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OINP: Employer Job Offer - International Student Stream

OINP: Employer Job Offer – International Student Stream

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

On this page

  1. Overview
  2. Steps to apply
  3. Job offer requirements
  4. Applicant requirements
  5. Employer requirements
  6. Scoring factors
  7. If you are nominated under this stream
  8. Eligible Canadian and Ontario institutions

Overview

The Employer Job Offer: International Student stream gives international students 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).

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.

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.

Submit an application

Job offer requirements

To qualify under the Employer Job Offer: International Student 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.

Physicians and other self-employed professionals

Self-employed professionals, including physicians, are not eligible under OINP Employer Job Offer streams. This includes physicians who receive payment under a fee-for-service model such as OHIP or through other contractual service arrangements where there is no legal employer-employee relationship.

Self-employed professionals, may qualify under the OINP’s Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream through the Federal Skilled Workers Program. To apply under the Human Capital Priorities stream:

  1. Create a valid profile in IRCC’s Express Entry Pool.
  2. Receive a notification of interest from the OINP.

Applicants must meet all Express Entry Human Capital Priorities stream eligibility criteria.

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 Occupation Classification (NOC).

3. Low wage level

The pay of the job offered must meet or be higher than the low wage level, for that occupation, in the specific region of Ontario where you will be working. To find the low 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 low wage level listed on the chart.

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 low wage level.

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.

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.

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.

Applicant requirements

After you receive an invitation to apply, you may apply to the Employer Job Offer: International Student stream. You must meet all the requirements in the categories below in order for your application to be approved.

Please refer to section 6 of Ontario Regulation 422/17 for more details on each requirement.

1. Expression of interest and invitation to apply

  • You must have received an invitation to apply and applied within the deadline identified.
  • You must demonstrate that you had the qualifications that you claimed you had in the expression of interest that you registered with the OINP and attested to.

2. Education

You must prove you have obtained one of the following eligible credentials:

You must also prove that more than half of the requirements necessary to obtain your credential were obtained while living and studying in Canada.

To determine whether your graduate certificate is an eligible credential, check that the official credential you received from your institution is an Ontario College Graduate Certificate.

3. Valid licence or other authorization (if applicable)

If your job offer is for an occupation that requires a mandatory licence or other authorization in Ontario, you must hold a valid licence or authorization from the appropriate regulatory body in Ontario when you apply.

For more information on licences and authorizations in Ontario, please visit the Ontario’s Jobs and Employment website or the Skilled Trades Ontario website.

4. Intention to live in Ontario

You must intend to live in Ontario after you’ve been granted permanent residence. We determine this by examining your ties to Ontario, which can include doing things like:

  • working or having worked Ontario
  • getting job offers, applying to or interviewing for jobs
  • studying
  • volunteering
  • leasing or owning property
  • visiting
  • having professional networks and affiliations, family ties and personal relationships

5. Legal status in Canada (if applicable)

If you are applying from within Canada, you must have legal status (a visitor record, study permit, or work permit) at the time you apply and should maintain that status until the time of nomination.

You may apply if you are in ‘implied status’ at the time of your OINP application submission. ‘Implied status’ means that you submitted an application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to renew/extend your temporary status document (a visitor record, work permit, study permit) before its expiry date. You can remain in Canada and continue to work or study under the same conditions as your existing permit until a decision is made on your pending IRCC application.

6. Application period

You must submit your application within two years of completing the requirements necessary to obtain your degree, diploma or certificate (also known as your education credential).

This means that the date on your educational credential must be within two years of your OINP application submission date, not the date you received the invitation to apply. For example, if your educational credential is dated June 1, 2021, you must have registered an EOI, received an Invitation to Apply, and submitted your application on or before June 1, 2023.

If you don’t have your education credential yet, use the date on the official letter from your college or university which states when your education credential will be granted.

Important: you must have completed your degree, diploma or certificate before you submit your application.

Employer requirements

Please refer to section 4 of Ontario Regulation 422/17 and the Employer Guide for more details on each requirement.

1. General requirements

To qualify under the Employer Job Offer: International Student stream, your employer must:

  • have been in active business for at least three years prior to submitting your application
  • have business premises in Ontario where you will work
  • have no outstanding orders made against them under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act

2. Revenue requirements

Your employer’s business must meet one of the relevant revenue requirement for the most recently completed fiscal year (the year used for tax or accounting purposes):

  • a minimum of $1,000,000 in total gross annual revenue if you will work or report to work at a location in the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions) or
  • a minimum of $500,000 in total gross annual revenue if you will work or report to work at a location outside the Greater Toronto Area

Meaning of report to work

In cases where the applicant will work at more than one location, the location where the applicant will report to work means either:

  • the location where the applicant’s immediate supervisor or manager works, or
  • the location of the administrative office where the applicant will receive work assignments

3. Full-time employee requirements

Your employer’s business must have at the time of application submission one of the following:

  • at least five full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents who work at the location where you will work, or will report to work, if you will work or report to work at a location in the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions) or
  • at least three full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents who work at the location where you will work, or will report to work, if you will work or report to work at a location outside the Greater Toronto Area

Meaning of full-time employee

A full-time employee is an employee who has worked a minimum of 30 hours per week.

4. Employer Form

Your employer must make an application for approval of an employment position by filling out and signing an Employer Form（PDF: English – 009-0233E – Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Employer Form）.

Your employer then must give you the form so you can scan and upload it with your application.
When we assess your application, we may need additional supporting documents from your employer to validate information included in the Employer Form. Please read the Employer Checklist for a list of possible documents that may be requested.

Scoring factors

Once you register an expression of interest under this stream you will be assigned points based on the following factors.

If you are invited to apply, you will be required to submit specific documents to support each scoring factor for which you received points. Scoring factors are not the same as stream criteria. You must meet all criteria for this stream and provide the mandatory documents with your application. Refer to the document checklist for the Employer Job Offer: International Student stream.

If you are nominated under this stream

If your application is successful, you will receive the following by email:

  • a nomination approval letter
  • a work permit support letter (if applicable)
  • a nomination certificate

Once you have the necessary documentation, you must apply to IRCC for a work permit (if applicable) and permanent residence. Please note, a nomination from the OINP under this stream is subject to the following conditions and/or restrictions:

  1. You must continue to demonstrate on a reasonable basis an intention to reside in Ontario.
  2. You must be employed in the approved employment position as of the date of your nomination, if you are already working for the employer.
  3. You must apply for a work permit within six months and begin working in the approved employment position within ten months from the date of your nomination, if you are not already working for the employer.
  4. If you have not begun working in the approved employment position within ten (10) months from the date of your nomination you must inform the OINP immediately in writing at ontarionominee@ontario.ca.
  5. You must continue to be employed in the approved employment position during the nomination period (i.e. until you receive permanent residence). This means that your terms of employment must remain consistent throughout the nomination period. This includes your:
    • employer
    • position title and duties
    • wage
    • hours of work
    • work location
  6. You must notify the OINP immediately in writing if there is a change in the nature of your employment, including any of the above terms of employment by contacting the OINP at ontarionominee@ontario.ca.

Eligible Canadian and Ontario institutions