An expression of interest (EOI) is not an application. You cannot apply for nomination for permanent residence in Canada under the Entrepreneur Stream unless you are invited. There is no fee to register an EOI.
The EOI is comprised of two components, for a maximum EOI score of 200 points:
The EOI also contains an attestation that stream criteria are or will be satisfied.
OINP will assess and score your business concept. Your business concept will need to score at least 37 of the available 74 points (50%) to be placed in the EOI selection pool.
Whether you are issued an invitation to apply (ITA) is based on your EOI rank in the selection pool. Only the top ranked candidates are invited to apply.
Please note:
If you are invited to apply and don’t demonstrate that you had the qualifications that you claimed and which formed the basis of the points you claimed in your EOI, your application will be refused, and your application fee will not be refunded. If, upon establishing your business, you do not meet the commitments set out in your Performance Agreement, then you will be ineligible to be nominated for permanent residence.
| Scoring sections | Points |
|---|---|
| Human capital factors | 80 |
| Investment factors | 46 |
| Business concept | 74 |
| Total points available | 200 |
The maximum number of points for human capital factors is 80 points.
You may claim points based on your business experience. The number of points is based on your past business ownership experience or senior management experience in the last 60 months.
There is a minimum business experience requirement (equivalent of 24 months) to be eligible for the Entrepreneur Stream.
If you have a foreign national business partner, they must also have a minimum of 24 months of experience in the last 60 months.
If you have both business ownership and senior management experience in 24 of the past 60 months, you must use only one type of business experience in your EOI.
You must:
If you are invited to apply to the Entrepreneur Stream, you will be required to provide evidence of your reported business and past experience as a business owner. Examples of acceptable evidence include financial statements as well as reference letters from investors, financial institutions, vendors, suppliers or customers.
If you are invited to apply to the Entrepreneur Stream, you will be required to provide evidence of your past experience as a senior manager. If you claim points for this factor, you must include:
| Total experience | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than 24 months | Ineligible |
| 24 – 47 months | 13 |
| 48 – 59 months | 19 |
| 60 months or more | 25 |
| Total points available | 25 |
| Total experience | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than 24 months | Ineligible |
| 24 – 47 months | 13 |
| 48 – 59 months | 19 |
| 60 months or more | 25 |
| Total points available | 25 |
You may claim additional points based on your past specific experience in a high growth business, in an export-trade business, and for transferable skills if this experience was gained within the last 60 months. The maximum number of points for this factor is 35 points.
| Past specific experience | Points |
|---|---|
| No | 0 |
| Yes: One past specific experience | 15 |
| Yes: Two past specific experiences | 25 |
| Yes: Three past specific experiences | 35 |
| Total points available | 35 |
You may claim points based on your highest level of education completed. There is no mandatory minimum requirement to be considered for the Entrepreneur Stream. The maximum number of points for this factor is 10 points.
Note: If you are invited to apply to the Entrepreneur stream and are claiming to have completed two years or more of post-secondary education (includes scheduled breaks such as winter and summer breaks and holidays), you must provide evidence of this education, including your Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report produced by a designated organization along with your application.
The OINP will only accept an ECA report from one of following organizations designated by IRCC:
Note: When completing your application for an ECA, you must authorize the organization to share the results of your ECA with the OINP. Failure to grant the OINP access to your ECA results may delay the processing or result in the refusal of your application.
| Level of education | Points |
|---|---|
| No post-secondary education | 0 |
| Post-secondary degree or diploma – two-year program | 5 |
| Post-secondary degree or diploma – three-year program or longer | 10 |
| Total points available | 10 |
You may claim points based on your proficiency in English or French. While not a mandatory requirement to be considered for the Entrepreneur Stream at the time of registering your EOI, language proficiency equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 is required at the time of nomination by the OINP. The maximum number of points for this factor is 10 points.
If you claim points for language ability in your EOI, you must demonstrate your language proficiency with an approved English or French language test that is dated prior to EOI submission. Language tests are valid for two years and must be valid both at the time of EOI submission, and if invited to apply, at the time of application submission.
For English tests, we accept:
For French tests, we accept:
Note that even if you do not claim language proficiency in your EOI, you will be required to demonstrate that you have CLB 4 or equivalent at the time of nomination (after you meet your Performance Agreement). If you have a foreign national business partner, your partner must also meet the minimum CLB 4 or equivalent at the time of nomination.
| Official language ability | Points |
|---|---|
| None or minimal (CLB 3 or below) | 0 |
| Basic understanding (CLB 4) | 5 |
| Intermediate and advanced (CLB 5 or higher) | 10 |
| Total Points Available | 10 |
The maximum number of points for the investment factors section is 46 points.
You may claim points based on your total net worth. The maximum number of points for this factor is 15 points.
Your personal net worth must be lawfully obtained and verifiable. Your personal net worth includes all of your assets minus any liabilities including mortgages and personal debts, for example:
There is a minimum requirement for this factor to be eligible to the Entrepreneur Stream:
If you have a foreign national business partner, they must also meet the minimum personal net worth requirement.
If you are invited to apply to the Entrepreneur Stream, you will be required to provide evidence of your stated net worth as well as demonstrating that your net worth was lawfully obtained and is verifiable using a qualified vendor.
| Personal net worth | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than $800,000 | Ineligible |
| $800,000 to $2,499,999 | 5 |
| $2,500,000 or more | 10 |
| Total Points Available | 10 |
| Personal net worth | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than $400,000 | Ineligible |
| $400,000 to $999,9999 | 10 |
| $1,000,000 or more | 15 |
| Total Points Available | 15 |
You may claim points based on the total personal investment amount that will be made into your proposed business. The minimum eligible personal investment must be derived from your personal net worth. The maximum number of points for this factor is 25 points.
There is a minimum requirement for this factor to be eligible for the Entrepreneur Stream:
Additionally, you must control at least one-third of the equity in the business. If you have a foreign national business partner, they are also required to control at least one-third of the equity in the business. Your spouse may hold part ownership of the business, however, you must continue to control at least one-third of the equity in the business in your name.
Third parties are permitted to provide external financing (i.e. loans and/or own shares of your business) beyond the minimum investment amount. However, the third party must be a Schedule I or Schedule II bank or an institutional investor. Third-party financing by individuals is not permitted. If you do require external financing, you will be required to provide details on how you will obtain the financing and how the money will be used for your business.
You cannot claim points for investments that will be made by a third-party (for example, if you are making a personal investment of $2.5 million and a third party will make an additional investment of $1 million, you may only claim points for your personal investment of $2.5 million).
As a condition of nomination for permanent residence, you will be required to provide evidence, including supporting documentation (for example invoices, bank and financial statements) to prove that the entire investment amount was allocated, and to provide information as to how it was allocated.
Eligible investments must be reasonable investments towards expenditures that are essential to the establishment and operation of a new business or to purchase, operate and improve an existing business, excluding cash, cash equivalents, working capital, or wages paid to you or a family member.
Examples of eligible investment expenditures include:
In order to be considered an eligible investment, the expenditure must be essential to the establishment and operation of a new business or to purchase, improve and operate an existing business.
In addition, if you are purchasing an existing business:
If you have a foreign national business partner, they must also meet all requirements, including meeting the minimum investment funds requirement on their own. For example, if your proposed business will be in the GTA, you must each invest a minimum of $600,000 for a minimum total of $1,200,000.
| Investment amount | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than $600,000 | Ineligible |
| $600,000 to $1,499,999 | 10 |
| $1,500,000 to $2,999,999 | 15 |
| $3,000,000 or more | 20 |
| Total Points Available | 20 |
| Investment amount | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than $200,000 | Ineligible |
| $200,000 to $499,999 | 15 |
| $500,000 to $799,999 | 20 |
| $800,000 or more | 25 |
| Total Points Available | 25 |
The following are not eligible investments:
While the OINP does not encourage applicants to make any investment prior to signing a Performance Agreement with the OINP and obtaining a valid temporary work permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), we will accept investments made up to one year prior to the application date (if you are invited to apply).
However, you must provide proof that the investment meets all relevant stream criteria, including that the amount was paid from your personal net worth. Signing an agreement or letter of intent to purchase a business and/or making a deposit prior to the approval of your application is solely at your own risk. The OINP does not guarantee that you will be issued an invitation to apply if you have already made investments in the province.
You may claim points based on any business-related visits to Ontario within the last year from the date that you register your EOI. If you have purchased or are purchasing an existing business, you must make a business-related visit to be considered for the Entrepreneur Stream. The maximum number of points for this factor is 6 points.
| Business-related visits to Ontario | Points |
|---|---|
| No | 0 |
| Yes | 6 |
| Total Points Available | 6 |
The business concept section is similar to an executive summary that provides high-level information about your proposed business plan. The maximum number of points for the business concept factors section is 74 points.
Note: You will need to meet the minimum threshold of 50% (37 points out of 74 points) in this category to be eligible to receive an Invitation to Apply to the Entrepreneur Stream.
If you are invited to apply, you will be required to submit a comprehensive business plan as part of your application. The business plan must reflect the commitments made in your EOI.
You must answer questions and provide details of your business concept. Your proposed business concept will be scored by the OINP.
Your business concept will be scored on the following factors:
| Business concept factors | Points |
|---|---|
Business model:
| 50 |
Business location:
| 10 |
Job creation:
| 14 |
| Total points available | 74 |
You must describe how your proposed business will generate revenue and profit, and how the business will be viable and have the potential for sustained commercial success under your active management.
Description of business
You will receive points for your business model based on the following table:
| Business model | Points |
|---|---|
| Unsatisfactory/Unclear | 0 |
| Fair | 7 |
| Good | 15 |
| Total points | 15 |
The business model is assessed based on the following criteria:
An unsatisfactory/unclear business model (0 points) will be determined if any of the following are identified:
A fair business model (7 points) will be determined if all of the following are met:
A good business model (15 points) will be determined if all of the following are met:
You must provide an effective market entry strategy to demonstrate that your proposed business will be successful in Ontario. If you are planning to purchase an existing business, you must be able to demonstrate how the business will grow and expand under your management.
You will receive points for your market and products/services based on the following table:
| Market research | Points |
|---|---|
| Unsatisfactory/Unclear | 0 |
| Fair | 7 |
| Good | 15 |
| Total points | 15 |
The market research is assessed based on the following criteria:
An unsatisfactory/unclear market research analysis (0 points) will be determined if any of the following are identified:
A fair market research analysis (7 points) will be determined if all of the following are met:
A good market research analysis (15 points) will be determined if all of the following are met:
Explain how your business will generate significant economic benefit to Ontario as a whole or to the local Ontario economy where the business will be located. Examples of significant economic benefit include:
You may also claim points depending on whether your business is in a targeted key sector determined by the Ontario government. This is not a mandatory eligibility requirement to be considered for the Entrepreneur Stream.
These key sectors have been defined as economic priorities for Ontario:
If your business falls within a key sector for Ontario, please identify the sector and explain how. Learn more about key sectors for Ontario (look for your sector under the Industries heading).
If you are invited to apply to the Entrepreneur stream and have indicated your proposed business is in a targeted key sector, you will be required to provide evidence that your business is in that respective sector (for example licenses, permits, association membership, etc.).
You will receive points for significant economic benefit and key sector based on the following table:
| Significant economic benefit and key sector | Points |
|---|---|
| Unsatisfactory/Unclear | 0 |
| Fair | 5 |
| Good | 10 |
| Total points | 10 |
The significant economic benefit and key sector is assessed based on the following criteria:
An unsatisfactory/unclear significant economic benefit and key sector analysis (0 points) will be determined if the following is identified:
A fair significant economic benefit and key sector analysis (5 points) will be determined if the following is met:
A good economic benefit and key sector analysis (10 points) will be determined if the following is met:
Provide a breakdown of how you intend to allocate your capital investment to grow and expand the proposed business.
You will receive points for the investment allocation based on the following table:
| Investment allocation | Points |
|---|---|
| Unsatisfactory/Unclear | 0 |
| Fair | 5 |
| Good | 10 |
| Total points | 10 |
The investment allocation is assessed based on the following criteria:
An unsatisfactory/unclear investment allocation analysis (0 points) will be determined if any of the following are identified:
A fair investment allocation analysis (5 points) will be determined if all of the following are met:
A good investment allocation analysis (10 points) will be determined if all of the following are met:
You may claim points based on your proposed business location.
You will receive points for the business location based on the following table:
| Business location | Points |
|---|---|
| CMA with a population of 175,000 or more | 0 |
| CMA or CA with a population greater than 100,000 but less than 175,000 | 5 |
| Other location with a population of 100,000 or below | 10 |
| Total points available | 10 |
The OINP uses Statistics Canada’s Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) and Census Agglomeration (CA) data to divide business locations into three categories based on population size:
CMAs and CAs are areas consisting of one or more neighbouring municipalities situated around a population centre (known as a core). A CMA is defined as having a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more live in the core. A CA is defined as having a core population of at least 10,000. Please note that some locations may be part of larger categories. Therefore, you may find your business location is in a CMA or CA.
For more information on finding your business location category and a list of Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomeration areas, see Appendix 2.
Note: While Statistics Canada categorizes Ottawa-Gatineau CMA as a single Census Metropolitan Area, businesses located in the Gatineau region outside of Ontario are ineligible under the OINP.
You may claim points based on the total number of permanent full-time jobs that you will create for Canadian citizens or permanent residents within the first 20 months of establishing your business.
There is a minimum requirement for this factor to be eligible for the Entrepreneur Stream. You must demonstrate that you will create either:
The OINP requires that all employees will receive pay for the hours worked and accord with the information provided by the employer in the proposed business plan. The OINP requires that a wage offer made to an employee be described on the basis of the individual’s hourly wage expressed as either hourly pay and hours per year, or weekly pay and weeks per year. This allows the program to verify that employees will be appropriately remunerated.
Note: The program does not consider remuneration by piece work, bonuses, commissions, vacation pay or non-financial compensation as comprising part of an employee’s offered wage. An employer may offer an employee piece work, bonuses, commissions, or non-financial compensation in addition to base pay. However, these will not be considered part of the employee’s hourly or weekly base pay.
The hourly or weekly base pay offered to the employee must meet or exceed the median wage established by occupation and region on the federal government’s Job Bank website.
A permanent full-time job means a position that consists of a minimum of 30 hours per week and at least 1,560 hours in a one-year period.
A permanent job offer is continuous employment in a position designated as permanent and which has no specified end date (for example, of an indeterminate duration). Additionally, the jobs must be continuously filled for at least 10 months prior to the submission of your Final Report, and they must continue to exist at the time of submission of the final report and at the time of issuing the certificate of nomination.
If you have a foreign national business partner, your partner must also create at minimum of one-two jobs, for a total of two-four jobs for your proposed business.
You will receive points for job creation based on the following table:
| Job creation | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 for outside GTA or ICT/Digital Communications sector 2 for inside GTA | 3 |
| 3-4 jobs | 5 |
| 5 or more jobs | 7 |
| Total points available | 7 |
Please note that if you are purchasing an existing business, you must maintain at a minimum the current wage levels and employment terms of existing staff in addition to creating at least one-two new jobs depending on the location of the business. There are no additional points for maintaining existing staff.
You may also claim additional points based on the National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 jobs your proposed business will create for Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Please include a NOC designation for each new job created. There is no mandatory requirement for this factor to be considered for the Entrepreneur Stream.
| Creation of NOC TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 Jobs | Points |
|---|---|
| 0 NOC TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 jobs | 0 |
| 1 NOC TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 job | 5 |
| 2 or more NOC TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 jobs | 7 |
| Total points available | 7 |
The job creation is assessed based on the following criteria:
An unsatisfactory/unclear job creation analysis (0 points) will be determined if the following is identified:
A fair job creation analysis (5 points) will be determined if the following is met:
A good job creation analysis (7 points) will be determined if the following is met:
The information you provide in your expression of interest must be accurate at the time you register or update your expression of interest.
If you are invited to apply, a PDF copy of the Attestation Form must be printed, signed personally in ink by the applicant, and uploaded to the “Other” tab under Supporting Documents.
The Attestation Form should be signed on the same date that you submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) to the OINP.
You can only register one expression of interest per OINP stream at any given time.
There is no fee to register an expression of interest. If you are invited to apply to the Entrepreneur stream, you will be required to pay an application fee at that time.
You can update your expression of interest in the OINP e-filing portal with new information at any time up until the time the business concept section is scored by the OINP.
The OINP will assess and score your business concept. If you do not meet the minimum stream criteria, your business concept will not be reviewed. We do not accept any separate attachments; the business concept must be populated in the space provided in the OINP e-Filing Portal as part of your expression of interest. There is a 4000 character limit for each answer.
You will receive an email once the business concept is scored and the score breakdown will appear in the E-filing Portal. You will need a score of at least 37 out of 74 points in the business concept section to be placed in the EOI selection pool.
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 from OINPs systems. If you are still interested in applying to the program, you must register a new expression of interest.