applicant will receive work assignments

3. Employee requirements

Your employer’s business must also have at the time of application submission:

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)

or

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

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.

4. Supporting documents

You must provide supporting documents to validate the information in your application and to prove you meet the eligibility criteria.

All supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded in your online application.

Refer to the document checklists for the list of mandatory documents

If a supporting document is not in English or French, you must provide a copy of the document and a translation of the document. Please read Document translation and notarization for more information.

Remember if you do not upload all the required documents, your application will be incomplete, and it will be returned.

5. Cost to apply

The application fee covers the cost of processing your application and is:

$1,500 if the job offer is outside of the Greater Toronto Area
$2,000 if the job offer is within the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions)

We only accept Visa, Visa Debit, MasterCard and MasterCard Debit.

Refunds

We will only refund the fee if we find that your application is incomplete or you withdraw your application before we start processing it.

We will not refund the fee if your application is unsuccessful.

You can check the status of your application through your account in the OINP re-Filing Portal.

6. Use a representative to apply

You may choose to appoint an authorized representative, such as an immigration consultant or lawyer, to provide advice or help with the application process and to act on your behalf with the OINP.

If you wish to appoint a representative, they must create an account in the OINP e-Filing Portal and then submit your application through the portal on your behalf.

Learn more about representatives and how to appoint one.

7. Submit an application

Before you start, make sure you and the employer:

meet all of the necessary requirements under the:
have your credit card ready (we accept Visa, Visa Debit, MasterCard and MasterCard Debit only)
have your supporting documents (in English or French) scanned and ready to upload
read the application instructions (important)

Application instructions

Once you click “Submit an application”:

choose whether you are a returning user or a new applicant
choose the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream
if you are a new applicant, you must pre-register with your name and date of birth (not required if you are already registered)
log into your ONe-key account. If you do not have one, click “Sign up now!”
once you’ve logged into your ONe-key account, you will be sent back to the OINP e-Filing Portal
create a profile in the OINP e-Filing Portal
once you’ve completed your profile, click “Finish” and you will be sent to your main page in the e-Filing Portal
click on the file number beside the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream to begin your application

Please note:

It takes about three hours to complete your application. You don’t have to do it all at once but you must submit your application within 14 calendar days after you first register.

8. After you apply

After you (or your representative) submit your application you will get an email to confirm that we have received it.

You can check the status of your application through your account in the OINP e-Filing Portal.

For regular updates on processing times, read OINP Application processing times and nominations issued

Withdrawing your application

To withdraw your application, click on the “Withdraw” button next to your file number on your main page of the OINP e-Filing Portal.

Please note:

We will only refund the application fee if you withdraw your application before we start processing it.

Changes in personal information

You must notify us if there are any changes to the information provided in your application, including (but not limited to) changes in:

contact information
immigration status (expiration or change in work permit)
family composition due to:
- marriage or common-law relationship
- birth of a child
- change of custody of a child
- divorce/separation
- death

You can make changes to your telephone number, email address and country of residence by logging into the OINP e-Filing Portal and clicking on “My Profile” on your main page. After the change has been made, click “Save”.

For all other changes, or to correct a data entry error (e.g., you misspelled your name):

complete and save a Change of Personal Information form
send the completed form by email as an attachment to ontarionominee@ontario.ca
use the subject line “Application Change Notice – [File number]”
if you are requesting a correction to your name or date of birth, please also include a copy of the personal details page of your passport to validate your request

Please note: We will not accept requests to completely change a name or date of birth.

If you are nominated

If your application is successful, you will receive a Nomination Approval Letter and an OINP Certificate of Nomination by email.

Once we notify you, your next step is to apply for permanent residence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) within six months.

You will need to include your Nomination Approval Letter and the OINP Certificate of Nomination.

Reminder: The job offer is 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 begin working.

If you are not nominated

If your application is unsuccessful, we will let you know by email.

If you think we made an error in our decision that led to your application being refused, you may ask for an internal review.

To request an internal review:

send an email to internalreview-revisioninterne@ontario.ca. You must email us within:
- 30 calendar days of receiving your notice of refusal if you live in Canada
- 60 calendar days of receiving your notice of refusal if you live outside of Canada
in your email, explain how:
- on the date you submitted your application, you met all requirements
- an error we made resulted in your application being unsuccessful

Do not include any new information that you did not include in your original application, unless that information was not reasonably available to you at the time you submitted your application.

New information that you did not include in your application because of an oversight will not be considered.

Internal review requests must be sent by email. We will not accept requests by mail, fax or in-person.

Refer to the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream Application Guide for more information about what happens after you apply.

OINP Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream

Before you apply

1. Make sure you meet the mandatory requirements

2. Understand the application process

3. Have your supporting documents ready

1. Full-time and permanent

2. Eligible occupation

3. Median wage level

4. Position is necessary to employer’s business

1. Work experience

2. Valid licence or other authorization (if applicable)

3. Language

4. Education

5. Settlement funds

6. Intention to live in Ontario

7. Legal status in Canada (if applicable)

1. General requirements

2. Revenue requirements

Meaning of report to work

3. Employee requirements

or

4. Employer Form

Refunds

Application instructions

Withdrawing your application

Changes in personal information

If you are nominated

If you are not nominated

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