Eight former OINP streams closed
Amendments to O. Reg. 422/17 came into force on June 25, 2026 and removed the eight existing OINP streams: the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker, International Student and In-Demand Skills streams; the Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate streams; and the Express Entry Human Capital Priorities, French-Speaking Skilled Worker and Skilled Trades streams. Ontario announced the change on June 26.
Applications submitted after an invitation under a former stream continue to be assessed under the requirements in force when they were submitted. EOIs and job offers under the former streams that had not led to an invitation were withdrawn automatically. They are not applications under the new framework: a candidate must qualify and register again under the new stream.
The pathways in the new stream
- TEER 0–3 occupations: a full-time, permanent Ontario job offer is required. Candidates qualify for work experience through 6 consecutive months in the offered position with the employer within the last 12 months, 2 years in the same NOC occupation within the last 5 years, or holding the licence the position requires. Language is CLB 6, or CLB 5 for listed skilled trades, and a post-secondary credential is generally required.
- Recent Ontario graduates in TEER 0–3: a qualifying graduate can meet the work-experience requirement with 3 consecutive months in the offered position with the same employer within the last 12 months, and does not need a language test.
- TEER 4–5 occupations: a full-time, permanent Ontario job offer, at least 9 months of cumulative experience in the offered position within the last 2 years, at least CLB 4, and a Canadian secondary school diploma or equivalent.
- Eligible self-employed physicians: no job offer is needed, but the physician must be a CPSO member in good standing with an eligible certificate of registration and be eligible to bill OHIP.
Special rules for recent Ontario graduates
A recent Ontario graduate must have graduated from an eligible Ontario institution within the last 3 years with a degree or diploma from a program of at least 2 years of full-time study, an Ontario College Graduate Certificate, a master's degree or a PhD.
Graduating in Ontario does not by itself lead to nomination. The candidate must still meet the job-offer, employer, occupation and other requirements. Transport truck drivers and transit operators (NOC 73300 and 73301) must meet the 6-month requirement even if they are recent graduates.
The employer is central to the new process
The job-offer pathways depend on the employer. The employer registers in the OINP Employer Portal, submits the job offer for the position and must meet Ontario's requirements for years in business, Ontario premises, revenue, number of employees, wages, hours and employment conditions.
A qualified candidate cannot be nominated if the employer or the position does not meet these requirements on its own. After an invitation, the employer has 14 calendar days and the candidate 17 calendar days to complete their parts.
No new-stream invitation round had been published by September 10
The last rounds published under the former streams included a Greater Toronto Area round on April 30, 2026: 1,063 invitations across the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker and International Student streams, with minimum scores of 57 and 81.
Those scores belong to closed streams and a different points grid, so they should not be read as likely cut-offs for the new stream. The new EOI portal opened on August 4, 2026, but Ontario had not published any Ontario Workforce Priority invitation round as of September 10. That means no round had been announced; it does not mean the portal was closed.
What candidates and employers should review now
- The correct NOC code and TEER category for the position. The TEER category, occupation category and hourly wage are prepopulated from the employer's job offer, so check them before registering.
- Whether the employer and the position meet all OINP requirements.
- Whether the offer is permanent and full-time and pays the required wage for its location.
- The work-experience, education, licensing and language requirements of the pathway.
- The likely EOI score, and whether the Express Entry option is available (TEER 0–3 job offers and self-employed physicians only).
An EOI is not a nomination application
Registering an EOI does not guarantee an invitation or a nomination. Ontario may rank the whole pool or target occupations, regions or other labour-market priorities.
Because the new stream assesses the candidate, the employer and the position together, each should be reviewed before registration. Incorrect information about employment, wages, work experience, education, status or employer eligibility can lead to refusal.