Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Tech Draw

The provincial government of Ontario launched this new opportunity under its own provincial nomination program – OINP that is categorized under its Human Capital Priorities Stream. This new way is to assist in identifying immigrants with technical skills registered under the Federal government’s Express entry program as Human Capital Priorities Stream allows the OINP to search for skilled immigrants with the required experience in the express pool.

Looking at the statistics of the year 2018, it shows that 65% of the express entry registered candidates have their destination province as Ontario. Ontario is the tech hub with its major cities like Toronto, Ottawa, and Kitchener-Waterloo home to some of the tech giants in the country.

Who is eligible for OINP tech draw?

In order to be eligible to be invited in the newly introduced OINP’s Tech draw, candidates need to be in the express pool and also:

• Be able to clear the eligibility criteria for Human Capital Priorities Stream
• Need to have work experience in targeted occupation by the province of Ontario

Under Human Capital Priorities stream, it is not required to have a job offer and it can also provide an immigration pathway to the candidates who are not able to meet the Federal government’s express draw CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) cut-offs.

Following is the list of targeted occupation with their respective NOC (National Occupational Classification) codes:

• Software Engineers and Designers (NOC Code: 2173)
• Computer programmers and interactive media developers (NOC Code: 2174)
• Computer Engineers (NOC Code: 2147)
• Web Designers and developers (NOC Code: 2175)
• Database analysts and data administrators (NOC Code: 2172)
• Computer and information systems managers (NOC Code: 0213)

These occupations are selected by Ontario on the basis of the needs of their local eligible employers, by engaging with stakeholders and face-to-face consultations. The employers of the province provide the provincial government with their current labor needs and hiring practices, that includes their needs for specific information and communication technology skills and occupation.

Higher Nomination for Permanent residence through PNPs

Provinces in Canada receive an annual allocation of nomination from the Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) through their Provincial Nomination Programs (PNPs). In the past six years, Ontario has a gradual increase in their allocations with currently standing at 6,900 nominations.  On the basis of the higher admission rates for skilled immigrants for the year 2020 and 2021, we will see a number of permanent residents through the PNPs as well as the through the three economic immigration program managed n express entry program – Federal Skilled Trades Program, Federal Skilled Worker Program, and Canadian Experience Class.

Once selected by the OINP by receiving a Notification of Interest, the candidate has 45 days to apply for a provincial nomination from Ontario. For an express entry candidate to land a provincial nomination certificate, it gives a boost of 600 CRS points to their profile. These many points make sure that the candidate is able to land the Invitation to Apply (ITA) to apply for Canada PR visa to the IRCC.