The federal government of Canada has agreements with Canadian provinces and territories (with the exception of Quebec), referred to as Federal-Provincial/Territorial Agreements. Under these agreements, provinces and territories implement programs that are essential to their economic development.
The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) allows provinces to nominate certain skilled applicants based on their own labour-market needs. Each province or territory has its own “streams” and requirements. Most provinces or territories have streams in place that target students, business people, skilled workers or semi-skilled workers.
The program is for workers who have the skills, education and work experience to contribute to the economy of a specific province or territory, who want to live in that province, and who want to become permanent residents of Canada. Many provincial immigration programs require you to have significant ties to that province before you can apply for a nomination.
How you will apply depends on which Provincial Nominee Program stream you are applying under. Some of the Provincial Nominee Programs are paper-based, while others are linked with the online Express Entry program. Provinces and territories may send a Notification of Interest through the Express Entry system to those candidates who have ties to that province or territory based on the information in the Express Entry profile.
The province or territory recognizes and nominates individuals for permanent residence who have the skills and experience their economy needs, and the Government of Canada through the IRCC makes the final decision to approve applications for permanent residence.
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)
Ontario currently has several streams in place to attract foreign workers, international students and others with the right skills, experience and education to apply to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) for a nomination.
Each stream is unique depending on whether you are: a foreign worker who already has a permanent job offer from an Ontario employer; a worker who has valuable work experience, education, language skill, and a profile in the Express Entry system; a graduate student; or an entrepreneur looking to start a new or purchase an existing business in Ontario.
The criteria for the PNP programs vary and change frequently without notice. Our immigration law group offers an assessment service that would help you to determine whether you are eligible to apply for permanent residence under one of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) and whether you meet the requirements to receive a provincial nomination. If you do not yet qualify, we will provide recommendations on what you may need to improve your chances to become a competitive candidate in one of the offered streams either in Ontario, or other provinces or territories that you have ties to.
Our team can assist you at any stage of your provincial nominee application: from overview and assessment to find out whether you are eligible, applying for nomination and submitting the permanent residence application after you receive a PNP nomination.
