OINP Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream

Overview

The Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream gives foreign workers with a job offer in a skilled occupation the opportunity to apply to permanently live and work in Ontario.

Your job offer must be in a skilled occupation at TEER (Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities) category 0, 1, 2 or 3 of the National Occupational Classification (NOC). This stream is open to foreign workers in and outside of Canada.

You must first register in the OINP’s Expression of Interest System and receive an invitation to apply before you can 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.

Steps to apply

Register an expression of interest

Before you can apply to this stream you must:

• register an expression of interest
• receive an invitation to apply.

• Register an expression of interest
• Review document checklist

If you received an invitation to apply

If you are using a representative, or you are a representative, the submission process is different. Learn more about how to appoint a representative or register as one.

Follow these steps to apply:

• Click the “Submit an application” button below.
• Log into your ONe-key account as a returning user.
• From your My Applications page, click on the file number link to begin your application.

Please note your application file number is different than your EOI file number.

Job offer requirements

To qualify under the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker 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 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). Job offers that are seasonal and/or contract based are ineligible.

Note that your job offer will not qualify if it affects the employment of a person involved in a labour dispute.

2. Eligible occupation

The job offered must be in a skilled occupation at TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 of the National Occupational Classification (NOC).

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. To find the median wage, go to the Job Bank website. Enter the occupation title and NOC code of the job offer into the occupation search. Then enter the location where you will be working into the filter search. Refer to the median wage level listed on the chart.

If the wage of the employment region where the applicant will work or report to work is not available on the wage report, the Ontario wage should be used.

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.

If you are paid an annual salary, your hourly wage can be calculated as follows:

• deduct any bonuses or other discretionary benefits from the annual salary
• divide the remaining amount by the number of weeks of work per year (this will generally be 52 weeks)
• divide this amount by the number of hours of work per week
• the remaining amount is the hourly wage

The program does not consider remuneration by piece work, bonuses, commissions, vacation pay or non-financial compensation as comprising part of your hourly base wage to be included in the calculation of work experience.

4. Position is urgently necessary to employer’s business

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

5. Work based in Ontario

The work you do while in the position of the job offer must occur primarily in Ontario.