{"id":190202,"date":"2018-11-18T00:50:36","date_gmt":"2018-11-18T05:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=190202"},"modified":"2018-11-18T00:50:36","modified_gmt":"2018-11-18T05:50:36","slug":"ontario-immigrant-nominee-program-reaches-its-nomination-cap-for-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/11\/18\/ontario-immigrant-nominee-program-reaches-its-nomination-cap-for-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program reaches its nomination cap for 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ontario is Canada\u2019s most populous province and the OINP\u2019s 2018 allocation of 6,600 nominations makes it Canada\u2019s largest provincial immigrant nominee program. (Pixabay Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program has reached its 2018 provincial nomination allocation, with 6,600 nominations issued to successful applicants across various streams.<\/span><\/p>\n

The province says it will continue to accept and consider new applications for a provincial nomination, and those that have already been submitted, under the\u00a0Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)<\/a>\u2019s 2019 nomination allocation, with the exception of the currently paused\u00a0Master\u2019s Graduate Stream<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The OINP is part of Canada\u2019s\u00a0Provincial Nominee Program<\/a>, which allows participating provinces and territories to nominate a set number of candidates for Canadian immigration each year.<\/p>\n

Ontario is Canada\u2019s most populous province and the OINP\u2019s 2018 allocation of 6,600 nominations makes it Canada\u2019s largest provincial immigrant nominee program.<\/p>\n

While the OINP has not yet announced its allocation for 2019, it is possible that the total may increase in the new year.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s allocation was 600 slots higher than that of 2017, which was capped at 6,000 nominations.<\/p>\n

Under the\u00a0federal government\u2019s new multi-year immigration levels plan<\/a>, the admissions target for Canada\u2019s Provincial Nominee Program is set at 61,000 for 2019, an increase of 6,000 over this year\u2019s target of 55,000.<\/p>\n

Human Capital Priorities Stream nominations lead the way<\/b><\/h3>\n

Ontario\u2019s three Express Entry-linked immigration streams have been by far the OINP\u2019s most active this year, issuing 6,411 nominations.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Express Entry system<\/a>\u00a0manages the pool of candidates for Canada\u2019s three federal economic immigration categories \u2014 the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class, and the Canadian Experience Class.<\/p>\n

Ontario\u2019s Express Entry-linked streams \u2014 the\u00a0Human Capital Priorities Stream<\/a>,\u00a0French Speaking Skilled Worker Stream<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Skilled Trades Stream<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 allow the OINP to search the Express Entry pool for potential applicants who meet their eligibility criteria and can integrate quickly into the province\u2019s labour market.<\/p>\n

Express Entry candidates who are nominated by Ontario receive an additional 600 points toward their\u00a0Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)<\/a>\u00a0score and move to the front of the line for an Invitation to Apply for Canadian permanent residence.<\/p>\n

The Human Capital Priorities Stream (HCP) issued the most Express Entry-aligned nominations this year, with the majority occurring in the first two months of the year when five out of eight invitation rounds took place.<\/p>\n

HCP nominations made up more than 50 per cent of Ontario\u2019s total allocation for 2018 with 3,534 applicants invited to apply for an Ontario provincial nomination for permanent residence.<\/p>\n

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Out of the eight total HCP invitation rounds so far this year, three were targeted draws, including two that prioritized candidates in the Express Entry pool with a job offer in Ontario and one that prioritized candidates with French-language proficiency equivalent to a CLB 7 or above and an English language level of CLB 6 or above.<\/p>\n

The minimum CRS score required, at the time set at 400, was lowered in these three draws and fell to 350 in the August 9 target job offer draw, which also remains the largest of 2018 with 947 invitations issued.<\/p>\n

The OINP followed the August 9 draw with news in September that it was moving away from a fixed minimum CRS score of 400 for the HCP Stream. Moving forward, the minimum score for future HCP invitation rounds will be determined by the director of the OINP.<\/p>\n

The table below captures all HCP invitations rounds in 2018:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Date & time of portal search<\/b><\/th>\nNumber of invitations issued<\/b><\/th>\nCRS Score range<\/b><\/th>\nDate Express Entry profile was submitted<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
August 9, 2018*<\/td>\n947<\/td>\n350-439<\/td>\nJanuary 1, 2018 to August 9, 2018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
March 26, 2018**<\/td>\n299<\/td>\n351-446<\/td>\nJanuary 1, 2018 to March 26, 2018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
March 26, 2018*<\/td>\n480<\/td>\n351-446<\/td>\nJanuary 1, 2018 to March 26, 2018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
February 26, 2018<\/td>\n511<\/td>\n441-443<\/td>\nJanuary 1, 2018 to February 22, 2018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
February 12, 2018<\/td>\n488<\/td>\n435-441<\/td>\nJanuary 1, 2018 to February 8, 2018 at 4PM EST<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
January 25, 2018<\/td>\n89<\/td>\n433-444<\/td>\nJanuary 1, 2018 to January 25, 2018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
January 26, 2018<\/td>\n380<\/td>\n433-444<\/td>\nJanuary 1, 2018 to January 25, 2018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
January 19, 2018<\/td>\n340<\/td>\n440-446<\/td>\nJanuary 1, 2018 to January 19, 2018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The OINP\u2019s French-Speaking Skilled Worker and Skilled Trade streams were also active this year, issuing a combined total of 2,880 nominations.<\/p>\n

Total nominations issued under both these streams accounted for approximately 43 per cent of total OINP nominations in 2018.<\/p>\n

An important change introduced to all three Express Entry streams this year saw the number of days a nomination remains valid adjusted to 45 calendar days. Candidates previously had only 14 days to submit a complete application for a nomination.<\/p>\n

This means Express Entry candidates have more time to gather their documents and submit a complete application for provincial nomination to the OINP.<\/p>\n

The OINP nominates eligible applicants under seven other streams. They are:<\/p>\n