Question 1

What is the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream?

Accepted Answer

The Ontario Workforce Priority Stream is the single OINP nomination stream that replaced all eight previous Ontario immigration streams on June 26, 2026. It has three pathways: a job-offer pathway for skilled workers (TEER 0–3), a job-offer pathway for essential workers (TEER 4–5), and a pathway for self-employed physicians.

Question 2

What happened to the old OINP streams?

Accepted Answer

All eight previous OINP streams closed on June 25–26, 2026, including the three Employer Job Offer streams, the Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate streams, and the three Express Entry streams (Human Capital Priorities, Skilled Trades, and French-Speaking Skilled Worker). They were replaced by the single Ontario Workforce Priority Stream.

Question 3

When did Ontario release the new OINP points system?

Accepted Answer

Ontario published the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream scoring factors on July 20, 2026, on ontario.ca. The stream itself launched on June 26, 2026.

Question 4

When does OINP EOI registration open?

Accepted Answer

It is open now. Ontario opened the Expression of Interest portal for the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream on August 4, 2026. Your employer must first submit your job offer in the Employer Portal; you then have 30 calendar days to register your EOI.

Question 5

Do I need a job offer for the new OINP?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a full-time permanent job offer in Ontario is required for both job-offer pathways of the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream. The only exception is self-employed physicians, who need an OHIP billing number and CPSO registration instead of a job offer.

Question 6

Is there an age requirement?

Accepted Answer

No. Neither the eligibility criteria nor the published scoring factors use age anywhere. That is a real difference from federal Express Entry, where age carries significant points.

Question 7

Do I need to show settlement funds?

Accepted Answer

No. The Workforce Priority Stream’s eligibility criteria contain no settlement-funds requirement, unlike some federal programs.

Question 8

Do I need to already live in Ontario or Canada?

Accepted Answer

There is no blanket residency requirement, but the rules lean that way. Applicants must demonstrate an intention to reside in Ontario, and under Ontario Regulation 422/17 the standard 6-month (TEER 0–3) and 9-month (TEER 4–5) experience requirements must be met while lawfully residing and working in Ontario. The one experience route open from abroad is the TEER 0–3 alternative of 2 years in the same occupation within the past 5 years. Applying from inside Canada requires valid temporary status.

Question 9

Is this calculator official?

Accepted Answer

No. oinp.org is a free, unofficial calculator provided as a courtesy by PS Consulter. It is not affiliated with the Government of Ontario. Scores are estimates based on the officially published scoring factors: always verify against ontario.ca before making decisions.

Question 10

What do I need for the TEER 0–3 pathway?

Accepted Answer

A qualifying job offer in a TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation; work experience (6 months in the job-offer position within the last 12 months, with alternatives for recent Ontario graduates, experienced workers, and licensed occupations); language ability of CLB 6 or higher (CLB 5 for listed skilled trades); and a post-secondary credential that took at least one year. The stream guide walks through each requirement.

Question 11

What do I need for the TEER 4 or 5 pathway?

Accepted Answer

9 months of cumulative paid full-time experience in the job-offer position within the past 2 years, CLB 4 or higher in all four abilities, and a high school diploma or equivalent. This pathway has no alternative routes: the 9 months must be full-time, in the position, and, under Ontario Regulation 422/17, gained while lawfully residing and working in Ontario.

Question 12

How do self-employed physicians qualify?

Accepted Answer

Through an OHIP billing number and a CPSO certificate of registration authorizing independent practice, academic practice, or a provisional certificate. Physicians meet no other applicant requirements: no language test, no education minimum, no experience threshold. Holders of a postgraduate education licence are not eligible under this pathway, though they may qualify with a job offer.

Question 13

Who counts as a recent Ontario graduate?

Accepted Answer

Someone who graduated within the last 3 years from an eligible Ontario institution with a credential that took at least 2 years full-time, an Ontario College Graduate Certificate, a master’s degree, or a PhD. Recent graduates unlock three things: a shorter 3-month experience requirement, the lower wage floor for TEER 0–3 job offers, and an exemption from language testing.

Question 14

Which language tests are accepted?

Accepted Answer

Five tests: IELTS General Training (not Academic and not One Skill Retake), CELPIP General, PTE Core (not PTE Academic), TEF Canada, and TCF Canada. The test date must be within 2 years before your application is submitted.

Question 15

What CLB level do I need?

Accepted Answer

CLB 6 in all four abilities for TEER 0–3 job offers, CLB 5 if the occupation is a listed skilled trade, and CLB 4 for TEER 4–5. Those are eligibility floors; the scoring grid separately rewards higher levels up to CLB 9 and above. Recent Ontario graduates with qualifying credentials do not need a language test at all.

Question 16

Which occupations count as skilled trades for the CLB 5 rule?

Accepted Answer

NOC Major Group 72 (technical trades and transportation, excluding Sub-Major Group 726), Major Group 73 (general trades), Major Groups 82 and 83 (supervisors and occupations in natural resources, agriculture and related production), Major Group 93 (central control and process operators, excluding Sub-Major Group 932), Minor Group 6320 (cooks, butchers, bakers), and Unit Group 62200 (chefs).

Question 17

Do I need an ECA for foreign education?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Education completed outside Canada needs an Educational Credential Assessment report that is less than 5 years old, from one of seven IRCC-designated organizations (including WES, ICAS, ICES, IQAS, and CES at the University of Toronto). One catch from the official checklist: you must authorize the organization to share results with the OINP directly; an authorization that covers only IRCC is not enough.

Question 18

Can I count part-time work experience?

Accepted Answer

Only on the TEER 0–3 alternative route of 2 years within 5 years. There, part-time work counts if you worked concurrent jobs totalling at least 30 hours a week, or one job at 15 or more hours a week for double the period. The 6-month, 3-month, and 9-month routes require full-time work.

Question 19

Does the experience have to be in the same occupation as my job offer?

Accepted Answer

The 6-month and 3-month routes require experience in the job-offer position itself, and the TEER 4–5 route requires the 9 months in the position. The 2-years-in-5 route requires the same NOC occupation, with three listed exceptions: professional engineering experience counts toward technical engineering positions, pharmacists toward pharmacy assistant positions, and nurses toward nurse aide positions.

Question 20

I was recently promoted. Does my earlier experience at the same company count?

Accepted Answer

The 6-month route counts experience in the job-offer position itself, not tenure at the company, so time in a different role before a promotion does not count toward it. Earlier experience can still qualify you through the 2-years-in-5 route if it was in the same NOC occupation, and time in any Ontario job counts toward the general Ontario experience scoring table.

Question 21

Can international students or new graduates apply?

Accepted Answer

There is no dedicated student or graduate stream anymore, so a job offer is required like everyone else. What helps: a valid study permit scores points on the status factor, Canadian credentials score on the education side, and recent Ontario graduates get the shorter experience route, the lower wage floor, and the language-test exemption.

Question 22

Can truck or bus drivers apply?

Accepted Answer

Yes. NOC 73300 (transport truck drivers) and 73301 (bus drivers, subway and transit operators) qualify, but only through the 6-month experience route: the recent-graduate and 2-years-in-5 alternatives do not apply to these occupations. The employer also needs a valid CVOR certificate with a safety rating of Excellent or Satisfactory.

Question 23

Can self-employed people apply?

Accepted Answer

Not unless they are physicians. The official page states that self-employed professionals and contractors without a legal employer-employee relationship are not eligible for the stream, with self-employed physicians as the only exception.

Question 24

What must the job offer look like?

Accepted Answer

Full-time and permanent: at least 1,560 hours a year and 30 hours of paid work a week, with no end date. Seasonal and fixed-term contracts are ineligible. The offer can be in any NOC occupation, must be urgently necessary to the employer’s business, and must not affect a labour dispute.

Question 25

What wage does the job offer have to pay?

Accepted Answer

At or above the Job Bank median wage for that occupation in that region; recent Ontario graduates in TEER 0–3 positions can use the lower wage level instead. Only the base hourly wage counts: piece work, bonuses, commissions, vacation pay, and non-financial compensation are excluded. If you already work in the position, the offer must also be at least your current wage. Jobs covered by a collective agreement follow the agreement instead.

Question 26

Is a letter from my employer enough?

Accepted Answer

No. The process only starts when your employer registers the business in the OINP Employer Portal and submits your job offer there, with supporting documents such as financial statements. A signed HR letter on its own does nothing in this program; without the portal submission there is no job offer ID and no way for you to register an EOI.

Question 27

What are the employer requirements?

Accepted Answer

At least 3 years in active business; business premises in Ontario where you will work; minimum gross revenue that depends on the work location; a minimum number of full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents at that location (5 in the GTA, 3 outside); and no outstanding orders under Ontario’s employment standards or health and safety laws. For multi-location businesses, the location where you work or report to work sets the revenue and employee thresholds.

Question 28

Which revenue threshold applies to my employer?

Accepted Answer

$1 million in the most recent fiscal year if the work location is in the GTA. $500,000 in the most recent fiscal year in 14 designated census divisions: Ottawa, Waterloo, Hamilton, Simcoe, Middlesex, Niagara, Essex, Wellington, Greater Sudbury, Frontenac, Brant, Peterborough, Hastings, and Thunder Bay. $250,000 everywhere else, met in each of the last two fiscal years.

Question 29

Are the employer rules different for TEER 4 or 5 jobs?

Accepted Answer

No. The employer and job-offer requirements in Ontario Regulation 422/17 apply to both job-offer pathways: the same 3-year, revenue, employee-count, wage, and recruitment tests, whatever the TEER level. What differs by pathway is the candidate side: experience, language, and education requirements.

Question 30

Does my employer have to advertise the job first?

Accepted Answer

Only in some cases. Recruitment evidence comes into play when the candidate is living outside Canada or working outside Ontario, and it is waived when you are already authorized to work in Ontario or the position has a positive LMIA. When required, the norm is at least two recruitment methods, publicly posted for at least four weeks. Recruitment carried out by an immigration representative is not accepted and leads to refusal.

Question 31

Can a startup or small business sponsor me?

Accepted Answer

Only if it clears the thresholds: 3 years of active business plus the revenue and employee-count minimums for its location. A willing employer that is too new or too small cannot be approved, which is the part of the process many applicants discover late.

Question 32

Can the job be remote?

Accepted Answer

Partly. The employer must have business premises in Ontario where you work or report to work, and the employment activities must occur primarily in Ontario (transport truck and bus drivers are the stated exception). If any of the work is remote, the job offer document must state the remote location and frequency.

Question 33

What if I or my family own part of the business?

Accepted Answer

You and your family members combined must hold less than 10 per cent of the employer’s equity, and only equity obtained as part of your pay is allowed. “Family member” follows the federal IRPR definition: spouse or common-law partner, children under 22, and their children. This restriction does not apply to self-employed physicians.

Question 34

Does my employer pay any fee?

Accepted Answer

The OINP charges employers nothing: registering in the Employer Portal, submitting a job offer, and the position-approval application are free, and the only application fee is paid by the applicant. At the later work-permit stage, the employer pays IRCC’s employer compliance fee.

Question 35

How do I register an EOI for the OWP Stream?

Accepted Answer

Your employer starts the process by submitting a job offer for your position in the OINP Employer Portal. You then receive an email with a job offer ID, which you use to register your EOI in the OINP e-Filing Portal within 30 calendar days. If you miss that window, the job offer expires in the system and your employer must submit a new one. Self-employed physicians have no employer, so they begin by sending the program a webform instead.

Question 36

How much does an OINP application cost?

Accepted Answer

Registering an EOI is free. A government application fee applies only if you are invited to apply: $1,500, or $2,000 if the job offer is within the GTA (the City of Toronto and the Durham, Halton, Peel and York regions). Self-employed physicians pay the same amounts based on their Ontario practice address.

Question 37

How long does my EOI stay in the pool?

Accepted Answer

An EOI remains valid for 12 months. If you have not been invited to apply within 12 months, it is automatically removed from the selection pool, and you must register a new one if you are still interested. It also leaves the pool if you withdraw it or receive an invitation.

Question 38

Can I update my EOI after registering it?

Accepted Answer

You can update your personal information in the e-Filing Portal at any time until you receive an invitation to apply or the EOI expires. The NOC code and hourly wage cannot be edited, because your employer’s job offer pre-populates them. To change those, the employer must withdraw the job offer and submit a new one, and you must register a new EOI.

Question 39

Do old OINP EOIs or job offers carry over to the new stream?

Accepted Answer

No. EOIs and job offers registered under the closed streams that never led to an invitation were automatically withdrawn during the transition. Employers who had already registered in the Employer Portal keep their accounts and do not need to register again, but they must submit a new job offer under the Workforce Priority Stream, and you must register a new EOI.

Question 40

Do I need a lawyer or consultant to apply?

Accepted Answer

No. The official pages state that authorizing a paid representative can be helpful but is not necessary. If you do use one, they must be appointed through the official process so you keep access to and control of your application: applications submitted by self-appointed representatives are invalid and are withdrawn, with the fee refunded.

Question 41

What documents will I need if invited?

Accepted Answer

The main categories on the official checklist: passport and photo, status-in-Canada documents, education documents (with an ECA for foreign credentials), language test results, any mandatory licence for the occupation, your two most recent pay slips if you already work in the position, work-history documents such as reference letters and CRA records, a resume, and documents showing your ties to Ontario. Each uploaded document has a 10 MB size limit.

Question 42

What is the maximum OINP score in 2026?

Accepted Answer

The maximum Expression of Interest score under the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream is 130 points for job-offer applicants and 115 points for self-employed physicians, based on the scoring factors Ontario published on July 20, 2026.

Question 43

What score do I need to get invited?

Accepted Answer

No invitation cut-off score exists yet: EOI registration opened on August 4, 2026, and Ontario has not held a draw. Once draws begin, cut-offs will depend on how many candidates register and their scores. Use the calculator to estimate your score out of 130, and watch the draws and cutoffs page for real cutoffs as they are announced.

Question 44

How is language ability scored?

Accepted Answer

Through two separate factors: your overall CLB level in your stronger official language (higher levels score more, topping out at CLB 9 or above), and knowledge of official languages, which rewards one language at CLB 6 or higher and rewards reaching that level in both English and French more. The exact values are on the scoring factors page.

Question 45

How is work experience scored?

Accepted Answer

Experience in the job-offer position is the primary table. If you have less than 6 months in the position, a second table scores your general experience working in Ontario instead, with a lower maximum. The two tables are never added together.

Question 46

How does the earnings-history factor work?

Accepted Answer

It scores your best single year of Canadian earnings, documented by a Canada Revenue Agency Notice of Assessment from the last 5 years, with bands running from $30,000 up to $70,000 and above. A single Notice of Assessment must support the claim: T4 slips alone are not accepted, and earnings from multiple years cannot be combined.

Question 47

Does foreign work experience or a foreign salary count toward my score?

Accepted Answer

Not in the scoring. The experience factor is officially titled Ontario work experience: it scores time in the job-offer position and general time working in Ontario. The earnings factor requires a Canada Revenue Agency Notice of Assessment, so income earned outside Canada scores nothing. Foreign experience still matters for eligibility, through the 2-years-in-5 route.

Question 48

Does maintained status or a visitor record score points?

Accepted Answer

They can keep you eligible but score nothing. The official page accepts a visitor record or maintained status as valid legal status when applying from inside Canada, but the status scoring factor awards points only for a valid work permit or a valid study permit.

Question 49

Which locations score regionalization points?

Accepted Answer

Northern Ontario scores highest, followed by Eastern, Southwestern, and Central Ontario outside the GTA, then the GTA outside Toronto; a job in the City of Toronto scores zero. The regions page maps all 49 census divisions and includes a city lookup.

Question 50

Why do my NOC’s TEER level and category matter?

Accepted Answer

Two factors score your occupation separately: the TEER level, where managerial and professional occupations score highest, and the NOC broad category, led by health occupations and then trades and transport. Together they make occupation one of the heaviest parts of the grid, set entirely by your job offer before any personal factor is counted.

Question 51

When will the first OWP Stream draw happen?

Accepted Answer

Ontario has not announced a draw date or schedule. The August 4, 2026 announcement opened EOI registration without saying when invitations start. Draws can rank the whole pool or target candidates with specific labour-market attributes, and announcements appear on the official stream page. When draws begin, this site will record each one on the draws and cutoffs page.

Question 52

How do draws work?

Accepted Answer

The regulation allows two kinds of rounds: general invitations, which rank every registered candidate, and targeted invitations, which rank only candidates with specific labour-market or human-capital attributes. The program’s director decides which to use, considering any ministerial direction. No fixed schedule, frequency, or minimum score is set by law.

Question 53

How many nominations does Ontario have in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Ontario’s federal allocation for 2026 is 14,119 nominations for the whole OINP. That covers all nominations issued in 2026, including applications still being processed from the closed streams under their original criteria.

Question 54

What happens if I am invited to apply?

Accepted Answer

Two clocks start. Your employer must submit the application for approval of the employment position within 14 calendar days, and you must submit your application and pay the fee within 17 calendar days. You can prepare your application at any time in that window, but you cannot submit it until your employer’s part is in. Self-employed physicians have only the 17-day step.

Question 55

What if the deadline is missed?

Accepted Answer

The invitation cannot be reinstated. If you fail to apply in time, your EOI is removed from the selection pool. If your employer fails to submit the position approval, the job offer is withdrawn and your EOI is removed. Getting back into the pool requires a new job offer and a new EOI.

Question 56

How long does processing take?

Accepted Answer

No processing times have been published for the Workforce Priority Stream yet, and the old ontario.ca processing-times page has been retired. Applications from the closed streams continue to be assessed under the criteria in place when they were submitted.

Question 57

What happens after a nomination?

Accepted Answer

You receive a nomination approval letter, a nomination certificate and, where applicable, a work permit support letter by email, and you then apply to IRCC for permanent residence within 6 months. IRCC makes the final decision: a provincial nomination does not guarantee permanent residence.

Question 58

Do I have to keep working for the employer after nomination?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you already work in the position: you must remain employed in it until you are nominated and throughout the post-nomination period, until IRCC grants or refuses your application. The approved position cannot be changed after nomination, and if the employment ends and the approval is cancelled, pursuing the stream again means a new EOI. The program’s verification unit conducts post-nomination follow-ups.

Question 59

Can I use my nomination through Express Entry?

Accepted Answer

If your occupation is TEER 0–3, or you are a self-employed physician, you can take the nomination through the Express Entry system, where it adds 600 points to your CRS score. You then have 30 calendar days to accept the nomination in the system and 60 calendar days to submit your permanent-residence application to IRCC.

Question 60

Can my spouse and children be included?

Accepted Answer

Your dependent family members (spouse or common-law partner, children under 22, and their children) are included in your permanent-residence application to IRCC, and the OINP collects their passport copies with your application. The EOI, the score, and the nomination are yours alone: family members do not affect your points.

Question 61

What if my application is refused?

Accepted Answer

You can request an internal review within 30 calendar days of the decision, through the e-Filing Portal. The request must identify an error that would have changed the outcome, and new evidence is allowed only if it was not reasonably available earlier. The reviewer’s decision is final. Incomplete applications are handled differently: they are withdrawn with the fee refunded, and no internal review is available.

OINP Workforce Priority Stream: frequently asked questions

The stream in brief