Blog

Province Announces Proposed Changes to Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program

Ontario has announced changes to its Immigrant Nominee Program that will pave the way for a new Expression of Interest (EOI) system for certain immigration streams.

The announcement was made via a proposal published on September 8 by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, and explained that the new proposed EOI system would function the same way as the federal Express Entry System.

Once it is rolled out, this new Expression of Interest system would be used for the following existing streams to help manage the application process:

How The New EOI System Will Work

The proposal also included information on how applicants from Ontario’s new EOI pool would be ranked and selected.  As previously mentioned, the proposed EOI application process will be similar to that used under the federal Express Entry system as well as EOI systems adopted in other provinces.

Here’s how it will work:

Step 1

OINP applicants will be invited to submit a profile to Ontario’s new EOI system, upon which they will be added to a pool.

Step 2

Next, applicants will be asked to provide their personal information along with any other labour market and human capital information that can be used to determine who receives an Invitation to Apply (ITA).

Step 3

The province will rank the applicants based on the information provided in their EOI. Specific details regarding which factors or point totals will determine a candidate’s ranking have not yet been released. All that is currently known is that the number of points a candidate is given will be based on factors such as level of education and language.

Afterwards, the scores will be evaluated and ITAs will be issued to the selected applicants. Applicants who receive an ITA will then be able to apply to be nominated under the OINP stream.

Why These Changes Are Happening

The proposed changes to Ontario’s immigration system were introduced “to more strategically manage intake, increase the OINP’s labour market responsiveness and better respond to regional labour market needs.”

This comes after many OINP streams had previously experienced difficulties in the receipt of applications. One example is the Employer’s job offer: International student stream, which recently reached its capacity only minutes after opening. The Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream also experienced a similar situation in July.

It’s important to note that the proposed changes must go through a 45-day public consultation period first before they are formally adopted. The public consultation will end October 23, 2020.

Photo Credit: Bobby H. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mpd01605/3809837021/