February 22, 2017 – Ontario has opened applications for the most popular streams of its Immigrant Nominee Program.
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program’s International Masters Graduate Stream, International PhD Graduate Stream and Express Entry Human Capital Priority Stream opened on February 21, 2017.
Status of Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Streams
Human Capital Priorities (Express Entry) | Open |
French-Speaking Skilled Worker (Express Entry) | Open |
Employer Pre-Screen | Paused (May 9, 2016) |
International Student (Masters Graduate) | Open |
International Student (PhD Graduate) | Open |
Investor Immigration (Corporate) | Open |
Investor Immigration (Entrepreneur) | Open |
Candidates can now apply online for all of the newly-open streams.
Under Human Capital Priorities, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program will select applicants from the Express Entry pool and issue notifications of interest.
Changes to the International Masters Graduate Stream see applications accepted from candidates living in Ontario or abroad and the added option of using a different service provider for language testing.
Applications from other Canadian provinces or territories are not accepted.
Application spots are again expected to fill up quickly, despite the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program having an increased allocation of 6,000 places for 2017.
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This is up 500 places on the 2016 total and more than double the 2,500 cap from 2014.
Other streams that remain open under the OINP include Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker, Investor Immigration (Corporate) and Investor Immigration (Entrepreneur).
The Employer Pre-Screen stream is the only one to remain closed.
A quarter of the immigrants nominated by Ontario in 2016 work in the ICT sector, following a 2015 expert panel on how to adapt the workforce to the needs of a knowledge-based economy.
Both the Masters and PhD streams have been closed since May 9, 2016, while the Human Capital Priority Stream has been closed since February 16, 2016.
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program’s Employer Pre-Screen category is now the only one that remains closed.
The province is reviewing the category to improve processing times and ensure it is responding to employer needs. Online applications are also being developed.
The category is expected to open later in 2017.
Interested employers: Kindly contact us here to receive further information.
Interested candidates: Find out whether you qualify to Canada by completing our free on-line evaluation. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1-2 business days.
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