The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has held two more targeted draws for a total of four rounds of invitations held just this month since transferring to an Expression of Interest (EOI) system.
On May 25th Ontario issued 64 invitations to candidates eligible under the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream, specifically those registered under the Regional Immigration Pilot.
Just one day later, on May 26th, OINP issued another 158 invitations, targeting those registered under the Regional Immigration Pilot that qualify for the Employer Job Offer: International Student Stream, and in a separate draw, targeting candidates eligible under the International Student Stream with a score of 73 or higher.
What is the Regional Immigration Pilot?
Ontario’s Regional Immigration Pilot is a two-year pilot program designed to help fill labour shortages and support economic growth in select rural and small communities.
To be eligible, one must have a full-time and permanent job offer from an employer in one of the select pilot communities and meet the criteria for one of Ontario’s Employer Job Offer Categories.
Ontario has set aside 150 nomination spaces for this pilot program this year (of a total 8,600 nominations allocated).
How is the Regional Immigration Pilot different from Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP)?
The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is a federal program that is also community-driven with the aim of spreading the benefits of economic immigration to smaller rural communities across Canada. Candidates must meet both the IRCC’s eligibility requirements as well as any community specific requirements. Once a candidate is recommended by a community, they can then apply to the IRCC for permanent residence. Ontario communities currently participating in this program include North Bay, Sudbury, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay.
Ontario’s Regional Immigration Pilot requires candidates to be eligible for one of their existing Employer Job Offer Streams in addition to holding a qualifying job offer in a participating community. Rather than applying to the community for recommendation, eligible candidates must apply to Ontario for nomination upon receiving an invitation to do so. Successful nominees are then invited to apply to the IRCC for permanent residence status. The communities currently participating under OINP’s pilot include Chatham-Kent, Cornwall and Quinte West/Belleville.
Lauren Boorman
