Ontario In-Demand Skills Stream

About the In-demand Skills Stream

Ontario In-Demand Skills is one of the Employer Job Offer streams of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) operated by the province of Ontario. In-Demand Skills are aimed at foreign nationals who have experience of working in one of Ontario’s in-demand jobs and who have a legitimate job offer from an Ontario employer.

This gives foreign workers the opportunity to apply for permanent living and working in Ontario for certain jobs, such as farming, construction, trucking, and personal support. Foreign employees can apply only if they have received the Ontario employer’s permanent and complete job offer, met all eligibility criteria, and received a prospective employer’s Employer Form.

In-demand Skills Stream of the Employer Job Offer is not compliant with the federal immigration program for Express Entry. Since this sequence of applications has started in the National Occupational Classification (NOC), for new applicants in ability levels C or D, individuals who may not be entitled to immigrating to Canada via Express Entry or other established OINP series may find that they may be qualified to become provincial candidates in Ontario now.

Besides, before you apply, there are some primary criteria must be satisfied including

• 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

Job 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.

Important: To accept your application, the job offer must take effect on the day you are nominated by the OINP, if you are already working for the employer in the approved position; or if you are not, on the day you receive a work permit and start working in the approved position. It means that once selected, the employer has to abide by the terms and conditions of the job offer and continues to pay the accepted salary.

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 laborers
• NOC 8431 – general farmworkers
• NOC 8432 – nursery and greenhouse workers
• NOC 8611 – harvesting laborers
• NOC 9462 – industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers

3. Median wage level

For that occupation, the pay of the job offered must reach or be higher than the median wage level in the specific region of Ontario where you are going to work. For information on how to calculate the median wage rate, see the Employer’s Guide.

If you are already employed in that position, in addition to meeting or exceeding the median wage rate, the compensation of the job offer must be equal to or greater than the salary level already paid by the employer to you.

Such pay conditions do not apply if your wages are set by the employers by means of a collective agreement (a negotiated arrangement between the employer and a trade union).

4. The position is necessary for the employer’s business

The proposed position must be needed for the company of your employer. It ensures that your work offer needs to be in line with your existing business activities and the job needs to be maintained and extended.

Applicant requirement

1. Work experience

You must be on the same request occupation (the same NOC Code) as your job offer with at least 9 months of fully paid (or part-time equivalent) work experience in Ontario. Your work experience must be obtained within 3 years before the application is submitted because you lawfully live and work in Ontario.

Full-time work involves working in a job with at least 30 pay work hours in a week that is at least 1.200 paid hours over 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, or
• 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 license or other authorization (if applicable)

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

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. You must complete an approved English or French language test before you apply to this stream in order to prove that you are reliable in your language proficiency. The test must be no more than two years old at the time you submit your application.

For English tests:

• 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:

• Test d’évaluation de français pour le Canada (TEF Canada)
• Test de Connaissance du français pour le Canada (TCF Canada)

4. Education

You must have a high school diploma or credential in Canada or an equivalent in another state. You must be a Canadian high school. You will need the Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) to demonstrate that your degree is equivalent to a Canadian high-school diploma if you have finished your studies outside Canada.

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 company charges a separate fee and processing periods differ. And find out what is right for you, please review the website of each ECA organization. Before submitting your application, you should give the government a copy of the ECA report. At the time you apply your submission, the document is no more than five years old. With the company that has accomplished it, they must be able to confirm the ECA results. You must, therefore, permit the organization, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, to share the findings.

To authorize Canada 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.

If you have specific questions about the process of obtaining an ECA, or how the ECA findings can be accepted and communicated with the government, please contact the ECA organization.

5. Settlement funds

You have to have sufficient money if you arrive in Canada to support yourself and your dependents. This obligation can be met through your employer’s annual income.

If your job offer doesn’t meet the annual salary threshold for settlement money according to your family size, you can add one or a combination of the following to make 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.

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.

Employer requirements

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)
• 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.

Applicant process

After registration, candidates must complete their application within 14 calendar days or registration is due to expire and cancel. For one session, the applicant must not complete the request. An official delegate may be named by the applicant to complete the application on his behalf. All documents that are sponsored must be scanned and uploaded.

All supporting documents that are not in English and French should be translated and notarized by applicants. It is the applicant’s responsibility to find and/or receive notarization of documents not translated by an Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) certified interpreter, which is licensed as an ATIO.

If an ATIO approved translator can not be identified in an Ontario application, the translation shall be notarized. A letter should be included with the request that outlines the rationale and effort to find a qualified translator.

The translation must be notarized if it comes from outside Ontario. If deemed inadequate, an ATIO approved translate may be required to be obtained by OINP applicants. Even if such individuals are considered accredited traders, translations completed by the applicant, its agent or others with personal ties with the applicant will not be permitted.

Cost to apply

The price of the application is based on the following:

• $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)

The government only accepts Visa, Visa Debit, MasterCard and MasterCard Debit.

Refunds

Canada will only refund the fee if you deem your application to be unsuccessful or if you withdraw before it is processed. If your demand is rejected, the authority will not refund the fee. In the OINP Re-Filing Portal, you can check the status of your application by using your account.

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.