OINP: Expression Of Interest System Streams

Learn how to apply for a nomination for permanent residence in Ontario if you are an international student or have a job offer.

Overview

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) uses an expression of interest system to manage its applications for the following streams:

*Please note that the Entrepreneur stream uses different scoring factors for its expression of interest system. For more information on these scoring factors and registering an expression of interest, please visit the Entrepreneur stream’s expression of interest page.

Before you can apply to these streams, you must register an expression of interest to let the OINP know you wish to be invited to apply.

You can only apply to these streams if you are invited. Registering an expression of interest is not the same as applying to the OINP or applying for permanent residency.

Registering allows the OINP to gather important information about you in order to rank and select those who are most likely to meet Ontario’s economic and labour market needs, based on one or more of the following attributes:

education – level and field of education and where completed
language – English or French
regional immigration – intention to settle outside of the Greater Toronto Area
skill and work experience level
earnings history
other factors relevant to employment prospects – job offer in Ontario, Canadian work experience
strategic priorities – attributes that would address immediate labour market needs in Ontario or a region of Ontario

Before you apply

How to register an expression of interest

Read the stream requirements to ensure you are eligible.

The information you provide in your expression of interest must be accurate at the time you register or update your expression of interest.

Your Attestation Form must be completed on the same day you register your Expression of Interest (EOI). Should you receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), you are required to upload this form as part of your application.

Attestation Form, on00240.pdf

Applicants to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program’s Expression of Interest based streams should complete this form and attach the form to their application.

English Attestation Form – on00240e – Applicants to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program’s Expression of Interest

French Attestation Form – on00240f – Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Expression of Interest (EOI)

You can only register one expression of interest per OINP stream at any given time.

Fees

There is no fee to register an expression of interest. If you are invited to apply to the program, you will be required to pay an application fee at that time. Application fees differ by stream.

Updating your information

You can update your expression of interest in the OINP e-filing portal with new information at any time up until the time you receive an invitation to apply or your expression of interested is deleted.

Validity period

Your expression of interest registration will remain valid for up to 12 months until you receive an invitation to apply or until you withdraw your registration. After 12 months, your expression of interest will automatically be deleted. If you are still interested in applying to the program, you must register a new expression of interest.

click to Register an expression of interest

After you register an expression of interest

Once you have registered an expression of interest, please do not contact the program.

If you are invited to apply, you will receive a notification in the OINP e-Filing Portal. It is important to note that:

a registration does not guarantee that you will be invited to apply to the OINP
an invitation to apply does not guarantee you will receive a certificate of nomination

You must demonstrate that you meet all stream requirements at the time of your application, including that you had the qualifications that you claimed in your expression of interest registration.

If it is determined that any information provided in your expression of interest registration is not accurate, is incorrect, or misleading, your application may be denied, and you may be subject to penalties or prosecution.

Please consult the expression of interest system invitation to apply page for more information about expression of interest draw results.

Invitations and how to apply

If you receive an invitation to apply

From time to time the OINP will rank candidates in one or more of the OINP stream selection pools, either on a general basis (rank all candidates who registered an expression of interest) or on a targeted basis (rank only those candidates who have one or more targeted labour market or human capital attributes) and invite the highest ranking candidates to apply.

If you are invited to apply, your application must be submitted within 14 calendar days from the date you receive the invitation.

Please consult the Applying to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) page for instructions on how to apply after you receive an invitation to apply.

If you receive an invitation but do not apply

If you receive an invitation to apply but do not submit an application or fail to apply within the required timeline, your expression of interest will be removed from the stream selection pool (expressions of interest you may have registered for other streams will not be removed).

You will receive an email notification that your expression of interest has been removed from the selection pool. You may register a new expression of interest at any time.

Using a representative to apply

Authorizing a paid representative to assist you can be helpful but is not necessary. If you choose to use a representative, please follow the steps on how to appoint one. This will ensure you retain access to, and control of, your online application and allow you to change or end your authorization if need be.

How we choose candidates to invite

OINP: Choose Candidates – the EOI Scoring Factors

After you apply to the OINP

After you (or your representative) submits your application, you will get an email to confirm that we have received it.

You can check the status of your application through your account in the OINP e-Filing Portal at any time.

For regular updates on processing times, read OINP Application processing times and nominations issued.

If you are nominated, your next step is to apply to the federal government through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence. IRCC makes the final decision on who becomes a permanent resident.

Withdrawing your application

To withdraw your application, click on the Withdraw button next to your file number on your main page of the OINP e-Filing Portal.

Please note: We will only refund the application fee if you withdraw your application before we start processing it.

Changes in personal information

You must notify us if there are any changes to the information provided in your application, including (but not limited to) changes in:

contact information
immigration status (expiration or change in work permit)
family composition due to:
- marriage or common-law relationship
- birth of a child
- change of custody of a child
- divorce/separation
- death

You can make changes to your telephone number, email address and country of residence by logging into the OINP e-Filing Portal and clicking on “My Profile” on your main page. After the change has been made, click “Save”.

For all other changes, or to correct a data entry error (for example if you misspelled your name):

complete and save a Change of Personal Information form
send the completed form by email as an attachment to ontarionominee@ontario.ca
use the subject line “Application Change Notice – [File number]”
if you are requesting a correction to your name or date of birth, please also include a copy of the personal details page of your passport to validate your request

Change of Personal Information
Applicant uses this form to inform of changes in personal info, i.e. address change, name change, family change, etc.

Forms, Links, and Information

PDF: English – 009-0161e – Change of Personal Information Applicant uses this form to inform of changes in personal info, i.e. address…
PDF: French – 009-0161f – Changes in Personal Information

Please note: We will not accept requests to completely change a name or date of birth.

If you do not notify us of changes to your personal information it could impact the outcome of your application.

If you are nominated

If your application is successful, you will receive a nomination approval letter, a work permit support letter (if applicable) and a nomination certificate by email.

Once we notify you, your next step is to apply for permanent residence to IRCC within six months.

You will need to include your nomination approval letter and nomination certificate.

A nomination does not guarantee approval of your application for permanent residence with IRCC.

You may request an extension of your nomination certificate if you applied to IRCC but your application for permanent residence was returned due to being incomplete, or you were delayed in gathering supporting documents (for example, police criminal record check) for your application for permanent residence.

Only requests that comply with the above requirements will be granted.

You can request an extension by emailing the OINP at ontarionominee@ontario.ca with both of the following:

a letter of explanation describing the reason to extend your nomination certificate
a copy of the incomplete letter from IRCC (if applicable)

For streams that require a job offer, refer to the applicable stream page for conditions of nomination and details about the work permit support letter.

If you are not nominated

If your application is unsuccessful, we will let you know by email.

If you think we made an error in our decision that led to your application being refused, you may ask for an internal review.

To request an internal review:

Download and complete the Notice of Request for Internal Review form. Ensure that you carefully read the instructions on the form.
In a separate document, clearly identify an error or errors in the director’s decision or order that, if not made, would have resulted in the decision or order being decided differently (see subsection 10(1)(a) of Ontario Regulation 421/17 (General))
Send the completed Notice of Request for Internal Review form and all supporting documents by email to internalreview-revisioninterne@ontario.ca. You must email us within 30 calendar days of receiving your notice of refusal.

Do not include any new information that you did not include in your original application, unless that information was not reasonably available to you at the time the decision or order was made.

New information that you did not include in your application because of an oversight will not be considered.

Internal review requests must be sent by email. We will not accept requests by mail, fax or in person.

This is a summary document only. For your application to be approved, you must follow the process and meet the criteria established under the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015 and its regulations. To the extent that there is any discrepancy between this document and the legislation, the legislation governs.

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