On February 22, Ontario invited 773 Express Entry candidates working in targeted occupations to apply for a provincial nomination.
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) invites candidates who may be eligible for the Express Entry Human Capital Priority Stream (HCP). These candidates are required to have a profile between 455 and 600 with a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score in the Express Entry system.
Express Entry candidates without a provincial nomination may receive a maximum score of 600. Prior to this draw, candidates whose CRS score was above the ceiling would not be eligible to apply for enrollment.
Ontario invites candidates to create Express Entry profiles between the dates of February 22, 2021 and April 29, 2021. To be eligible for enrollment, candidates must have at least one year of work experience in the following target occupations listed below by NOC. Code:
- NOC 0114 – Other administrative services managers
- NOC 0122 – Banking, credit and other investment managers
- NOC 0124 – Advertising, marketing and public relations managers
- NOC 0125 – Other business services managers
- NOC 0211 – Engineering managers
- NOC 0311 – Managers in health care
- NOC 0601 – Corporate sales managers
- NOC 0631 – Restaurant and food service managers
- NOC 0711 – Construction managers
- NOC 0731 – Managers in transportation
- NOC 0911 – Manufacturing managers
- NOC 1121 – Human resources professionals
- NOC 1122 – Professional occupations in business management consulting
- NOC 2161 – Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries
- NOC 3012 – Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- NOC 3211 – Medical laboratory technologists
- NOC 3231 – Opticians
- NOC 3233 – Licensed practical nurses
Those who have received an invitation now have 45 calendar days to submit their application for Ontario’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
High Scoring Ontario Candidates Can Apply Now
Canada has not held an Express Entry draw for anyone other than PNP candidates since September 2021. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has not given a specific date for when draws will begin for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) candidates. But recently told business leaders that it would happen in the “near future”.
Since then, only PNP candidates have been invited. Throughout 2021, Express Entry candidates with scores of more than 467 in Ontario were not invited to apply for enrollment. As a result, some candidates were trying to narrow down their scores in the pool to obtain nominations from Ontario.
According to the new 2022-2024 immigration level plan, Canada expects to bring in 83,500 immigrants this year through both the Express Entry-aligned and Base PNP categories. The new targets are higher than the government’s estimate in the previous level of planning, which were 81,500 PNP immigrants for 2022 and 83,000 for 2023.
It is Ontario’s biggest HCP draw of the year, and has the largest range of eligible Express Entry scores. There is a 145-point difference between a minimum score of 455 and a maximum of 600. Overall Ontario’s biggest draw was on January 27, when the province invited 1,032 Skilled Trades stream candidates, another Express Entry stream.
Small Employer Job Offer Draw
Ontario also issued eight invitations under Employer Job Offers: Foreign Worker Stream.
These candidates did not have Express Entry profiles, but did submit an expression of interest in Ontario’s system.
The draw was targeted at candidates for the Economic Mobility Pathway Project, which was created to allow approximately 10-15 skilled refugees to immigrate to Canada through the PNP or another federal economic program.
What are the benefits of having a PNP?
The PNP allows Canadian provinces to invite immigration candidates who meet the needs of their regional labor markets.
Express Entry candidates receiving a provincial nomination are effectively guaranteed to receive an Invitation to Apply for Canadian Permanent Residence (ITA). With provincial enrollment, candidates get 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points in their base score, which is more than enough to obtain an ITA in subsequent Express Entry draws.
About Express Entry
Express Entry is an application management system that allows people to directly apply for permanent residency in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). It is not an immigration program itself, but it does manage applications for the Federal Skilled Workers Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trade Program.
If you are eligible for one or more of these programs, you can create an Express Entry profile. Once you have uploaded all your documents, you will receive a score based on your work experience, education, age and language ability in English or French, among other criteria.
IRCC conducts draws approximately every two weeks and issues ITAs to the highest scoring candidates, allowing them to apply