As of February 2025, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) offers several pathways to permanent residence for eligible candidates. These pathways are designed to attract skilled workers, international graduates, and entrepreneurs to contribute to Ontario’s economy. The main categories and their respective streams include:
Employer Job Offer Category:
Foreign Worker Stream: For skilled workers with a valid job offer in a skilled occupation from an Ontario employer.
- International Student Stream: For recent graduates from eligible Ontario institutions with a valid job offer.
- In-Demand Skills Stream: For workers in specific sectors such as agriculture, construction, trucking, and personal support work, with a valid job offer in an in-demand occupation.
Human Capital Category:
- International Graduates:
- – Masters Graduate Stream: For individuals with a master’s degree from an eligible Ontario university.
- – PhD Graduate Stream: For individuals with a PhD degree from an eligible Ontario university.
- Ontario’s Express Entry:
- – Human Capital Priorities Stream: For skilled workers with the required work experience, education, and language proficiency in English or French.
- – French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream: For French-speaking skilled workers with strong English language abilities.
- – Skilled Trades Stream: For workers with work experience in Ontario in an eligible skilled trade occupation.
Business Category:
- Entrepreneur Stream: For individuals seeking to establish a new business or buy an existing business in Ontario.
In addition to these established streams, Ontario launched the Regional Economic Development through Immigration (REDI) pilot on January 22, 2025. This one-year pilot aims to address labor shortages in specific communities by allocating 200 nominations to each participating region: Lanark, Leeds and Grenville, Sarnia-Lambton, and Thunder Bay. Applicants with job offers from employers in these communities can apply through the standard OINP Employer Job Offer streams and may be eligible for targeted draws under the REDI pilot.
To be eligible for these streams, candidates must meet specific criteria, including having a valid job offer from an Ontario employer, relevant work experience, and, in some cases, specific educational qualifications. For instance, the Master’s and PhD Graduate streams require candidates to have completed their respective degrees at an Ontario institution.
