What do you have to meet to apply to OWPS

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OWPS is a single stream, and its requirements are split into three situations: a job offer in TEER category 0 to 3, a job offer in TEER category 4 to 5, and self-employed physicians. NOC stands for National Occupational Classification, Canada's official occupational classification. TEER is the skill category inside the NOC, running from 0 to 5; an occupation's TEER category is the second digit of its 5-digit NOC code. Official wording ( Ontario.ca · Ontario Workforce Priority Stream ): Official wording There are different requirements depending on the TEER category of your job offer NOC. The TEER category is determined by the second digit of your occupation's 5-digit NOC. Beyond the three situations, the official page also sets out a general list of things that apply no matter which route you take: the employer is registered with the program and has submitted a position approval application; you received an invitation and submitted within the deadline; every scoring factor you selected in the EOI is supported by documents; work experience (or a mandatory licence or authorization), licensing, language, education, legal status in Canada, and the intention to live and work in Ontario must all be evidenced according to the document checklist. The official page also states that your nomination application can only be approved if the employer's position approval application is approved. At the top of the eligibility section the official page adds a qualifying note: Official wording Scoring factors are not the same as stream criteria. You must meet all criteria for this stream and provide the mandatory documents with your application. Job offer in TEER category 0 to 3 Work experience: one of four options. Language: CLB 6, or CLB 5 for skilled trades. Education: one of four options. The longest section, and where most people fall. Work experience: the official page gives four options, and meeting one of them is enough ( Ontario.ca · OWPS page, Applicant requirements section ). Official wording: Official wording If you have a job offer under TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3, you must have one of the following: Six months of continuous full-time paid work in the job offer position within the 12 months before you submit the application. Full-time here means at least 780 hours of paid work within those 12 months, at least 30 hours a week, in the same occupation, with the same employer, at the same location. Recent Ontario graduates need three months under the same conditions, and the full-time threshold drops to at least 390 hours within 12 months. Two years of cumulative full-time paid work in the same NOC occupation as the job offer, within the five years before you submit the application. If the position requires a licence or authorization under Ontario or Canadian law, holding a valid licence or authorization issued by the relevant regulatory body means you do not need to prove work experience separately. The official definition of a recent Ontario graduate : within the past three years you obtained one of the following credentials from an eligible Ontario institution, one of four: a post-secondary degree or diploma of at least two years full-time, an Ontario College Graduate Certificate, a master's degree, or a doctoral degree. The official wording is took at least 2 years to complete, meaning two years or more. The two-year cumulative route allows substitution across NOC codes , and the official page gives three cases: if the job offer is in NOC Sub-Major Group 223 (technical occupations in engineering), experience in Sub-Major Group 213 (professional occupations in engineering) may be used; if the job offer is NOC 33103 (pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants), experience in NOC 31120 (pharmacists) may be used; if the job offer is NOC 33102 (nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates), experience in NOC 32101 (licensed practical nurses) or NOC 31301 (registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses) may be used. For this route, full-time means at least 30 hours a week and at least 3,120 hours in total over two years. The official page also accepts part-time equivalents: one job of at least 15 hours a week totalling 3,120 hours over four years; or several jobs totalling at least 30 hours a week and 3,120 hours over two years. Two positions do not get the exemptions : if the job offer is NOC 73300 transport truck drivers or NOC 73301 bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators, the six-month requirement must be met even with a licence and even for a recent Ontario graduate. General rules for counting work experience : the experience must already be completed when you submit the application, and all eligibility requirements must be met at the time you register the EOI; cumulative experience may have gaps; annual leave, regular sick leave, and standard short-term paid leave provided under a collective agreement, by law or by employer policy are generally not treated as interruptions to full-time employment, while long-term leave counts as an interruption and is not included. Language : CLB 6 or higher in all four proficiencies; CLB 5 or higher in all four if the job offer is in an occupation the official page lists as a skilled trade. CLB stands for Canadian Language Benchmarks. The test date must fall within two years before the date you submit the application. Official wording: Official wording CLB level 6 or higher in all four proficiencies, if your job offer employment position is not a NOC occupation listed as a skilled trade below If you obtained one of those four credentials from an eligible Ontario institution within the past three years, no language test is required. The official wording is A language test is not required if you hold one of the listed credentials. The skilled trades listed by the official page (verbatim): Official wording Major Group 72 - Technical trades and transportation offices and controllers (excluding occupations under Sub-Major Group 726) / Major Group 73 - General trades / Major Group 82 - Supervisors in natural resources, agriculture and related production / Major Group 83 - Occupations in natural resources and related production / Major Group 93 - Central control and process operators and aircraft assembly assemblers and inspectors (excluding aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors under Sub-Major Group 932) / Minor Group 6320 - Cooks, butchers, bakers / Unit Group 62200 - Chefs Accepted tests: for English, IELTS General Training, CELPIP General and PTE Core; for French, TEF Canada and TCF Canada. IELTS Academic, PTE Academic and One Skill Retake are not accepted. If you take CELPIP, select IRCC purposes as the reason for the test and IRCC as the receiving organization when you register, so that OINP can verify the result. Education: the official page gives four options and meeting one of them is enough . Official wording: Official wording If you have a job offer for a TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 employment position, you must have one of the following: Job offer not in the listed skilled trades: a post-secondary degree or diploma of at least one year full-time from an eligible Canadian institution, or an equivalent credential from an institution outside Canada. The official page quantifies one full-time academic year: at least 15 hours of instruction a week across two semesters, including workplace training that forms part of the program; part-time study is acceptable as long as the total is equivalent to one full-time academic year. Job offer in the listed skilled trades: a Canadian secondary school diploma or an equivalent credential from outside Canada. Job offer for a NOC 33102 nurse aide position: it must be an Ontario college certificate of at least one year full-time from an eligible Canadian institution. This is stricter than the general requirement. Positions that require a licence or authorization by law: the licence or authorization can replace the education requirement. The official page expressly excludes NOC 73300 and NOC 73301. Job offer in TEER category 4 to 5 Different from TEER 0 to 3, and only a few lines. Work experience: nine months of cumulative full-time paid work in the job offer position within the two years before you submit the application. Full-time in this band means at least 1,170 hours within 12 months, at least 30 hours a week. This hour count is not the same number as the 780 hours for TEER 0 to 3, so do not mix the two. Language: CLB 4 or higher in all four proficiencies. There is no graduate exemption from the language test in this band. Education: a Canadian secondary school diploma or an equivalent credential from outside Canada. Self-employed physicians No job offer needed. A separate set of requirements. Both requirements must be met: eligible to receive payment from public health insurance under the Health Insurance Act, 1990, that is, holding an OHIP billing number; and holding one of the three types of registration certificate, independent practice, academic practice or temporary, and being a member in good standing of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. If you meet these two, none of the other applicant requirements on this page apply, and the employer requirements do not apply either. Official wording: Official wording If you meet these requirements, you do not need to meet the other applicant requirements listed on this page and the employer requirements do not apply. Anyone holding a postgraduate education licence cannot use this route, but may apply to OWPS with a job offer from an Ontario employer. Official wording: Official wording If you hold a postgraduate education licence, you are not eligible to apply as a self-employed physician but may be eligible to apply to the Ontario Workforce Priority stream if you have a job offer from an Ontario employer. Self-employed physicians have no employer portal to go through. Before registering an EOI, contact OINP using the Contact us details on the official page. After receiving an invitation, submit the application and pay within 17 calendar days. Requirements that apply to all three situations Legal status in Canada : if you are applying from inside Canada, you must have valid legal status when you submit, which can be a visitor record, a study permit or a work permit. People on maintained status (an extension or renewal application filed with IRCC before the previous status expired, still awaiting a decision) can submit an OINP application. Official wording: Official wording Applicants may not qualify for nomination if they are residing in Canada without valid legal status at the time of nomination. Eligibility and scoring use two different measures on this point: eligibility accepts a visitor record, while scoring factor 6 gives 10 points for a work permit and 5 points for a study permit, and a visitor record falls into the "no valid work or study permit" band at 0 points. Being eligible does not mean scoring points, and the two do not conflict. Intention to live and work in Ontario : you must intend to live and work in Ontario after obtaining permanent residence. The official page looks at your ties to Ontario, for example working or having worked in Ontario, holding a job offer, having applied or interviewed for jobs, studying, volunteering, renting or owning property, visiting, professional networks, and family and personal relationships. Without Ontario ties, you can submit a statement of intent to reside. ECA : credentials completed outside Canada need an ECA (Educational Credential Assessment), and the report must be less than five years old on the date of application. The official page recognizes seven organizations: Comparative Education Service (University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies), International Credential Assessment Service of Canada, International Credential Evaluation Service, International Qualifications Assessment Service, Medical Council of Canada (for physicians), Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (for pharmacists), and World Education Services. Deadlines : After the employer submits the job offer in the employer portal, the applicant has 30 calendar days to register an EOI. After an invitation is issued, the employer has 14 calendar days to submit the position approval application; the applicant has 17 calendar days to submit the application and pay, and can only submit after the employer has submitted. Self-employed physicians: submit and pay within 17 calendar days of the invitation. After being nominated, you have 6 months to submit the permanent residence application to IRCC. Through Express Entry, you have 30 calendar days in the EE system to accept or decline the nomination, then 60 calendar days to submit the permanent residence application to IRCC. Express Entry option : only applicants applying under a TEER 0 to 3 occupation (including self-employed physicians) can choose to be nominated through IRCC's Express Entry system, provided they meet the minimum eligibility for a federal Express Entry category and maintain a valid profile throughout the application period. Accepting the nomination adds 600 points. TEER 4 to 5 cannot be linked to Express Entry. Other restrictions : Self-employment and other contract-for-service arrangements without a legal employment relationship cannot apply. Self-employed physicians are the only exception. EOIs and applications naming the Ontario Public Service (OPS) or its agencies as the employer are not accepted, because OPS does not currently participate in OINP as an employer. Other government employers outside the OPS are treated as separate legal entities and can participate if they meet the employer requirements. An application submitted by a self-appointed representative is invalid, will be withdrawn by OINP, and the application will be returned with a refund. After nomination : the nomination is based on the approved position, and OINP cannot change an approved position after nomination. If the job is terminated by the employer or by you, or the position approval is cancelled, you need to register a new EOI to go through OWPS again. OINP's Post-Nomination Verification Unit carries out post-nomination follow-up, and where requirements are not met OINP may revoke approvals, including the nomination itself. At the end of the page the official text adds that OWPS is governed by the Ontario Immigration Act, 2015 and its regulations, and where the web page and the regulations differ, the regulations prevail. The list is in the Eligible Ontario and Canadian institutions section at the end of the OWPS page . Eligible Ontario institutions are a subset of eligible Canadian institutions. The three months of work experience, the language test exemption, and the low wage level allowed in the employer section below are the three advantages given only to graduates of Ontario institutions. Graduates of institutions in other provinces, such as Quebec or British Columbia, do not get these three, though the credential can still count toward the number of Canadian credentials for scoring. This list is closed. The page carries no catch-all wording such as or equivalent institution.

Ontario Workforce Priority Stream (OWPS): Applicant Requirements

What do you have to meet to apply to OWPS

Requirements that apply to all three situations