Ontario

The Ontario provincial nominee program (PNP) is employer driven, meaning that an Ontario employer must nominate a foreign national or international student. It is designed to assist employers who are having trouble filling skilled positions. Individuals cannot apply directly on their own, except for certain persons under the Investor category.

To qualify, the Ontario employer must:

• Have been in active business for at least 3 years (corporations, limited partnerships and sole proprietorships).
• Have a minimum of $1,000,000 in gross revenue for the most recent fiscal year (for companies inside the Greater Toronto Area), or have a minimum of $500,000 in gross revenue (companies outside the GTA).
• Have a minimum of 5 permanent full-time employees (for companies inside the Greater Toronto Area), or have a minimum of 3 permanent full-time employees (companies outside the GTA).
• Have business premises in Ontario where the prospective nominee will work.

The employment being offered must be permanent full-time, fall within a skilled occupation of the National Occupational Classification, and be necessary for the company’s operations.

Foreign Nationals – General Stream

To qualify under the program, foreign nationals must have attained the following:

• At least two years of work experience (within the previous five years) in the intended occupation, or have appropriate registration in Ontario, if applying for a position in a regulated occupation in Ontario;
• An approved permanent full-time job offer in a skilled occupation;
• An offered wage which meets the prevailing wage level for the intended occupation;
• Legal status, if the prospective nominee is in Canada;
• The employer’s approval letter, Joint Verification form signed by their prospective employer, and Pre-screen Position form.

Students

Foreign students who are in their last semester of studies in a publicly funded Canadian college or university, or who have graduated within the last two years are eligible to be nominated by an Ontario employer. As in the foreign worker stream, the position must be skilled, full-time and permanent and the salary must meet the entry level wage for their intended occupation (as opposed to the prevailing wage). However, unlike foreign workers, international students do not require any previous work experience to qualify under the program.

An additional stream has been introduced for PhD graduates, allowing these individuals to apply directly to the program without the need of having obtained an offer of employment.

Investors

Corporations making substantial investments in Ontario can also apply for a Provincial Nominee Certificate. To qualify as an investor, the following criteria applies:

• The investment must receive an official endorsement from another Ontario ministry at the Deputy Minister level for the investment and the number of key positions requested.
• The amount of the investment is at least $3,000,000.
• The investment must create at least five net permanent full-time jobs for Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Ontario.

Some individuals may also apply as investors, provided they meet the following criteria vis-à-vis an Ontario corporation:

• Be actively involved, on an ongoing basis, in the management of the business;
• Control, or will control, at least 33.334% of the equity in the business, or make a minimum $1 million investment in the business;
• Not have the option of redeeming the investment after a specified period;
• Invest the capital in the business not for the primary purpose of deriving interest, dividends or capital gains.

Procedure

Once a foreign national has been recruited, a complete application package is submitted, with processing fees of $2,000 for foreign workers and $1,500 for international students. Investors must pay a processing fee of $3,500.

Upon approval, the foreign workers receive a Provincial Nomination Certificate, allowing them to submit a permanent residence application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The certificate also allows the nominees to apply for a temporary work permit while their immigration application is being processed.

Current processing times to obtain a nomination certificate is approximately sixty days, with the immigration application taking approximately six months to finalize.

To learn more about Ontario’s PNP, please contact one of our lawyers.

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