Skilled Trades

Ontario Skilled Trades is one of the Human Capital streams of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) operated by the province of Ontario. Ontario Skilled Trades issues provincial nominations to skilled tradespeople with active Express Entry profiles who are already living in Ontario and have Ontario work experience in a skilled trade.

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Candidates who are successfully nominated through the Ontario Skilled Trades stream will be invited to submit an official application for Canadian permanent residence. This stream is aligned with the federal Express Entry immigration system. In order to be eligible for the stream, a candidate must have an active profile in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program under Express Entry. The program is by invitation only and foreign nationals cannot apply to the program directly.

All candidates in the Express Entry pool are automatically considered for the program when they submit their Express Entry profile. The province will send a Notification of Interest (NOI) to the Express Entry accounts of those candidates it invites to apply.

Program Requirements

Requirement
Express Entry ProfileYes
Connection to ProvinceWork Experience
Job OfferNo
Language ProficiencyCLB 5
Level of EducationNo minimum
Work ExperienceSkilled Trade
1 year
Investment RequirementNone

Express Entry Requirement

Ontario Skilled Worker is aligned with the federal Express Entry system. In order to be considered, a candidate must have an active Express Entry profile in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program. As candidates are required to have an active Express Entry profile in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the minimum requirements are aligned with the requirements of that program.

  • Canadian Experience Class has no minimum education requirement. CEC candidates must have a minimum of one year of full-time Canadian skilled work experience. This work experience does not have to be continuous, but it must have been obtained within the three years prior to application. Work experience is considered skilled if obtained in a position at National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Level 0, A, or B.

 

Connection to Ontario

Candidates for Ontario Skilled Trades must be residing in Ontario at the time of their application. As well, candidates must be in possession of a valid work permit at the time the application is submitted.

 

Language Proficiency

All candidates must submit language test results demonstrating proficiency in either English or French at a minimum level equivalent to the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 5 in all four abilities. These language test results must have been obtained within the two years prior to application.

 

Work Experience

All candidates must have obtained work experience in Ontario in an eligible skilled trade.

 

Settlement Funds

All candidates for the Ontario Skilled Trades stream must meet the settlement funds requirement as determined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This can be demonstrated through their own finances, or through maintaining a valid offer of employment. Please note that candidates in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) stream of Express Entry still must demonstrate proof of settlement funds for the OINP application. CEC candidates are exempt from showing settlement funds at the federal level, but not at the provincial level.

 

Eligible Skilled Trades Work Experience

In order to be eligible for the Skilled Trades stream, candidate must meet specific work experience requirements. The candidate must have at least 12-months of cumulative full-time work experience completed in Ontario within the past 2 years. This work experience must have been obtained in a skilled trade:

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Skilled Trades: Occupations can be identified as skilled trades by checking their categorization within the National Occupational Classification (NOC) database. The following are considered skilled trades:

  • All occupations within NOC minor group 633 (the first three digits of the NOC Code)
  • All occupations within NOC major groups 72, 73, or 82 (the first two digits of the NOC Code)

If the work experience was obtained in a compulsory trade (a trade requiring licensing or certification), then the license or certificate must be valid at the time of application. As well, OINP will only consider work experience obtained while the worker held valid certification or licensing as issued by the Ontario College of Trades.

Application Procedure

The Ontario Skilled Trades stream operates on an invitation only basis. To apply to the stream, candidates who meet the minimum eligibility requirements must create an Express Entry profile. They must then wait to be issued a Notification of Interest (NOI) from the province of Ontario. Note that simply meeting the minimum eligibility requirements does not guarantee that a candidate will receive an NOI. The province of Ontario reviews Express Entry profiles and issues an NOI to those candidates the province may be interested in nominating. Only candidates who receive an NOI are eligible to submit an application to the OINP for provincial nomination.

Once a candidate receives an NOI, they have 45 calendar days to prepare and submit an online application through the OINP e-Filing Portal. The OINP application fee is $1,500 CAD. If the province approves the application, Ontario will notify the applicant they have been selected for provincial nomination. This notification will be sent to the applicant’s IRCC online account. After accepting the provincial nomination, the applicant’s CRS score will increase by 600 points, virtually guaranteeing they will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence in the next Express Entry draw.

After receiving an ITA, the applicant must prepare and submit an official application for Canadian permanent residence within the designated timeframe. Applications for permanent residence submitted through Express Entry are generally processed within six months.

Notification of Interest (NOIs) - Recent Rounds

The following are the recent rounds of NOIs issued to Express Entry candidates enabling them to apply to the OINP Skilled Trades stream:

DateNumber of InvitationsDate Express Entry Profile Submitted
September 29, 20221,340September 29, 2021 - September 29, 2022
September 7, 20221,521September 7, 2021 – September 7, 2022
July 14, 2022755 July 14, 2021-July 14, 2022
May 26, 2022535 May 26, 2021 – May 26, 2022
April 26, 20221034April 26, 2021 – April 26, 2022
March 24, 2022471March 24, 2021 – March 24, 2022
February 24, 2022818February 24, 2021-February 24, 2022
January 27, 20221032January 27, 2021 – January 27, 2022
June 1, 2021986June 1, 2020 – June 1, 2021
January 13, 2021 338January 13, 2020 – January 13, 2021
November 4, 2020516November 4, 2019 to November 4, 2020
June 17, 2020758June 17, 2019 to June 17, 2020
April 29, 2020190April 29, 2019 to April 29, 2020
December 11, 2019667December 11, 2018 to December 11, 2019
March 21, 2019361March 21, 2018 to March 21, 2019
January 24, 2019371January 24, 2018 to January 24, 2019
October 19, 2018439January 1, 2018 to October 19, 2018
July 25, 201836January 1, 2018 to July 25, 2018
July 19, 2018243January 1, 2018 to July 19, 2018
May 23, 201830January 1, 2018 to May 23, 2018
May 16, 201845January 1, 2018 to May 16, 2018
May 9, 201848January 1, 2018 to May 9, 2018
May 2, 201859January 1, 2018 to May 2, 2018
April 25, 201857January 1, 2018 to April 25, 2018
April 18, 201829January 1, 2018 to April 19, 2018
April 11, 201887January 1, 2018 to April 11, 2018
March 28, 2018149January 1, 2018 to March 28, 2018
February 20, 201815February 14, 2018 to February 20, 2018
February 14, 201839February 6, 2018 to February 14, 2018
February 6, 201834January 1, 2018 to February 6, 2018
January 30, 201825January 1, 2018 to January 30, 2018
January 25, 201852January 1, 2018 to January 25, 2018
January 18, 201858January 1, 2018 to January 18, 2018

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