Ontario Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream

The Ontario Foreign Worker Stream, which falls under the Job Offer category, is open to applicants from both inside and outside Canada who have received an eligible job offer from an employer in Ontario.

Foreign nationals can apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence in Canada if they are officially nominated under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Employer Job Offer Category for Foreign Worker Stream.

What are the Minimum Eligibility Requirements?

Applicant’s Minimum Requirements
Applicants must meet the following requirements to be considered for the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream:

• Have a full-time and permanent job offer in a “skilled occupation” classified as Type/Level 0, A, or B in Canada’s National Occupation Classification (NOC) in Ontario, and satisfy the province’s entry-level salary standards for that occupation;
• Have a minimum degree of work experience; OR hold a valid license or certification from an Ontario regulatory agency for the same job like the one specified in the employment offer;
• An intent to live in Ontario; and
• Must maintain legal status (for example, a visitor record, a study permit, or a work permit) until nominated (if residing in Canada at the time of applying).
  Work Experience
  Applicants must complete the following requirements in order to meet the program’s work experience requirement:
• Have two years of full-time, paid, and documented job experience, either in Canada or overseas, within the last five years prior to the submission of your application;
• Have undertaken work responsibilities that are similar to those described in the NOC for the occupation specified in the employment offer in Ontario; and
• If the job experience indicated is in a regulated occupation that requires authorization, show that they obtained a valid license from the relevant regulating organization.

To achieve the required job experience criteria, applicants might claim periods of self-employment. Self-employment must have been compensated and registered under the same NOC code as the post being offered. The OINP demands proof (reference letters, job descriptions, performance assessments, and job adverts) demonstrating that work experience is in the same NOC as the job offer position.

Employer’s Minimum Requirements
The Ontario employer must meet the following requirements in order to be qualified for this immigration category:

• Have been operating for at least three years;
• Have a place of business in Ontario where the potential candidate can work;
• Provide appropriate documentation of recruiting attempts if the potential candidate is already residing overseas, visiting Canada, or working in a province or territory other than Ontario;
• Observe all provincial labor laws, including but not limited to employment standards, health and safety regulations, and labor relations legislation; and
  • • Meet the revenue requirements of the program as well as the requisite minimum number of full-time employees:
      
      ○ Employers in Toronto’s Greater Toronto Area (GTA) must:
      ■ Have a minimum gross revenue of $1,000,000 in the most recent fiscal year, and
      ■ At the place where the candidate will report to work, there must be at least five permanent full-time workers who are Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents.
      
      ○ Employers outside the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) must:
      ■ Have a minimum gross revenue of $500,000 in the most recent fiscal year, and
      ■ At the place where the candidate will report to work, there must be at least three permanent full-time workers who are Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents.

“Report to work” refers to the place where the applicant’s immediate supervisor or manager works or the administrative office where the applicant will receive work assignments, in circumstances when the applicant may work in more than one place.

Job Offer Requirements
The following conditions must be met by the employment offer:

• The occupation must be classified as a “skilled occupation” under NOC Type/Level 0, A, or B;
• The job must be a full-time, permanent position with a minimum of 1,560 hours of paid work in a period of 12 months;
• The offer must be equal to or greater than the median salary in the region where the applicant would be working in Ontario. However, if the applicant has a collective bargaining agreement (a contract between the employer and a union) that determines employee compensation, wage standards do not apply.
• The offer must not have any bearing on the resolution of any labor dispute or the employment of anyone involved in such a dispute.
• The offer must not have a negative impact on employment or training prospects in Ontario for Canadian citizens or permanent residents; and
• The position must be essential to the company’s operations.
  If the job offer is for a job that needs a license or authorization in Ontario, the applicant must have the required license or authorization upon applying. When applying online, applicants will need to provide proof of licensure or authorization. The following Ontario websites provide information about licenses and authorizations: OINP and the Ontario College of Trades.

How do I Apply?
Here are the steps you need to take in order to apply to this stream:

1. Go to the OINP e-Filing Portal and create a profile.
2. Register an Expression of Interest (EOQ) for this stream.
3. Should you be chosen from the candidate pool and get an invitation to apply for a position in the stream, you may submit an application online using the OINP e-Filing Portal and take note of the reminders below:

a. After getting an invitation to apply, you have 14 calendar days to submit your application.
b. Depending on the location of your employment offer, the application cost is either $1,500 or $2,000, payable via Visa, Visa Debit, Mastercard, or Mastercard Debit.
c. It takes an average of three hours to complete the application. If you can’t finish it in one go, you can save it and come back to it when you can.
d. You can fill out the application yourself or have it filled out for you by a representative.

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