Ontario Workforce Priority Stream: OINP Job Offer Pathway

The Ontario Workforce Priority stream is the new job offer stream of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), Ontario's part of the federal Provincial Nominee Program. It replaced eight older streams, which Ontario repealed effective June 25, 2026, including the three Employer Job Offer streams, the graduate streams, and the three Express Entry streams. See the 2026 OINP overhaul for the timeline.

The stream is open to jobs in any National Occupational Classification (NOC) occupation, from managers and engineers to cooks, truck drivers and personal support workers. The job must be full-time and permanent, and your employer must take part in the process. Ontario says this is the first phase of a two-phase redesign. Phase 2 is expected to add Priority Healthcare, Entrepreneur and Exceptional Talent streams, but Ontario has not published rules or dates for them as of September 2026.

If Ontario nominates you, you then apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence. IRCC makes the final decision.

The stream has three pathways. Your pathway depends on the TEER (Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities) category of your job offer. The TEER category is the second digit of the 5-digit NOC code. For example, NOC 13102 (payroll administrators) is TEER 3.

CLB means Canadian Language Benchmarks, the scale used to score English and French tests.

TEER 0-3 work experience options

You need one of these:

• At least 6 months of consecutive, paid, full-time work in the job offer position in the 12 months before you apply.
• If you graduated from an eligible Ontario institution in the last 3 years, at least 3 months of consecutive, paid, full-time work in the job offer position.
• At least 2 years of cumulative, paid, full-time work in the same NOC occupation within the last 5 years (some related occupations count for engineering technicians, pharmacy assistants and nurse aides).
• A license or other authorization required by law to do the job. Truck, bus and transit drivers must still have 6 months of experience.

Self-employed physicians

Physicians can apply without a job offer if they have an Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) billing number and hold an independent practice, academic practice or provisional certificate with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). A postgraduate education license does not qualify on its own.

Your employer starts the process. It must register in the OINP Employer Portal and submit a job offer before you can register an EOI. As of September 2026, the employer must:

• have been in active business for at least 3 years
• have business premises in Ontario where you will work
• have no outstanding orders under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act
• make reasonable efforts to recruit a Canadian citizen or permanent resident first, if you live outside Canada or work outside Ontario
• pay at least the median wage for the occupation in that region (recent Ontario graduates in TEER 0-3 jobs can be paid at the low wage level)

Revenue and staffing minimums depend on where you will work:

Ontario Public Service jobs are not eligible. Employers can find more detail on the PNP employer streams page.

Ontario scores every EOI and invites the candidates who best match its priorities. Scoring factors include:

• TEER category: 9 points for TEER 0 or 1, 6 for TEER 2 or 3, 0 for TEER 4 or 5
• Broad occupational category: health occupations (category 3) score highest at 10 points; trades (category 7) get 8
• Hourly wage: up to 15 points for $40 an hour or more
• Ontario work experience: up to 18 points for more than 24 months in the job offer position
• Canadian earnings, legal status, education and Canadian credentials
• Language: up to 15 points for CLB 9 or higher, plus points for knowing both English and French
• Region: 15 points for Northern Ontario, 10 for Eastern, Central (outside the GTA) and Southwestern Ontario, 5 inside the GTA, and 0 for Toronto

The regional points mean that a job outside Toronto can make a big difference. Scoring rules can change, so check the stream page before you register. An EOI stays in the pool for 12 months.

Registering an EOI is free. If you are invited, the OINP application fee as of September 2026 is:

• $1,500 if the job (or a physician's practice) is outside the Greater Toronto Area
• $2,000 if it is inside the Greater Toronto Area

Ontario refunds the fee only if your application is incomplete or you withdraw before processing starts. It does not refund the fee if you are refused. You will also pay federal permanent residence fees, language tests, an educational credential assessment (ECA) if you studied abroad, medical exams and police certificates.

Yes, in some cases. If your job offer is in TEER 0-3, or you apply as a self-employed physician, you can choose to be nominated through the federal Express Entry system. You must meet the rules of a federal Express Entry program and keep a valid profile from the time you apply until you are nominated. Express Entry nominations may lead to faster federal processing. TEER 4-5 nominees use the paper-based (non-Express Entry) permanent residence process instead. See Express Entry vs PNP for the differences.

If you do not have an eligible job offer, you cannot use this stream. Options to look at include Express Entry on your own points, the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (North Bay, Sudbury, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay take part), the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot for French speakers, or a temporary LMIA work permit to gain Ontario experience first. For a full view of Ontario's options, see the Ontario overview.