A recent announcement from the province of Ontario may be of significant interest to candidates for Canadian immigration in the express Entry pool with close to or more than 400 (CRS) points, as well as those with adequate-intermediate or better French proficiency
In a program update posted on its official website on November 24, the Ontario nomination program (OINP, formerly known as the Opportunities Ontario Provincial Nominee Program, or OOPNP) stated: Ontario uses Express Entry (EE) to select potential nominees for permanent residence under two Ontario Express Entry Streams.
It has come to our attention that technical issues may have resulted in candidates not receiving Notification of Interest (NOI) though they believe they meet the criteria for Ontario’s Express Entry Streams. If you believe you fall into this category and have not received an NOI within one month of submitting your EE profile, we encourage you to create a new profile in the EE system. If you create a new EE profile, you must delete your old profile.
• CRS score: All candidates must score a minimum of 400 points under the CRS. The score must remain at or above 400 during both the Ontario nomination processing stage and the federal application for permanent residence processing stage.
• Work Experience: FSW candidates must have a minimum of one year of continuous full-time employment or an equal amount of continuous part-time paid work experience
• Education: All candidates must have a Canadian Bachelor’s, Master’s or Ph.D. degree or an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report produced by a designated organization indicating that their foreign education is equivalent to a Canadian Bachelor’s, Master’s or Ph.D. degree.
• Language Proficiency: All candidates must have a language proficiency level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 or higher in all language competencies (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) in either English or French, as supported by language test results from a standardised language test recognised by the governments of Canada and Ontario.
• Settlement Funds: All applicants must possess sufficient to cover settlement costs in Ontario. This must be supported by bank statements.
• Intention to Reside in Ontario: All applicants must intend to reside in Ontario, as demonstrated by a statement of intent and indication of ties to Ontario.
Moreover, candidates are also advised to search for a qualifying job offer from a Canadian employer, which may result in an additional 600 CRS points being awarded.
French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream The French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream has the same eligibility criteria as the Human Capital Priorities Stream, except for the following two aspects: •There is no requirement to have at least 400 CRS points; and •Candidates must have a minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level of 7 in French and CLB 6 in English, as demonstrated by results from standardised language tests recognised by the governments of Canada and Ontario;
