Ontario Workforce Priority Stream

Work Experience

"If you have a job offer under TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3, you must have one of the following:"

• • "At least 6 months of consecutive, paid full-time work experience in the job offer employment position, within the 12 months before the date you made your application."
• • "If you are a recent Ontario graduate, at least 3 months of consecutive, paid full-time work experience in the job offer employment position within the 12 months before the date you made your application."
• • "At least 2 years of cumulative, paid, full-time work experience in the same NOC occupation as the job offer employment position (or in a different position that is permissible if your job offer employment position is in NOC 33102, NOC Sub-Major Group 223 or NOC 33103) within 5 years before the date you made your application, or the equivalent paid, part-time work experience"
• • "Licence or other authorization required under Ontario or federal law to work in the job offer employment position."

(Ontario, Ontario Workforce Priority stream)

Full-Time Work Experience by Route

• • 6-month route: full-time work experience "must require at least 780 hours of paid work in a 12-month period and at least 30 hours of paid work per week in a 12-month period."
• • 3-month recent Ontario graduate route: full-time work experience "must require at least 390 hours of paid work in a 12-month period and at least 30 hours of paid work per week in a 12-month period."
• • 2-year route: "Full-time work experience means working in a job with at least 30 hours of paid work in a week that amounts to at least 3,120 hours of paid work over a two-year period."

(Ontario, Ontario Workforce Priority stream)

Recent Ontario Graduate

Ontario defines a recent Ontario graduate as someone who "graduated from an eligible Ontario institution within the last 3 years with one of the following credentials:"

• • "post-secondary degree or diploma that took at least 2 years to complete on a full-time basis"
• • "Ontario College Graduate Certificate"
• • "Master’s degree"
• • "PhD degree"

Part-Time Equivalent (2-Year Route)

"Part-time equivalent work experience means working in:"

• • "1 job for at least 15 hours of paid work in a week that amounts to at least 3,120 hours of paid work over a 4-year period"
• • "more than 1 job for at least 30 hours of paid work in a week, for 2 years, that amounts to at least 3,120 hours of paid work in that 2-year period"

Related NOC Occupations (2-Year Route)

• • "A NOC occupation in Sub-Major Group 213 (Professional occupations in engineering), if you have a job offer for an employment position in a NOC occupation in Sub-Major Group 223 (Technical occupations related to engineering)."
• • "NOC occupation 31120 (Pharmacists), if you have a job offer for an employment position in NOC occupation 33103 (Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants)."
• • "NOC occupation 32101 (Licensed Practical Nurses) or 31301 (Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses), if you have a job offer for an employment position in NOC occupation 33102 (Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates)."

Language

"If you have a job offer employment position for a TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 NOC occupation, you must have one of the following:"

• • "CLB level 6 or higher in all four proficiencies, if your job offer employment position is not a NOC occupation listed as a skilled trade below"
• • "CLB level 5 or higher in all four proficiencies, if your job offer employment position is a NOC occupation listed as a skilled trade below"
• • proof that you graduated from an eligible Ontario institution within the last 3 years with one of the credentials listed above. "A language test is not required if you hold one of the listed credentials."

Listed skilled trades include "Major Group 72 - Technical trades and transportation offices and controllers (excluding occupations under Sub-Major Group 726)", "Major Group 73 - General trades", "Major Group 82 - Supervisors in natural resources, agriculture and related production", "Major Group 83 - Occupations in natural resources and related production", "Major Group 93 - Central control and process operators and aircraft assembly assemblers and inspectors (excluding aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors under Sub-Major Group 932)", "Minor Group 6320 - Cooks, butchers, bakers" and "Unit Group 62200 - Chefs". "The test date must be within 2 years prior to the application submission date." (Ontario, Ontario Workforce Priority stream)

Education

• • "A postsecondary degree or diploma that takes at least one year to complete on a full-time basis from an eligible Canadian institution or its equivalent from an institution in another country, if your job offer employment position NOC is not a listed skilled trade."
• • "A Canadian secondary school (high school) diploma or its equivalent in another country, if your job offer employment position NOC is a listed skilled trade."
• • "If your job offer is for a NOC 33102—Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates employment position, proof that you have obtained an Ontario college certificate that requires at least one year of full-time study from an eligible Canadian institution."

"If you completed your studies outside of Canada, you need to obtain an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report that is less than five years old on the date your application is made that proves your Canadian equivalency." (Ontario, Ontario Workforce Priority stream)

General Requirements

"To qualify, your business must:" (Ontario, OINP employer guide)

• • "have been in active business for at least three years prior to applying"
• • "have business premises in Ontario where the employee will work"
• • "have no outstanding orders made against your business under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act"
• • "have met the gross annual revenue and full-time employee requirements based on where the employee will work"

For NOC 73300 or 73301 positions: "you must also demonstrate that your business has a valid CVOR certificate, as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Highway Traffic Act, and a safety rating under that Act of Excellent, or Satisfactory."

Revenue Requirement

• • "A minimum of $1,000,000 in total gross annual revenue if the employee will work or report to work at a location in the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, Peel, and York regions)."
• • "A minimum of $500,000 in total gross annual revenue if the employee will work or report to work at a location in the following census divisions:" Ottawa, Waterloo, Hamilton, Simcoe, Middlesex, Niagara, Essex, Wellington, Greater Sudbury/Grand Sudbury, Frontenac, Brant, Peterborough, Hastings and Thunder Bay.
• • "A minimum of $250,000 in total gross annual revenue in the last two most recently completed fiscal years if the employee will work or report to work at any location not specified above."

(Ontario, OINP employer guide)

Full-Time Canadian or Permanent Resident Employees

• • GTA: "your business must have at least 5 full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents who work or report to work at that location."
• • Outside the GTA: "your business must have at least 3 full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents who work or report to work at that location."

Domestic Recruitment

"You must demonstrate that reasonable efforts were made to recruit a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident prior to offering the position to the employee, unless either:" "the employee is already authorized to work in Ontario" or "you have a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for the same NOC code and position". "A minimum of two advertising or recruitment methods should be used", and "advertisements should be posted for at least four weeks prior to offering the position to the employee". (Ontario, OINP employer guide)

Job Offer and Wage

• • "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."
• • The wage must "meet or exceed the wage level assigned to the specific region of Ontario where the employee will be working and be at or above either:" "the median wage level" or "the low wage level, if the employee is a recent Ontario graduate and the job offer is in a TEER 0-3 category occupation"
• • "Note that these wage levels do not apply if the job is covered by a collective agreement."

(Ontario, OINP employer guide)

NOC TEER category

• • "NOC TEER 0 or 1 — 9 points"
• • "NOC TEER 2 or 3 — 6 points"
• • "NOC TEER 4 — 0 points"
• • "NOC TEER 5 — 0 points"

NOC broad occupational category

• • "Occupational Category 3 — 10 points"
• • "Occupational Category 7 — 8 points"
• • "Occupational Category 2 — 6 points"
• • "Occupational Category 0, 1, 4, 8, 9 — 4 points"
• • "Occupational Category 5, 6 — 2 points"

Hourly wage

• • "$40 per hour or higher — 15 points"
• • "$35 to $39.99 per hour — 12 points"
• • "$30 to $34.99 per hour — 10 points"
• • "$25 to $29.99 per hour — 8 points"
• • "$20 to $24.99 per hour — 5 points"
• • "Less than $20 per hour — 0 points"

Ontario work experience: job offer applicants

• • "Over 24 months working full-time in job offer position — 18 points"
• • "13 to 24 months working full-time in job offer position — 15 points"
• • "6 to 12 months working full-time in job offer position — 12 points"
• • "Less than 6 months working full-time in job offer position or not currently working in position — 0 points"

If less than 6 months in the job offer position

• • "Over 24 months working full-time (or part-time equivalent) in Ontario — 12 points"
• • "13 to 24 months working full-time (or part-time equivalent) in Ontario — 9 points"
• • "6 to 12 months working full-time (or part-time equivalent) in Ontario — 6 points"
• • "Less than 6 months working full-time full-time (or part-time equivalent) in Ontario or not currently working in Ontario — 0 points"

Ontario work experience: self-employed physicians

• • "Over 24 months (2 years or more) cumulative medical practice in Ontario — 18 points"
• • "13 months up to 24 months cumulative medical practice in Ontario — 15 points"
• • "6 months up to 12 months cumulative medical practice in Ontario — 12 points"
• • "Less than 6 months cumulative medical practice in Ontario — 0 points"

Canadian work experience: earnings history

"Based on a Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency in the last 5 years."

• • "$ 80k or more earnings in a year — 10 points"
• • "$70k to $79,999 — 8 points"
• • "$50k to $69,999 — 6 points"
• • "$30k to $49,999 — 4 points"
• • "Under $30k earnings in a year — 0 points"

Legal status in Canada

"The work or study permit must confer legal status."

• • "With valid work permit — 10 points"
• • "With valid study permit — 5 points"
• • "Without valid work or study permit — 0 points"

Highest level of education

"Canadian credential or ECA required."

• • "Doctorate or degree in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or optometry — 10 points"
• • "Masters degree — 8 points"
• • "University certificate or diploma above a bachelor level — 6 points"
• • "Bachelors degree or equivalent — 6 points"
• • "Ontario College Graduate Certificate — 5 points"
• • "University certificate or diploma below a bachelor level — 5 points"
• • "College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma that is not an Ontario College Graduate Certificate — 5 points"
• • "Apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma — 5 points"
• • "Less than college or trade certificate — 0 points"

Number of Canadian education credentials

• • "More than one Canadian credential — 10 points"
• • "One Canadian credential — 5 points"
• • "No Canadian credential — 0 points"

Official language ability (English or French)

• • "CLB 9 or higher — 15 points"
• • "CLB 8 — 12 points"
• • "CLB 7 — 8 points"
• • "CLB 6 — 4 points"
• • "CLB 5 or lower — 0 points"

Knowledge of official languages

"To receive points for 2 official languages, you must have at least CLB 6 across the 4 language areas (reading, writing, listening and speaking) for both tests."

• • "2 official languages — 10 points"
• • "1 official language — 5 points"

Regional immigration

• • "Northern Ontario — 15 points"
• • "Eastern Ontario — 10 points"
• • "Central Ontario outside GTA — 10 points"
• • "Southwestern Ontario — 10 points"
• • "Inside GTA (except Toronto) — 5 points"
• • "Toronto — 0 points"