A look back on Ontario immigration in 2021, and
guide to Provincial Nominee Programs for future immigrants.
Ontario nominated 9,000 immigration applicants
for permanent residence in 2021, hundreds more than planned.
Last May, the Ontario Immigrant
Nominee Program (OINP) announced that it was allowed to welcome 8,600
newcomers in 2021. Of these, 250 could be working in National Occupational
Classification (NOC) skill level C occupations, which generally require a
high school education or specific job training. Before the end of the year,
Ontario got an additional 400 nominations from the federal government through
an in-year reallocation. This is not the first time Ontario exceeded its
original allocation. In 2020, Ontario nominated 8,054 principal applicants to
apply for Canadian permanent residence even though it was originally allowed
7,350.
In Canada, the federal government gives
each of the provinces a set number of nominations they are allowed to issue.
These nominations support immigration applications, which all must go through
the federal government. Provincial nominations signal to the federal government
that this applicant can help support provincial and territorial goals for
economic and population growth. Last year, Ontario’s immigration minister,
Monte McNaughton, called on the federal government to double the
province’s allocation of immigrants to support labour shortages.
Ontario is among the majority of
Canadian provinces and territories, other than Quebec and Nunavut, that
participate in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). PNPs allow
provincial governments to create immigration programs for people who have
in-demand skills, connections to the region like work or study experience, or
who want to create business and investment opportunities that could
thrive in the labour market. If you want to immigrate to Ontario through a PNP,
you might want to decide if applying as an Express Entry candidate is
your best route, or if it makes more sense to go through a base stream. Base
streams are paper-based applications, and you do not necessarily need to be
eligible for Express Entry.
Here, we’ll explain both pathways for
workers.
Ontario immigration for Express Entry candidates
To get a provincial nomination through
an enhanced (aka Express Entry-linked) immigration stream, you need to first be
eligible for an Express Entry-managed program. There are three:
·
Federal Skilled
Worker Program (FSWP)
·
Canadian
Experience Class (CEC)
·
Federal Skilled
Trades Program (FSTP)
Express Entry is an online immigration
application management system. Eligible candidates get a score based on
the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The top-scoring candidates
receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence. With
this invitation, candidates can then apply for Canadian immigration.
If you receive a provincial nomination
as an Express Entry candidate, you get 600 points automatically added to your
CRS score, and you apply for immigration through the Provincial Nominee Class.
This award pushes you to the top of the pool and allows you to be eligible for
a PNP-specific Express Entry draw.
