Ontario To Soon Re-open and Expand PNP Immigration Streams
Ontario is re-opening and expanding one of its immigration streams on July 6.
Ontario’s Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream will re-open on that date and will feature thirteen (13) other employment positions situated outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) only.
The main purpose of this stream is to help tackle labour shortages in specific in-demand occupations such as in construction, trucking, agriculture, or personal support work.
Workers inside and outside of Canada can apply to these immigration streams.
To obtain a provincial nomination under these streams, a candidate must have a valid job offer and meet other eligibility requirements.
How to be eligible For PNP Immigration Streams
Candidates have to obtain a full-time and permanent job offer (i.e. a minimum of 1,560 hours in a year and no expiring date of the position).
The job must be in an eligible occupation inside or outside of the Greater Toronto Area.
The job must feature under one of the following National Occupation Classification skills level C or D codes:
- NOC 3413 – nurse aide, orderlies and patient service associates
- NOC 4412 – home support workers and related occupation, excluding housekeepers
- NOC 7441 – residential and commercial installer and servicers
- NOC 7511 – transport truck driver
- NOC 7521 – heavy equipment operators (except crane)
- NOC 7611 – construction trades helper and labourers
- NOC 8431 – general farmworkers
- NOC 8432 – nursery and greenhouse workers
- NOC 8611 – harvesting labourers
- NOC 9462 – industrial butcher and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
Expanded occupations
As of July 6, an employment offer under the following NOC Codes (also levels C or D) will be valid for this immigration streams, as long as the job is located outside of the Greater Toronto Area:
- NOC 9411 – machine operator, mineral and metal processing
- NOC 9416 – metalworking and forging machine operator
- NOC 9417 – machining tool operator
- NOC 9418 – other metal product machine operators
- NOC 9421 – chemical plant machine operators
- NOC 9422 – plastics processing machine operators
- NOC 9437 – woodworking machine operator
- NOC 9446 – industrial sewing machine operator
- NOC 9461 – process control and machine operators, food, beverage and associated product processing
- NOC 9523 – electronics assembler, fabricators, inspector and testers
- NOC 9526 – mechanical assembler and inspectors
- NOC 9536 – industrial painters, coater and metal finishing process operators
- NOC 9537 – other products assembler, finishers and inspectors
Other requirements
Employers have many obligations. For instance, they must show that the person they are hiring through this Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) stream is important and vital to their business and they must pay them at or above the median wage levels for the occupation.
Immigration candidates must have at least nine (9) months of cumulative paid full-time permanent work experience in the occupations they have received a job offer for.
They must also have the equivalent of Canadian secondary school education or higher, and a minimum French or English language level of a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of four (4) or higher in each competency (reading, listening, writing, and speaking).
Among other requirements include an immigration candidate showing that they have a valid license to work in an occupation that requires a license or other authorization in Ontario province.
About the OINP
Ontario manages the biggest PNP in Canada since it has the country’s largest population and economy.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has provided Ontario with a PNP allocation of 7,350 principal applicants in 2020.
In addition, Ontario province can nominate 250 foreign workers in intermediate skilled occupations (NOC C roles).
The Ontario immigration has remained active throughout 2020 including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It has held twelve (12) skilled workers and entrepreneur draws so far this year.
