Due to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Updates 2016, introduced to better satisfy the needs of Ontario labour market, the province has already collected sufficient amount of OINP applications required to meet its 2016 federal allocation.  As a result, Ontario has made the decision to temporary pause the intake of applications for select, high-volume OINP streams.

What has been paused after the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program recent updates?

• Applications for the following select, high-volume OINP streams effective 5 p.m. EDT on May 9, 2016:

– Employer Pre-screen

– International Student – Masters Graduate stream

– International Student – PhD Graduate stream

• Applications for the Employer Pre-screen and International Students (Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate) streams sent after 5 p.m. EDT on May 9, 2016 will be returned to the applicant including the unprocessed payment.

What has been stopped?

• Notifications of Interest (NOIs) for the OINP Human Capital Priorities (Express Entry) stream effective February 16, 2016.

What continues to be processed?

It should be noticed that lower-volume streams of the OINP and other options continue to be available despite recent updates:

• applications from Foreign Worker and International Student with a Job Offer applicants after Employer Pre-screen applications are assessed;
• applications for the French-Speaking Skilled Worker stream and the Corporate stream, and Entrepreneur stream.

Ontario is constantly improving its application processing system. Consequently, beneficial changes are expected to be implemented in the coming months to make it easier to apply.

Alternative ways to immigrate to Canada:

• In 2016 Ontario will select 5,500 immigrants through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), which is 1.8% of total amount of immigrants to Canada.
• There are other options for immigrating to Canada: French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream, Corporate Stream, and Entrepreneur Stream.
• The federal government offers more options to immigrate to Canada.

Be up-to-date with Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Updates 2016 and other relevant to the program changes.