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Ontario's nominee program changed in 2026. Here is what replaced it

If you researched the OINP before this summer, most of what you read is gone. Ontario closed eight streams in June 2026 and replaced them with a single Ontario Workforce Priority stream, open since 4 August 2026. It runs on employer-registered job offers and very short deadlines.

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What was removed, and what happened to people in the queue

The eight closed streams were Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker, Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills, Employer Job Offer: International Student, Master's Graduate, PhD Graduate, and the three Express Entry streams — Human Capital Priorities, French-Speaking Skilled Worker, and Skilled Trades.

Expressions of interest that had been registered but not invited were withdrawn when the platform changed. If that was you, your place in the old queue no longer exists and you have to start again under the new stream.

If you were already invited under a former stream and submitted an application, it is still assessed against the eligibility requirements that were in effect when you submitted. Do not let a nominee under the old rules be talked into abandoning a live file.

How the Ontario Workforce Priority stream works

The stream is built on a registered employer. Your employer submits the job offer through the employer portal first. You then have 30 calendar days to register an expression of interest against it. Ontario scores registrations and issues invitations to the top-ranked candidates. If you are invited, you have 17 calendar days to file the complete application.

There are three pathways. For occupations in TEER 0 to 3, you need a full-time permanent job offer, a post-secondary credential, and language ability at roughly CLB 5 to 6. For TEER 4 and 5 occupations, the benchmarks are lower — around CLB 4 and secondary school equivalency. Self-employed physicians in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario have their own route.

Work experience requirements scale with the occupation, ranging from a few months for recent Ontario graduates up to two years of cumulative experience in the previous five years. The job offer must be full time, permanent, at the wage level required for its location, and genuinely necessary to the business.

Costs, and how the nomination connects to Express Entry

Registering an expression of interest is free. The application fee after an invitation is $1,500 where the job is outside the Greater Toronto Area, and $2,000 where it is inside Toronto, Durham, Halton, Peel or York.

Candidates in TEER 0 to 3 occupations can choose to be nominated through Express Entry rather than take a base nomination. That is usually the better option: an Express Entry nomination adds 600 points to your Comprehensive Ranking System score, which in practice produces an invitation in the next relevant federal round. It requires you to have and maintain an active Express Entry profile throughout.

Candidates in TEER 4 and 5 occupations receive a base nomination, which means a separate permanent residence application to IRCC rather than the Express Entry route. Same destination, different timeline and different paperwork. Our flat fee is $3,388.87, taxes included; Ontario's and IRCC's fees are paid separately to government.

How it works

  1. Confirm your employer is registered with the program and has submitted the job offer through the employer portal.
  2. Check your occupation's TEER level — it determines your pathway, your language and education benchmarks, and whether the Express Entry option is open to you.
  3. Book language testing and any educational credential assessment now. These cannot be produced inside a 17-day window.
  4. Register your expression of interest within 30 calendar days of the employer's job offer submission.
  5. If your occupation is TEER 0 to 3, create and maintain an Express Entry profile so the nomination can be applied to it.
  6. On invitation, file the complete application within 17 calendar days and pay $1,500 outside the GTA or $2,000 inside it.

Common questions

My employer wants to hire me. Where does the process start?

With the employer, not with you. Your employer registers with the program and submits the job offer through the employer portal. Only then can you register an expression of interest, and you get 30 calendar days from that point to do it. Employers who have never used the program before should get set up before they make an offer, because the clock does not wait for their paperwork.

Seventeen days to apply — is that real?

Yes. An invitation under the Ontario Workforce Priority stream gives you 17 calendar days to submit a complete application, and that includes weekends. This is the single biggest practical risk in the stream. Language test results, credential assessments, employment reference letters and proof of status all need to exist before the invitation arrives, not after. Assemble the file while you are waiting.

I had an expression of interest registered under the old Human Capital Priorities stream. What now?

If you were never invited, that registration was withdrawn when Ontario changed platforms, and there is no grandfathering. Your route now is the new stream, which is employer-driven — so the practical question is whether you can secure a qualifying permanent job offer in Ontario. If you were invited and had already applied, your application continues to be assessed under the rules in force when you submitted it.

Should I take the Express Entry nomination or the base nomination?

If your occupation is TEER 0 to 3 and you are eligible for one of the federal Express Entry programs, the Express Entry option is usually stronger: the nomination adds 600 CRS points and effectively guarantees a federal invitation in the next round, with faster federal processing. You have to keep a live Express Entry profile the whole time. If you are in a TEER 4 or 5 occupation, the base nomination is your route and there is no choice to make.

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